So, another book is read.
That was quite a quick and easy read for me, thrilling detective story in bright and shiny cyberpunk setting.
I won’t talk about the plot. I don’t want to make a review reciting the story, kinda makes no sense for me. What makes sense is to highlight strong sides of the novel and explain why it is a not five-star read.
Let’s start from the world-building. That’s the strong part of the book. Nox City is written out in detail, some key locations were explicitly described and in general, the world is living and breathing being in the book. Night club, Swamplands the rich ass’ apartments… sometimes you even understand how it smells there just based on the descriptions.
Setting. Cyberpunk in its best. Modifications, neon, new unknown drugs, cyberpets, all-inclusive. High tech low life as it should be. Big corporations, a couple of big criminal groups (very distinctive from each other), non-existence of social warranties and a couple of highly ethical questions raised. I liked it much.
Let’s move to the pace. Wow! That’s actually 6 out of 5. I haven’t expected that the whole book is about less than 24 hours. It’s amazing how much of action you can stuck into such a small period of time. Action-packed, high-adrenaline detective story that will keep you tense all the time.
Now, the prose. ehmm, that’s difficult. The language and words used look like a right tool for this case. Not really sophisticated, rough, even simple sometimes. But that’s an action novel, it should be that way. I’d prefer more exquisite expressions, especially for different characters. They kind of sound the same. Sometimes you need to return a couple of lines backwards to check who says what.
Characters. Not protagonist, everyone else. They are well-written, with clear motivations and goals. I liked most of them. Mirk is very believable and annoying, Coleson is challenge-motivated and not really about material compensation. They are organically part of the world and feel real. Of course, you cannot open and connect a lot of them. There isn’t much time for that.
Aaaand the weakest part in the book for me. It’s Sol. His thoughts, his actions, his demeanor. Some moments were utterly “facepalmy” for me. Like the most of night club interactions, for example. Those flashbacks were supposed to build the backbone of motivation for the main character, but for me he looked like emotionally very unstable person. Let’s say it so, I wouldn’t give a gun to this grown-up child. I tried to connect somehow with him, but I failed.
Overall conclusion: Did I like the novel? Hell yeah! Great world-building, amazing well-paced story, immersive cyberpunk setting, all is here. I hope in the next books author will put more effort in the main character development. And yes, I’m waiting for the next book and I’ll definitely buy it.
