Alex James's Blog: AlexJamesNovels Blog - Posts Tagged "hacker"

Redeye, sequel to Shadow of a Dead Star, is a cyberpunk novel that speculates on to what extent dependence on machines and automation can have in a worst case scenario, where human bodies are seen only as functions or spare parts in a greater alien (Yathi) system that eludes them.

Bobbi takes centre stage in Redeye, and we see her personal life getting over what happened to partner Tom Walken. When a proficient hacker contacts her with vital information, Bobbi is thrust into a complex web of alien conspiracy, where she will make new well-conceived allies who she is not sure whether to put her trust in. The way Bobbi’s vulnerable, anxious and yet chipper mind worked was fascinating to read and such a contrast to former protagonist Agent Tom Walken’s distrustful and paranoid state. Many of the events in Shadow of a Dead Star were smoothly integrated with Redeye, perhaps painstakingly in the early pages. As soon as Bobbi physically sets out to hack alien sites, the author delivers with outstanding action that fans of classic apocalyptic Philip K Dick science-fiction will love.

Sometimes Bobbi must trust in dubious gifts bestowed by technological god-entities if she is to prevail against the enemy aliens. It is a paroxysm, but maybe an unavoidable one considering the circumstances where hacking and computer code are the basis for alien domination. Redeye shines a real light on how superficial, materialistic, and robotic people appear when they follow trends or adopt technologies they don’t really need, perhaps to show status. ‘The land of meat’ is used to refer to human society as if the computer realm views it with disdain. Ironically, despite all the warnings about digital over-reliance, the main protagonist Bobbi actually prefers the cyber-world of hacking, but is frequently ripped out of it by problems in the ruined world of meat.

Criticism: it took a while to get to the nub of the story; mostly it begins with who Bobbi can trust and this continues well into Redeye. At first I thought the group infiltration into a Yathi base progressed at a snail’s pace, with too many references to past incidents and confrontations with the Yathi in order to understand the current predicament. I see how this was used to add background to what the characters were up against, but I would have preferred present action and confrontation to be the deciding factor in how they unravelled enemy’s complexities. There were many typos, mainly between 25-30%. The author didn’t make clear why the Yathi became as technologically advanced as they were, and the characters’ comprehension of this was at times sketchy. Furthermore, this was the case with the explanations and reasons behind the aliens’ motives and their control of the global communications network. And why do the aliens appear as they do?

Overall, I really liked the balance of speculation, mystery, and action in Redeye. It developed existing ideas much better than Shadow of a Dead Star, fusing classic leader-of-the-underground ideas with an exaggerated balloon of looming ill-will and alien conquest. Every character was interesting, having their histories and characteristics. The thread of strong visual imagination continues in this series, and there is a high likelihood it won’t be too long before I’ll be reading the next.