> In a post-cyberpunk future, Mia and Zakariah Davis risk their lives to secure an activated sample of the life-prolonging "eternal virus" for their son Rix. Afterwards, Mia is murdered in retribution and the family is overcome by grief. Zakariah goes on a quest to contact her spirit in the afterlife while Rix wants revenge, no matter the cost. Niko, the teenage clone of Zakariah's dead sister, has received the eternal virus and has been captured by vampires who drain her blood nightly for its rejuvenating effects. After Rix helps Niko escape, they team up in a quest to track down Mia's murderer. An engaging and compelling story, this work of science fiction delves into questions of religion, God, family, and the source of life in our universe.

SF novel, 263 pages

Cyberpunk is alive and well, thanks to Steve Stanton's new series, THE BLOODLIGHT CHRONICLES.

The second book, Retribution, is a testament to the fact that cyberpunk as a genre is not dead, nor is it unattainable for the average reader. The characters acted like people, and acted their age. Adults were adults, teenagers were teenagers. Too often, adults act like spoiled brats and there is none of that in Stanton's novel. It's brisk, mature, and masterfully put together.

I loved the character Niko, from her motorbike in the first chapter, to her encounter with the "vampires," to her relationship with Rix. Poor Rix. God, he made me cringe at the thought of how my sixteen-year-old self treated those computer geeks who flirted with me.

Even though this is second in a series, I had no trouble following the story line. By chapter 4, I went out and purchased the first book, Reconciliation. It isn't often that I back-pedal in a series, but I needed, not wanted, to know what brought all of these characters to where they were.

If you can understand your sixteen your old talking about the internet and follow a Star Trek episode, I think most people can follow the science of this book. Even if you can't do either, I recommend reading the first chapter all the same and seeing…the story is so good, you might just opt to accept you won't understand it all and just keep on going. For me, that's the beauty of this novel.