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Cybernetic Jungle
His family destroyed and his dreams crushed by the corporation that controls his Brazilian home through technology and drugs, Paulo seeks revenge, aided by Zaide, a woman with a computer implant in her brain that provides access to government data.
262 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published March 1, 1992
32 people want to read
About the author
S.N. Lewitt
20 books3 followersAlternate Known Names:
Shariann Lewitt
Shariann N. Lewitt
S.N. Lewitt
Gordon Kendall - pseudonym also for Susan Shwartz
Shariann Lewitt
Shariann N. Lewitt
S.N. Lewitt
Gordon Kendall - pseudonym also for Susan Shwartz
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
November 16, 2023
This has an unusual setting for a piece of Science Fiction written by a USian author; Brazil, specifically Brasilia. In the aftermath of a natural disaster democracy has been overthrown (this is represented as unusual for Brazil!) and society is dominated by four monopolies called fazendas, who are the only purveyors of drugs from the rain forest. Street gangs dominate life for the common people. Drugs called phrines, which seem to sharpen the mind, are common but can lead to brain burn out.
Paulo Sylvia is a member of the Bakunin gang. He has an implant known as a secondary but his greatest wish is to upgrade this to be able to access something known as the Wave, which is here described as “a datastream, a quantum-level interface structure that had been created to serve the needs of the masters. Only it had become the master.” (It reads as if it’s a hazy sort of internet only accessed through the mind but as described it seems a diffuse kind of experience.) On a raid on behalf of one of the fazendas he witnesses a girl die. Very soon after he meets Zaide Soledad, who looks identical to the dead girl and intrigues him. She is a trainee in one of the fazendas, out on the town. When they meet she is not yet surgically prepared for accessing the Wave and her true background is not known to Paulo.
Young members of the fazenda seem to be produced as kinds of clones – hence Zaide’s resemblance to the dead girl, who was apparently rejected for the fazenda. Zaide becomes drawn into a contest with one of the fazenda’s board members, Julio Simon, who has no redeeming features whatsoever and a predilection for gratuitous violence. Paulo and Zaide’s attraction to each other provides the motor for the plot and their conflict with Simon.
This is a tale with cyberpunk features and, with its main characters’ divergent backgrounds, echoes of Romeo and Juliet. Apart from the unnecessarily violent scene with Simon I quite enjoyed it.
Paulo Sylvia is a member of the Bakunin gang. He has an implant known as a secondary but his greatest wish is to upgrade this to be able to access something known as the Wave, which is here described as “a datastream, a quantum-level interface structure that had been created to serve the needs of the masters. Only it had become the master.” (It reads as if it’s a hazy sort of internet only accessed through the mind but as described it seems a diffuse kind of experience.) On a raid on behalf of one of the fazendas he witnesses a girl die. Very soon after he meets Zaide Soledad, who looks identical to the dead girl and intrigues him. She is a trainee in one of the fazendas, out on the town. When they meet she is not yet surgically prepared for accessing the Wave and her true background is not known to Paulo.
Young members of the fazenda seem to be produced as kinds of clones – hence Zaide’s resemblance to the dead girl, who was apparently rejected for the fazenda. Zaide becomes drawn into a contest with one of the fazenda’s board members, Julio Simon, who has no redeeming features whatsoever and a predilection for gratuitous violence. Paulo and Zaide’s attraction to each other provides the motor for the plot and their conflict with Simon.
This is a tale with cyberpunk features and, with its main characters’ divergent backgrounds, echoes of Romeo and Juliet. Apart from the unnecessarily violent scene with Simon I quite enjoyed it.
November 5, 2017
I wouldn’t call this great cyberpunk, but I did really enjoy it. I am unaccountably fascinated by stories that take place in Brazil so it had that going for it. I found the story coherent and believable, if a little more tragic than I had anticipated which was hard to swallow. It felt like it came out of nowhere, but it worked. I like The Wave; I liked the characters; Paulo was great; and Zaide is fantastic. Zaide’s best friend, Susana, is even better. The political machinations are enough to be interesting, but not so much as to bog the story down. The whole thing is just so engaging and fun.
January 19, 2023
blade runner mixed with the matrix taking place in a dystopian brazil
March 29, 2026
Stupid, stupid, stupid book. Allegedly a cyberpunk book, although I found no evidence of that. In fairness to you and to the author, I didn't finish the book. I thought it was too hideous to continue after the first seven chapters. But boy, what a disappointment!
Paulo Sylvia (a girl's name?) and his best pal form a gang in Brazil in the near future to compete with other gangs, dealing with the drug market. They are part of the outcasts of society. Meanwhile, the wealthy elite have it sweet and a young lady named Zaide is a member of such a family. Zaide dreams of escaping her family's estate to go to the city to experience life in a different way. Sylvia wants cash and revenge for a broken family. They meet at a Carnival-like festival, where they dance and exchange sweet nothings. Yep.
Where's the sci fi, you ask? I asked that too. Well, there's a robot that's a death machine. And. And. And that's about it. Sylvia has a teflon knife and a crossbow pistol. You can't even tell if this book is taking place in the future. Sure, there are helicopters, but we have those now. They have the World Cup. BFD. Yawn. A lot of attention is paid to Zaide's long, beautiful, lustrous near-black hair, as well as to her attire. If I didn't know better, I'd say this is actually a romance written under the guise of a sci fi novel. But surely the author, one "S.N. Lewitt," wouldn't have done that, right? Well, I checked the copyright page, and the copyright is made out to "Shariann Lewitt." Yep, a woman sci fi writer. Who has written a romance disguised as a sci fi novel to make some cash. I'm disgusted. I hate to sound like a total sexist pig here, but why do so many female sci fi novelists have to write romances? In fairness to them, why do so many male sci fi authors have to write sexually perverted scenes in their books, like Heinlein did? Totally unnecessary. I want hard sci fi. I want military sci fi. I want true cyberpunk. I want Philip K. Dick. I don't want this trash.
If I had continued on, maybe I would have ended up liking the novel, but I doubt it. I gave it 70 pages. That's more than enough. It didn't even deserve that much. Definitely not recommended.
Paulo Sylvia (a girl's name?) and his best pal form a gang in Brazil in the near future to compete with other gangs, dealing with the drug market. They are part of the outcasts of society. Meanwhile, the wealthy elite have it sweet and a young lady named Zaide is a member of such a family. Zaide dreams of escaping her family's estate to go to the city to experience life in a different way. Sylvia wants cash and revenge for a broken family. They meet at a Carnival-like festival, where they dance and exchange sweet nothings. Yep.
Where's the sci fi, you ask? I asked that too. Well, there's a robot that's a death machine. And. And. And that's about it. Sylvia has a teflon knife and a crossbow pistol. You can't even tell if this book is taking place in the future. Sure, there are helicopters, but we have those now. They have the World Cup. BFD. Yawn. A lot of attention is paid to Zaide's long, beautiful, lustrous near-black hair, as well as to her attire. If I didn't know better, I'd say this is actually a romance written under the guise of a sci fi novel. But surely the author, one "S.N. Lewitt," wouldn't have done that, right? Well, I checked the copyright page, and the copyright is made out to "Shariann Lewitt." Yep, a woman sci fi writer. Who has written a romance disguised as a sci fi novel to make some cash. I'm disgusted. I hate to sound like a total sexist pig here, but why do so many female sci fi novelists have to write romances? In fairness to them, why do so many male sci fi authors have to write sexually perverted scenes in their books, like Heinlein did? Totally unnecessary. I want hard sci fi. I want military sci fi. I want true cyberpunk. I want Philip K. Dick. I don't want this trash.
If I had continued on, maybe I would have ended up liking the novel, but I doubt it. I gave it 70 pages. That's more than enough. It didn't even deserve that much. Definitely not recommended.
August 22, 2013
Published as part of the cyberpunk trend of the 80s, I feel like the quite excellent novel was overlooked at that time – at least, it was overlooked by me, a cyberpunk fan! I’m certainly glad I got around to reading it.
The setting: a convincingly believable near-future Brazil. The divide between rich and poor has only gotten worse. The rich live in luxury; the elite have access to a kind of implanted internet called The Wave. But most Brazilians live in the favelas, slums torn by gang violence.
Paulo and his best buddy from childhood were born to the elite – but due to political upheaval, are now forced to make their way as best they can in the favelas. But Paulo has an ambitious plan to unite the gangs and raise themselves from poverty.
Within the elite networks that control Brazil, genetically engineered families encourage young people to viciously plot and scheme against one another for supremacy. Here, another plot is going on, which also plans to use drug-running gangs as a dupe for covering up actions against competitors. In a moment of chaos, Zaide, a daughter of privilege, is thrown into contact with Paulo’s gang, and ends up uncovering her rival’s plot. But can she use the information she’s learned to catapult herself to power? Or will she use her family’s knowledge to help Paulo? Will the web of events surrounding her even leave her with a choice?
Good action, good plotting, unique takes on cyberpunk tropes, and unexpected, emotionally wrenching twists place this book far above average.
The setting: a convincingly believable near-future Brazil. The divide between rich and poor has only gotten worse. The rich live in luxury; the elite have access to a kind of implanted internet called The Wave. But most Brazilians live in the favelas, slums torn by gang violence.
Paulo and his best buddy from childhood were born to the elite – but due to political upheaval, are now forced to make their way as best they can in the favelas. But Paulo has an ambitious plan to unite the gangs and raise themselves from poverty.
Within the elite networks that control Brazil, genetically engineered families encourage young people to viciously plot and scheme against one another for supremacy. Here, another plot is going on, which also plans to use drug-running gangs as a dupe for covering up actions against competitors. In a moment of chaos, Zaide, a daughter of privilege, is thrown into contact with Paulo’s gang, and ends up uncovering her rival’s plot. But can she use the information she’s learned to catapult herself to power? Or will she use her family’s knowledge to help Paulo? Will the web of events surrounding her even leave her with a choice?
Good action, good plotting, unique takes on cyberpunk tropes, and unexpected, emotionally wrenching twists place this book far above average.
April 22, 2014
This '90s cyberpunk thriller is made all the more alien and enticing by setting it in the Brasilia of 2028. Lewitt weaves the culture and classes of the city with story of corporate families battling for control and an off-beat street gang that crosses paths with them.
July 24, 2016
C+, not really for me: Brazilian blood-porn. It made the Locus Best of 1992 list.
August 2, 2015
Fun. Sort of a cyberpunkish Romeo and Juliet.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews