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The Escher Man
A cartel enforcer across South-east Asia must escape a world of paranoia and violence to save his family in this cerebral and multi-layered cyberpunk science fiction novel, from the award-winning author of 36 Streets. Perfect for fans of William Gibson's The Peripheral and Five Minds by Guy Morpuss.
Your name is Endel ‘Endgame’ Ebbinghaus. It is Saturday, 3 September, 2101. You’re head of security for Mister Long, boss of the Macau Syndicate, a drug cartel. Your memories are being wiped and re-written. You keep this log because you’re hard pressed to remember what day it is. But today is a special day, mate. This is your last day on the job.”
‘Endgame’ is a violent man, the perfect enforcer. But Endel is also a father and husband, haunted by the memories of his estranged family, and the life they once had.
Endel wants them back, and he wants out. But life in the syndicate isn’t one you can simply leave.
Endgame is a violent man. Or is he? In a world where memory manipulation is the weapon of choice for the powerful, Endel can’t tell friends and enemies apart anymore, can’t be sure if he’s a person or a tool.
Trapped in a taut, twisting nightmare, Endel must find a way to escape the labyrinth they’ve made of his mind, and take revenge.
Your name is Endel ‘Endgame’ Ebbinghaus. It is Saturday, 3 September, 2101. You’re head of security for Mister Long, boss of the Macau Syndicate, a drug cartel. Your memories are being wiped and re-written. You keep this log because you’re hard pressed to remember what day it is. But today is a special day, mate. This is your last day on the job.”
‘Endgame’ is a violent man, the perfect enforcer. But Endel is also a father and husband, haunted by the memories of his estranged family, and the life they once had.
Endel wants them back, and he wants out. But life in the syndicate isn’t one you can simply leave.
Endgame is a violent man. Or is he? In a world where memory manipulation is the weapon of choice for the powerful, Endel can’t tell friends and enemies apart anymore, can’t be sure if he’s a person or a tool.
Trapped in a taut, twisting nightmare, Endel must find a way to escape the labyrinth they’ve made of his mind, and take revenge.
368 pages, Paperback
First published September 17, 2024
40 people are currently reading
917 people want to read
About the author
T.R. Napper
36 books242 followersT. R. Napper is a multi-award-winning author. His honours include the prestigious Australian Aurealis four times. His short fiction has appeared in Asimov’s, The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, Grimdark Magazine, and numerous others. Napper received a creative writing doctorate for his thesis: The Dark Century, 1946 - 2046. Noir, Cyberpunk, and Asian Modernity (yes, he is a Doctor of Cyberpunk).
Before turning to writing, T. R. Napper was a diplomat and aid worker, delivering humanitarian programs throughout Southeast Asia for a decade. During this period he was a resident of the Old Quarter in Hanoi for several years, the setting for his acclaimed debut novel, 36 Streets.
These days he has returned to his home country of Australia, where, in addition to his writing, he runs art therapy programs for people with disabilities.
Before turning to writing, T. R. Napper was a diplomat and aid worker, delivering humanitarian programs throughout Southeast Asia for a decade. During this period he was a resident of the Old Quarter in Hanoi for several years, the setting for his acclaimed debut novel, 36 Streets.
These days he has returned to his home country of Australia, where, in addition to his writing, he runs art therapy programs for people with disabilities.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 87 reviews
September 26, 2024
The Escher Man is a psychological mindf*ck of a novel, a gritty cyperpunk thriller set in a near-future Macau, awash with violence and drugs. T.R. Napper expertly weaves new layers of complexity as his main protagonist tries to separate real memories from those implanted in his brain. He also struggles to understand how his apparent tendency toward violence can coexist with his family life.
All in all, this is a brilliantly conceived and executed novel and a great introduction to cyberpunk for those new to the genre. My only complaint is that the prose is overly repetitive in multiple places.
All in all, this is a brilliantly conceived and executed novel and a great introduction to cyberpunk for those new to the genre. My only complaint is that the prose is overly repetitive in multiple places.
November 14, 2024
Since I was a teenager I've been fascinated by the powerful way in which memory shapes identity, and even reality. We know memory is flawed, and yet everything we know about who we are and the world we live in is based on what we remember, or think we remember. T.R. Napper does wonderful things with this theme.
"Violence, however, was the one place in my fragmented life where I felt clarity, where I felt sure of my purpose, where I never second-guessed myself, and where the only thing I needed to follow was an instinct buried so deep no amount of wiping could touch it."
"Endgame" Ebbinghaus knows that he is a violent man. It's the one thing he's most sure of. But he also knows that most of his memories have been wiped and that the memories he knows have been planted in his brain. He was almost certainly someone else before his memories were altered. Was he always a violent man? Are we more than our memories? Endgame's memory wipes are not absolute, and some old memories leak through, albeit imperfectly. Who is Endgame really?
Is there something in our identity that is constant. How can we know?
Make no mistake, The Escher Man is not a dry treatise on the power of memory. That theme is merely the premise behind an intriguing and exciting action-packed thriller, a multi-layered story with too many facets to cover in a brief review.
"I was led down a dark corridor to a treatment room very similar to the reception room, albeit with added gold statues of Buddhas and Maos and other historical figures philosophically opposed to gold statues and material accumulation."
Cyberpunk at its best is a scathing critique of the contemporary world and human nature in general from the point of view of the oppressed, disadvantaged, and dispossessed, and Napper is a master (perhaps THE master) of the genre. His prose is both subtle and brutal, and it enhances, rather than detracts from a brilliant and moving story.
"She was wearing a black singlet and her default anger."
"He called himself The Axe and liked to talk about axes and hitting people with axes."
"Koi was young and beautiful, and the people that knew her would never think of her as either young or beautiful."
Napper's characters are fascinating, and he has a way of bringing them to life with a few choice words. The character types are familiar--greedy crime lords, loving wives, lethal femme fatales, brutal gangsters, sensitive academics, proud professionals--but all are too complex to be stereotypes. And we see them through Endgame's unreliable memory, so his interactions with them tend to vary.
This review is getting out of hand, but that's what this book can do to you. It's been a week since I finished it, and I've thought about it every day since. I highly recommend The Escher Man to fans of thoughtful cyberpunk. Napper has become a must-read author for me.
"Violence, however, was the one place in my fragmented life where I felt clarity, where I felt sure of my purpose, where I never second-guessed myself, and where the only thing I needed to follow was an instinct buried so deep no amount of wiping could touch it."
"Endgame" Ebbinghaus knows that he is a violent man. It's the one thing he's most sure of. But he also knows that most of his memories have been wiped and that the memories he knows have been planted in his brain. He was almost certainly someone else before his memories were altered. Was he always a violent man? Are we more than our memories? Endgame's memory wipes are not absolute, and some old memories leak through, albeit imperfectly. Who is Endgame really?
Is there something in our identity that is constant. How can we know?
Make no mistake, The Escher Man is not a dry treatise on the power of memory. That theme is merely the premise behind an intriguing and exciting action-packed thriller, a multi-layered story with too many facets to cover in a brief review.
"I was led down a dark corridor to a treatment room very similar to the reception room, albeit with added gold statues of Buddhas and Maos and other historical figures philosophically opposed to gold statues and material accumulation."
Cyberpunk at its best is a scathing critique of the contemporary world and human nature in general from the point of view of the oppressed, disadvantaged, and dispossessed, and Napper is a master (perhaps THE master) of the genre. His prose is both subtle and brutal, and it enhances, rather than detracts from a brilliant and moving story.
"She was wearing a black singlet and her default anger."
"He called himself The Axe and liked to talk about axes and hitting people with axes."
"Koi was young and beautiful, and the people that knew her would never think of her as either young or beautiful."
Napper's characters are fascinating, and he has a way of bringing them to life with a few choice words. The character types are familiar--greedy crime lords, loving wives, lethal femme fatales, brutal gangsters, sensitive academics, proud professionals--but all are too complex to be stereotypes. And we see them through Endgame's unreliable memory, so his interactions with them tend to vary.
This review is getting out of hand, but that's what this book can do to you. It's been a week since I finished it, and I've thought about it every day since. I highly recommend The Escher Man to fans of thoughtful cyberpunk. Napper has become a must-read author for me.
September 19, 2024
This was more violent thriller than sci-fi, and I found the memory plot confusing. There was also too much detail for me. I did not need to know Endgame’s every movement. This just wasn’t the book for me. I received a free copy of this audiobook from the publisher.
October 21, 2024
This novel is smoking hot.
And I do mean smoking.
If an author breathed the same air as his creations, T.R Napper would be part of a secondary-smoke class action. The Escher Man’s protagonist is a one-man smog cloud of nicotine-driven violence, whose first thought when faced with death or torture is often that of his ever-present softpack of Double Happiness cancer sticks.
And, like so much else in this novel, it works. Even for a hardcore non-smoker like myself. The smoking, drinking and general risk-taking are all part of a deep-set self-destructiveness that Napper explores with precision.
If you haven’t heard of T.R Napper yet, he’s a bright light in Australian Spec Fic, having won armloads of awards and much well-earned acclaim. His novel 36 Streets is a favourite of mine, and it’s a damn fine example of cyberpunk done right.
The Escher Man is a more straight-forward and immediate novel than 36 Streets. It’s told from the perspective of one man, Endel 'Endgame' Ebbinghaus. Endel is a Macau gang enforcer, toe-cutter, and sometime executioner who does what he is told to whom he is told. He's a violent man, who has left a trail of broken people and relationships behind him.
Or is he?
Endel isn't quite as simple as he seems. After each job the memory of his most recent crime is erased, his druglord boss editing his recollections so Endel can't squeal when the police question him. Endel trusts that these amendments deal only with his crimes, but it soon becomes clear that far more of his mind may have been messed with.
And so begins a hell of an enjoyable read.
The book careens from explosive action sequence to more explosive action sequence, the narrative never stalling or slowing down. Napper's exploration of the nature of memory, and the consequences of messing around with it, is well executed (pun intended), and had me making fond comparisons with Christopher Nolan's Memento.
I come to cyberpunk hoping for augmented desperados stalking a grim and rainy corporate dystopia, and Napper does not disappoint. The Escher Man hit my quota of reflex-boosted, nanotech-infused, metal-endoskeletoned street samurais with pop-out finger blades and a hair trigger. It's definitely worth your time, and it's awesome to see novels of this calibre coming out of Australia.
Five softpacks of coffin nails a day out of five.
And I do mean smoking.
If an author breathed the same air as his creations, T.R Napper would be part of a secondary-smoke class action. The Escher Man’s protagonist is a one-man smog cloud of nicotine-driven violence, whose first thought when faced with death or torture is often that of his ever-present softpack of Double Happiness cancer sticks.
And, like so much else in this novel, it works. Even for a hardcore non-smoker like myself. The smoking, drinking and general risk-taking are all part of a deep-set self-destructiveness that Napper explores with precision.
If you haven’t heard of T.R Napper yet, he’s a bright light in Australian Spec Fic, having won armloads of awards and much well-earned acclaim. His novel 36 Streets is a favourite of mine, and it’s a damn fine example of cyberpunk done right.
The Escher Man is a more straight-forward and immediate novel than 36 Streets. It’s told from the perspective of one man, Endel 'Endgame' Ebbinghaus. Endel is a Macau gang enforcer, toe-cutter, and sometime executioner who does what he is told to whom he is told. He's a violent man, who has left a trail of broken people and relationships behind him.
Or is he?
Endel isn't quite as simple as he seems. After each job the memory of his most recent crime is erased, his druglord boss editing his recollections so Endel can't squeal when the police question him. Endel trusts that these amendments deal only with his crimes, but it soon becomes clear that far more of his mind may have been messed with.
And so begins a hell of an enjoyable read.
The book careens from explosive action sequence to more explosive action sequence, the narrative never stalling or slowing down. Napper's exploration of the nature of memory, and the consequences of messing around with it, is well executed (pun intended), and had me making fond comparisons with Christopher Nolan's Memento.
I come to cyberpunk hoping for augmented desperados stalking a grim and rainy corporate dystopia, and Napper does not disappoint. The Escher Man hit my quota of reflex-boosted, nanotech-infused, metal-endoskeletoned street samurais with pop-out finger blades and a hair trigger. It's definitely worth your time, and it's awesome to see novels of this calibre coming out of Australia.
Five softpacks of coffin nails a day out of five.
December 21, 2024
Cyberpunk/hardboiled Xover novel set circa 2100 in Chinese Macau’s demimonde. A story about gangsters involved in a conspiracy to propagate
Brain rot
. Second book in Napper's East Asia Cyberpunk series.
Relativity (M. C. Escher)
T. R. Napper is an Australian science fiction author. He has written four novels, and numerous works of short fiction. This was the second book I’ve read by the author. The first being 36 Streets (my review).
This book is set in the universe of the author’s 36 Streets novel, and shares a main character with it. However, reading that book ahead of this one, whilst helpful is not strictly necessary.
I’m a fan of the obsolescent sci-fi subgenre of Cyberpunk . After reading Napper’s 36 Streets I threw this book, his latest, onto my TBR—near the top. This book, like that one is a good resuscitation of the genre with a peculiar non-Japanese, East Asian flavor.
TL;DR Synopsis
Endel ‘Endgame’ Ebbinghaus worked as an enforcer for a Macau-based Syndicate. He was a violent man. He was also a man without a past. Though the wiping and re-programming of the ubiquitous embedded memory augmentation devices in-use, he either had no memory or memories of a different IRL. Still, there were residual ghosts of a different past in his meat memory. In trying to find his way to who he had been, Ebbinghaus finds that “Quitting the mob is hard to do”.
The Review
Like 36 Streets, this book was modern cyberpunk. It’s more 21st Century, than the 1980’s vintage classic form of the genre by William Gibson , Bruce Sterling , Et al.. It bears a distinct resemblance to Richard K. Morgan's or Paolo Bacigalupi's flavor of this disfavored genre. It’s also more ultraviolent, leaning toward the anime. In places it’s a tad too OTT.
The prose was well-groomed. I found no spelling mistakes or awkward constructions. I found one continuity error. The Titan Publishing Group placed one of their better editors on this book.
Dialog was peculiar. In general, it was quite good, with a general hardboiled Australian flavor. I liked the convention for cochlear implant translation of Chinese and Vietnamese to the protagonist’s native English. One rather charming attribute of Napper’s, wordsmithing, was the Australian protagonist’s authentic dialog and inner dialog. This included the culturally pervasive C*word. Action scenes were Tarantinoesque . This was also an action-heavy story. I came to find it overused. In particular the use of edged weapons was generally OTT. I was disappointed the narrative wasn't more humorous. Descriptive prose was workmanlike.
This book could easily have been 250 vs. about 350 pages. The middle of it contained a violent road trip from Macau to Vietnam. While interesting in providing additional cultural exposure, this change of venue really could have been skipped.
The protagonist was Endel ‘Endgame’ Ebbinghaus. His was the sole POV.
As a leg breaker, Ebbinghaus was a hard man to like. However, except for his competency for mayhem, he was a bloke. He even had family values. Ebbinghause also was an unobtrusive Cyborg with hidden MIL-grade implants to help him break legs. However, as a criminal, his dirty deeds were typically erased or altered to provide an alibi during interrogation, in the absence of hard evidence. (The Memory Gambit.) In an act of betrayal, he had been mind-wiped and embedded with false memories to the point where he didn’t know who he really was and was easily manipulated.
The story also included Chrome Linh Phu AKA Lin Thi Vu from 36 Streets. She was planted in Macau at the end of that story. She was a Beatrix Kiddo-like character from Kill Bill (2003) . (To extend the Tarantinoesque comparison.) Although, she’d become more of a Dragon Lady between the two books. She works for the same Syndicate as Ebbinghaus. She was also an unobtrusive cyborg.
True to the genre, Mr. Long was the antagonist. He was a Faux Manchu character. He was Ebbinghaus’ and Chrome’s boss. Also true to the genre, Mr. Long was
The story also contained a host of supporting characters with some artful, modern Asian riffs on hardboiled arch-types. Interestingly—there were no Lawyers or Physicians, crooked or otherwise. Note the Asian underworld characters had very cool monikers. Ebbinghaus was also not remarkably Tech Savvy being a leg breaker. The genre-specific, technical heavy-lifting on implants tech and the memory alternation and wipe technology that feature largely in the plot was performed by Omissioners. They’re like memory hack0rs. They came in both good and bad flavors.
At its heart, this was a Quest story with Ebbinghaus’s past as the MacGuffin. This set him up for many violent confrontations and eventual revelation of the Big Bad . Strangely, Napper settled for an HEA ending. (That's not typical of cyberpunk.)
The author also fell victim to hewing to closely to well worn tropes involving Memory and Family. There was the Amnesiac Hero, Fake Memories, and What Did I Do Last Night?. These are just too well known, and didn’t receive significant riffs. The family angle was a bit too schmaltzy for a genre that typically eschews it. I saw the I Have Your Wife , coming 100-pages away.
The Chrome character was a surprise, not that she appeared, but that she was almost unrecognizable from 36 Streets in act and look. She was a classic cyberpunk character. I also noted she likely has another book appearance coming?
There was: “Sex, drugs, and rock’n roll" music, along with ultraviolence in the story.
Folks had sex. Sexuality was part of the narrative. In fact, it was raunchy. Sex was all heteronormative, but tended to be aggressive. Intoxicants, particularly synthetic drugs were widely in use. In general, there was a bewildering array of synthetic drugs. Tobacco was consumed in “packs per day” quantity. Old fashioned alcohol was consumed in social settings, sometimes in excess. Ebbinghaus had remarkable capacity. This was in-line with traditional hardboiled. I had a problem with him being a functional alcoholic. He wasn’t debilitated enough by the quantity and frequency of his drinking. He must have had a "hollow leg" implant? Music was pervasive in social situations. The AC/DC song “You Shook Me All Night Long” was a plot element in the story. It was surprising that 120-years later that tune was still in play?
The body count was genocidal. The violence was: physical, edged weapons, impact weapons, small arms, and military-grade ordnance. The violence was moderately graphic. Modern technology kept Ebbinghaus ticking, like the Energizer Bunny™, despite frequent, and serious injury. His implants prevented, and “Nanotechnology” healing reversed terrible trauma, if all the pieces could be found. I also noted an absence of sexual violence. I would have thought it went with the territory?
A problem I had with the violence relates to the old adage, “Never bring aknife katana to a gunfight.” Yes, folks got shot-up and blown-up. However, all the thugs and mercenaries in the story were always sporting and expert with medieval edged and impact weapons. These made for great bloodletting. However, its 2100 CE! All the sword, battle ax, and knife fighting left me thinking the story was very much a satirical product of influences?
World building was good in its breadth and detail.
Note that the worldbuilding in the book was the same as found in 36 Streets. Several of the technologies were “sufficiently advanced technologies to be indistinguishable from magic”. For example, “nanomeds”. Almost the full panoply of the cyborg was also in play.
Strategically located on the western bank of China’s Pearl River Delta, Macao’s rich cultural history owes much to its location, and the often strained relationship between China and the west.
A future Macau was well done. Napper had a good grasp of the hybrid culture there.
Napper’s future history was also credible. Some of the weapons were futuristic, like the needle guns and pulse pistols. Although, I would have expected there to be greater change in the intervening 75-years? There were no new, unrecognizable Consumer Products. For example, folks were still lighting, paper rolled, tobacco-filled cigarettes with cigarette lighters. (Pervasive futurism is hard to do.)
Summary
The author wrote a credible, modern cyberpunk novel. The story had good world building for a future East Asia. In many ways it was better written than 36 Streets.
Properly, this should be labeled Chrome Linh Phu AKA Lin Thi Vu Book #2 in the author's Asian Cyberpunk series? I also thought the book's title may be a tad oblique?
I’m a fan of old timey cyberpunk. I’m ambivalent about modern cyberpunk. In particular, I’m not a fan of the ultraviolence that has infiltrated into it from anime. This story felt gratuitously violent, to me, to the detriment of the whole. It would have been better, if the story had been less theatrical (OTT), and stayed closer to its serious notes.
The scenes involving: politics, technology and human limitations were well done. Whilst the scenes related to sex and gender were pretty good. The story was also gritty, a necessary component in both cyberpunk and hardboiled.
The Australian tinged narrative was a refreshing change from the familiar Brit and American narrative of most, contemporary sf.
Classic cyberpunk was tech-oriented. The East Asian cultural infusion, and the bio-technical angle of memory manipulation switched-up the genre here. Although, future tech in Macau and Vietnam also felt a bit uneven extrapolating 75-years into the future.
However, the story was overly long and prone to use too obvious tropes. Pruning-out scenes, particularly the gratuitous combats, would have tightened-up the story. Memory was also a well-trod theme, and Napper didn’t contribute anything that I hadn’t seen before. A more sophisticated use of tropes and a lessor dependence on ultraviolence would have been appreciated.
When I review a good book, I’m harder on it than on a poor one. I liked this story. It was good, but it could have been better. The book was better written than 36 Streets. It was a good piece of narrative craftsmanship. However, Napper needs to learn that, at least with cyberpunk, less is more and less predictable is better.
A recommended read for those interested modern cyberpunk with an east Asian flavor.
Meanwhile, I'm putting the author's Ghost of the Neon God on my TBR.
Relativity (M. C. Escher)
..."You'll be the Escher Man. Stuck inside the painting, walking in an endless loop. An infinite journey to nowhere. To the beginning, again and again, and again. Unable to love, to change to be. That's you, that's where you're headed anyway. The Escher man."My dead pixels version was a moderate 365-pages. A dead tree copy would be likewise. It had a UK 2024 copyright.
T. R. Napper is an Australian science fiction author. He has written four novels, and numerous works of short fiction. This was the second book I’ve read by the author. The first being 36 Streets (my review).
This book is set in the universe of the author’s 36 Streets novel, and shares a main character with it. However, reading that book ahead of this one, whilst helpful is not strictly necessary.
I’m a fan of the obsolescent sci-fi subgenre of Cyberpunk . After reading Napper’s 36 Streets I threw this book, his latest, onto my TBR—near the top. This book, like that one is a good resuscitation of the genre with a peculiar non-Japanese, East Asian flavor.
TL;DR Synopsis
Endel ‘Endgame’ Ebbinghaus worked as an enforcer for a Macau-based Syndicate. He was a violent man. He was also a man without a past. Though the wiping and re-programming of the ubiquitous embedded memory augmentation devices in-use, he either had no memory or memories of a different IRL. Still, there were residual ghosts of a different past in his meat memory. In trying to find his way to who he had been, Ebbinghaus finds that “Quitting the mob is hard to do”.
The Review
Like 36 Streets, this book was modern cyberpunk. It’s more 21st Century, than the 1980’s vintage classic form of the genre by William Gibson , Bruce Sterling , Et al.. It bears a distinct resemblance to Richard K. Morgan's or Paolo Bacigalupi's flavor of this disfavored genre. It’s also more ultraviolent, leaning toward the anime. In places it’s a tad too OTT.
The prose was well-groomed. I found no spelling mistakes or awkward constructions. I found one continuity error. The Titan Publishing Group placed one of their better editors on this book.
Dialog was peculiar. In general, it was quite good, with a general hardboiled Australian flavor. I liked the convention for cochlear implant translation of Chinese and Vietnamese to the protagonist’s native English. One rather charming attribute of Napper’s, wordsmithing, was the Australian protagonist’s authentic dialog and inner dialog. This included the culturally pervasive C*word. Action scenes were Tarantinoesque . This was also an action-heavy story. I came to find it overused. In particular the use of edged weapons was generally OTT. I was disappointed the narrative wasn't more humorous. Descriptive prose was workmanlike.
This book could easily have been 250 vs. about 350 pages. The middle of it contained a violent road trip from Macau to Vietnam. While interesting in providing additional cultural exposure, this change of venue really could have been skipped.
The protagonist was Endel ‘Endgame’ Ebbinghaus. His was the sole POV.
As a leg breaker, Ebbinghaus was a hard man to like. However, except for his competency for mayhem, he was a bloke. He even had family values. Ebbinghause also was an unobtrusive Cyborg with hidden MIL-grade implants to help him break legs. However, as a criminal, his dirty deeds were typically erased or altered to provide an alibi during interrogation, in the absence of hard evidence. (The Memory Gambit.) In an act of betrayal, he had been mind-wiped and embedded with false memories to the point where he didn’t know who he really was and was easily manipulated.
The story also included Chrome Linh Phu AKA Lin Thi Vu from 36 Streets. She was planted in Macau at the end of that story. She was a Beatrix Kiddo-like character from Kill Bill (2003) . (To extend the Tarantinoesque comparison.) Although, she’d become more of a Dragon Lady between the two books. She works for the same Syndicate as Ebbinghaus. She was also an unobtrusive cyborg.
True to the genre, Mr. Long was the antagonist. He was a Faux Manchu character. He was Ebbinghaus’ and Chrome’s boss. Also true to the genre, Mr. Long was
The story also contained a host of supporting characters with some artful, modern Asian riffs on hardboiled arch-types. Interestingly—there were no Lawyers or Physicians, crooked or otherwise. Note the Asian underworld characters had very cool monikers. Ebbinghaus was also not remarkably Tech Savvy being a leg breaker. The genre-specific, technical heavy-lifting on implants tech and the memory alternation and wipe technology that feature largely in the plot was performed by Omissioners. They’re like memory hack0rs. They came in both good and bad flavors.
At its heart, this was a Quest story with Ebbinghaus’s past as the MacGuffin. This set him up for many violent confrontations and eventual revelation of the Big Bad . Strangely, Napper settled for an HEA ending. (That's not typical of cyberpunk.)
The author also fell victim to hewing to closely to well worn tropes involving Memory and Family. There was the Amnesiac Hero, Fake Memories, and What Did I Do Last Night?. These are just too well known, and didn’t receive significant riffs. The family angle was a bit too schmaltzy for a genre that typically eschews it. I saw the I Have Your Wife , coming 100-pages away.
The Chrome character was a surprise, not that she appeared, but that she was almost unrecognizable from 36 Streets in act and look. She was a classic cyberpunk character. I also noted she likely has another book appearance coming?
There was: “Sex, drugs, and rock’n roll" music, along with ultraviolence in the story.
Folks had sex. Sexuality was part of the narrative. In fact, it was raunchy. Sex was all heteronormative, but tended to be aggressive. Intoxicants, particularly synthetic drugs were widely in use. In general, there was a bewildering array of synthetic drugs. Tobacco was consumed in “packs per day” quantity. Old fashioned alcohol was consumed in social settings, sometimes in excess. Ebbinghaus had remarkable capacity. This was in-line with traditional hardboiled. I had a problem with him being a functional alcoholic. He wasn’t debilitated enough by the quantity and frequency of his drinking. He must have had a "hollow leg" implant? Music was pervasive in social situations. The AC/DC song “You Shook Me All Night Long” was a plot element in the story. It was surprising that 120-years later that tune was still in play?
The body count was genocidal. The violence was: physical, edged weapons, impact weapons, small arms, and military-grade ordnance. The violence was moderately graphic. Modern technology kept Ebbinghaus ticking, like the Energizer Bunny™, despite frequent, and serious injury. His implants prevented, and “Nanotechnology” healing reversed terrible trauma, if all the pieces could be found. I also noted an absence of sexual violence. I would have thought it went with the territory?
A problem I had with the violence relates to the old adage, “Never bring a
World building was good in its breadth and detail.
Note that the worldbuilding in the book was the same as found in 36 Streets. Several of the technologies were “sufficiently advanced technologies to be indistinguishable from magic”. For example, “nanomeds”. Almost the full panoply of the cyborg was also in play.
Strategically located on the western bank of China’s Pearl River Delta, Macao’s rich cultural history owes much to its location, and the often strained relationship between China and the west.
A future Macau was well done. Napper had a good grasp of the hybrid culture there.
Napper’s future history was also credible. Some of the weapons were futuristic, like the needle guns and pulse pistols. Although, I would have expected there to be greater change in the intervening 75-years? There were no new, unrecognizable Consumer Products. For example, folks were still lighting, paper rolled, tobacco-filled cigarettes with cigarette lighters. (Pervasive futurism is hard to do.)
Summary
The author wrote a credible, modern cyberpunk novel. The story had good world building for a future East Asia. In many ways it was better written than 36 Streets.
Properly, this should be labeled Chrome Linh Phu AKA Lin Thi Vu Book #2 in the author's Asian Cyberpunk series? I also thought the book's title may be a tad oblique?
I’m a fan of old timey cyberpunk. I’m ambivalent about modern cyberpunk. In particular, I’m not a fan of the ultraviolence that has infiltrated into it from anime. This story felt gratuitously violent, to me, to the detriment of the whole. It would have been better, if the story had been less theatrical (OTT), and stayed closer to its serious notes.
The scenes involving: politics, technology and human limitations were well done. Whilst the scenes related to sex and gender were pretty good. The story was also gritty, a necessary component in both cyberpunk and hardboiled.
The Australian tinged narrative was a refreshing change from the familiar Brit and American narrative of most, contemporary sf.
Classic cyberpunk was tech-oriented. The East Asian cultural infusion, and the bio-technical angle of memory manipulation switched-up the genre here. Although, future tech in Macau and Vietnam also felt a bit uneven extrapolating 75-years into the future.
However, the story was overly long and prone to use too obvious tropes. Pruning-out scenes, particularly the gratuitous combats, would have tightened-up the story. Memory was also a well-trod theme, and Napper didn’t contribute anything that I hadn’t seen before. A more sophisticated use of tropes and a lessor dependence on ultraviolence would have been appreciated.
When I review a good book, I’m harder on it than on a poor one. I liked this story. It was good, but it could have been better. The book was better written than 36 Streets. It was a good piece of narrative craftsmanship. However, Napper needs to learn that, at least with cyberpunk, less is more and less predictable is better.
A recommended read for those interested modern cyberpunk with an east Asian flavor.
Meanwhile, I'm putting the author's Ghost of the Neon God on my TBR.
August 30, 2024
Take John Wick, mix with Memento and Cyberpunk and you will get The Escher Man: an action-packed memory SciFi for people who love thrillers.
Good ideas, excellent pacing, memorable characters (ahah), clear narrative (despite the difficult type of story playing with the memory of our gangster hero Endgame). I enjoyed the story, even if it was more action-based than what I normally go for, and the main character who is never as violent, or emotionless, or ethic-blind as he should be if he was that "violent man" he thought he was.
I loved the touches of humour to punctuate the hard-hitting corruption and recommend to people who liked the movies and games cited above.
Good ideas, excellent pacing, memorable characters (ahah), clear narrative (despite the difficult type of story playing with the memory of our gangster hero Endgame). I enjoyed the story, even if it was more action-based than what I normally go for, and the main character who is never as violent, or emotionless, or ethic-blind as he should be if he was that "violent man" he thought he was.
I loved the touches of humour to punctuate the hard-hitting corruption and recommend to people who liked the movies and games cited above.
September 18, 2024
4.5 stars, rounded up. A grim, glittering, hyper violent cyberpunk journey that delves into the fickle nature of memory and what it means to be human in a near-future corporate technocracy. Through the augmented lens of a protagonist struggling to remember his past, this novel is both beautifully personal and eerily prophetic.
January 7, 2025
Objectively a 4 star book, but for me personally somewhat less, only because cyberpunk is not really my thing.
That said there are so many reasons to like this book.
The writing is clean and has a visual and juicy cinematic feel. The story is fast paced and action filled, colourful and violent in equal measure. The overall impression is something like the frenetic yet stylish film, Bullet Train. A terrific book for people who like this kind of near future action thriller, and even though I’m not one of them, it was still reasonably enjoyable for me.
That said there are so many reasons to like this book.
The writing is clean and has a visual and juicy cinematic feel. The story is fast paced and action filled, colourful and violent in equal measure. The overall impression is something like the frenetic yet stylish film, Bullet Train. A terrific book for people who like this kind of near future action thriller, and even though I’m not one of them, it was still reasonably enjoyable for me.
October 21, 2024
Endel ‘Endgame’ Ebbinghaus is an enforcer for the Macau mob. He spends his days beating people up for money, then pissing it all away at the bar or casino, filled with regret for his broken marriage and lost children.
If, any of this is actually true, that is.
Because for years, Endel’s mind has been wiped, and his memory pin reprogrammed by the ruthless cartel boss, Mr Long. Things begin to unravel when by accident, Endel bumps into his ex-wife and she refers to events that don’t match his memory - and now the story moves up a gear.
Rather than another ‘Chopper Read,’ the more Endel learns about his real past, the more complex and interesting he becomes, and the more we barrack for him in his quest to save his wife and baby daughters, and to take revenge on the psychotic masters of Macau. Will Endel beat the system, or is he doomed to be subsumed back into it; become an ‘Escher’ man, eternally walking up a staircase, lost without memory in a loop of subjective reality?
This is cyberpunk. There’s tons of action, violence and coarse language. Outside it’s forty degrees in the shade, the ocean is grey and dying. Inside meanwhile, people argue and fight and die for chips of plastic.
If this all sounds bleak, don’t worry! The writing is witty and sophisticated, and the Australian protagonist puts our rich slang to great use. I listened to this on audio book (with Aussie narrator) and loved every minute of it.
Escher Man is compelling, original and great fun. I strongly recommend it.
For my Instagram read and review thing, go here: https://www.instagram.com/p/DBQVSsKI_Vo/
If, any of this is actually true, that is.
Because for years, Endel’s mind has been wiped, and his memory pin reprogrammed by the ruthless cartel boss, Mr Long. Things begin to unravel when by accident, Endel bumps into his ex-wife and she refers to events that don’t match his memory - and now the story moves up a gear.
Rather than another ‘Chopper Read,’ the more Endel learns about his real past, the more complex and interesting he becomes, and the more we barrack for him in his quest to save his wife and baby daughters, and to take revenge on the psychotic masters of Macau. Will Endel beat the system, or is he doomed to be subsumed back into it; become an ‘Escher’ man, eternally walking up a staircase, lost without memory in a loop of subjective reality?
This is cyberpunk. There’s tons of action, violence and coarse language. Outside it’s forty degrees in the shade, the ocean is grey and dying. Inside meanwhile, people argue and fight and die for chips of plastic.
If this all sounds bleak, don’t worry! The writing is witty and sophisticated, and the Australian protagonist puts our rich slang to great use. I listened to this on audio book (with Aussie narrator) and loved every minute of it.
Escher Man is compelling, original and great fun. I strongly recommend it.
For my Instagram read and review thing, go here: https://www.instagram.com/p/DBQVSsKI_Vo/
January 28, 2025
Libro da 6 stelle!!!
Era tanto che non leggevo un cyberpunk così ispirato e allo stesso tempo moderno..
Riesce ad creare le stesse suggestioni di neon e impianti del classico cyberpunk, unito all'azione di Balde Runner o di Altered Carbon, ma con una sua anima dannatamente attuale e profonda..
Ambientato nella Cina del 2100, tra Macao, Shangai e il confine vietnamita, fonde in modo perfetto i sapori orientali fatti di spezie, templi e confusione, con il post modernismo di impianti cocleari, innesti nano tecnologici e miglioramenti fisici estremi...
Personaggi amorali, violenti e duri da abbattere tipici del neo-noir, impegnati in combattimenti e inseguimenti mai uguali o ridondanti..
Il tutto ruota attorno al decadimento della memoria che l umanità sta subendo, all'uso di dispositivi cocleari che registrano grazie a nanotecnologie che implementano il nervo ottico, cervello e altri sensi, e che aiutano a ricordare..
Ma che succede se queste memorie possono essere manomesse? E se vengono impiantati falsi ricordi? E se cancellati altri? Questo permette a killer professionisti di uccidere barbaramente e poi cancellare i rimorsi.. possono aiutare a superare certi problemi.. ma se i ricordi sono ciò che ci definisce, chi diventiamo poi? Manipolazioni assurde, sovrascrizioni, cancellazioni, abusi, soprusi, condizionamento e molto altro, il tutto in modo così originale e così realistico..
Seguendo il protagonista in prima persona, scopriremo le cose come le vive lui, con tanti salti, incongruenze, cambi improvvisi e spiazzanti.. che cosa è reale? Che cosa no?
In un'ottovolante di emozioni, azione e interessanti riflessioni su ciò che ci rende ciò che siamo, Napper crea una trama fitta e complessa, mai noiosa o banale, in una moderna e violenta attualizzazione del cyberpunk degna dei maestri del genere!!!
E che mi ha fatto recuperare ogni altra sua pubblicazione subito..
Era tanto che non leggevo un cyberpunk così ispirato e allo stesso tempo moderno..
Riesce ad creare le stesse suggestioni di neon e impianti del classico cyberpunk, unito all'azione di Balde Runner o di Altered Carbon, ma con una sua anima dannatamente attuale e profonda..
Ambientato nella Cina del 2100, tra Macao, Shangai e il confine vietnamita, fonde in modo perfetto i sapori orientali fatti di spezie, templi e confusione, con il post modernismo di impianti cocleari, innesti nano tecnologici e miglioramenti fisici estremi...
Personaggi amorali, violenti e duri da abbattere tipici del neo-noir, impegnati in combattimenti e inseguimenti mai uguali o ridondanti..
Il tutto ruota attorno al decadimento della memoria che l umanità sta subendo, all'uso di dispositivi cocleari che registrano grazie a nanotecnologie che implementano il nervo ottico, cervello e altri sensi, e che aiutano a ricordare..
Ma che succede se queste memorie possono essere manomesse? E se vengono impiantati falsi ricordi? E se cancellati altri? Questo permette a killer professionisti di uccidere barbaramente e poi cancellare i rimorsi.. possono aiutare a superare certi problemi.. ma se i ricordi sono ciò che ci definisce, chi diventiamo poi? Manipolazioni assurde, sovrascrizioni, cancellazioni, abusi, soprusi, condizionamento e molto altro, il tutto in modo così originale e così realistico..
Seguendo il protagonista in prima persona, scopriremo le cose come le vive lui, con tanti salti, incongruenze, cambi improvvisi e spiazzanti.. che cosa è reale? Che cosa no?
In un'ottovolante di emozioni, azione e interessanti riflessioni su ciò che ci rende ciò che siamo, Napper crea una trama fitta e complessa, mai noiosa o banale, in una moderna e violenta attualizzazione del cyberpunk degna dei maestri del genere!!!
E che mi ha fatto recuperare ogni altra sua pubblicazione subito..
June 28, 2025
I knew Napper was one to watch, and I was right. Tucked inside an homage to old school, techno thriller progenitors Escher Man genuflects with gun play and cybernetic appendages and mob bosses, then more than nodding to a the South Asian inspired trappings of the first generation of cyberpunk.
But it doesn’t take long for it to reveal more complex ideas that unfurl from the fun window dressing. Exploring ideas and theories around neurology, the aptly named title manages a very nice marriage of late/current cyberpunk writing; where the ideas are central and benefit from the knowledge of where technology is now, a more holistic approach to the sector as a whole than the pure technophobic stance prior. The real jewel, though, is Nappers clear and apparent knowledge of South Asian culture that was sorely lacking in less… nuanced renderings in early cyberpunk (and sometimes a still reoccurring program).
What we end up with is a layered, compelling form-meets-function story that manages to comment, but also target key, interesting and relevant fields that cyberpunk should be getting its hands into for some time. The themes are sometimes there: memory, its key to making an individual who they are; How our minds are altered by the ways in which we consume our entertainment, information, and socialize.
It sticks very much on point with the not-bright but not dumb enforcer lout who isn’t an entire POS, but is mostly compromised by what he’s had to/been made to do. Plenty of throwback corny dialogue, with the meta commentary interplay. Lots of guns blasting and tough guy maneuvering.
The recursion of the story is what really makes it for me, however. If it was just another fun cyberpunk story, I’d have still loved it. What makes this a gem, and really stand out, though, is what is present in his past works too: a demonstrable knowledge of the sub-genre and what it’s mostly said on certain subjects, as well as the critical reception of certain aspects—and the contribution to them with new, interesting ideas the are in concert with them. All with the trappings people crave from the intentionally-ironic-I’m-sure old school cyberpunk stories.
My favourite current author contributing to the sub-genre, by my mile.
But it doesn’t take long for it to reveal more complex ideas that unfurl from the fun window dressing. Exploring ideas and theories around neurology, the aptly named title manages a very nice marriage of late/current cyberpunk writing; where the ideas are central and benefit from the knowledge of where technology is now, a more holistic approach to the sector as a whole than the pure technophobic stance prior. The real jewel, though, is Nappers clear and apparent knowledge of South Asian culture that was sorely lacking in less… nuanced renderings in early cyberpunk (and sometimes a still reoccurring program).
What we end up with is a layered, compelling form-meets-function story that manages to comment, but also target key, interesting and relevant fields that cyberpunk should be getting its hands into for some time. The themes are sometimes there: memory, its key to making an individual who they are; How our minds are altered by the ways in which we consume our entertainment, information, and socialize.
It sticks very much on point with the not-bright but not dumb enforcer lout who isn’t an entire POS, but is mostly compromised by what he’s had to/been made to do. Plenty of throwback corny dialogue, with the meta commentary interplay. Lots of guns blasting and tough guy maneuvering.
The recursion of the story is what really makes it for me, however. If it was just another fun cyberpunk story, I’d have still loved it. What makes this a gem, and really stand out, though, is what is present in his past works too: a demonstrable knowledge of the sub-genre and what it’s mostly said on certain subjects, as well as the critical reception of certain aspects—and the contribution to them with new, interesting ideas the are in concert with them. All with the trappings people crave from the intentionally-ironic-I’m-sure old school cyberpunk stories.
My favourite current author contributing to the sub-genre, by my mile.
July 16, 2025
A brilliant thriller that utilizes the evolution of technology and human memory as a moving plot device. can't wait to read more from this man
Read
November 8, 2024Why I Read This:
36 Streets blew me away and coming off the back of such a brilliant book, I had gone and bought most of Napper’s other titles. I kept them there on my shelf, saving them up for a time when all the other books in the world were letting me down. Things were not quite so dire when I started The Escher Man but I was definitely in a reading lull.
My Impression:
This book delivered the goods. I found myself sucked back into the world of 36 Streets but with a totally different character who had a story of his own to tell. Endel ‘Endgame’ Ebbinghaus is an Australian tough guy, beating heads in Macau. He is “a violent man,” as he keeps telling himself. He had a wife, a kid, a life of some kind, but all of that is lost in the memory wipes that he willingly consents to in order to operate as a killing machine.
Napper takes the reader on a journey where reality is not what it seems and where the real battle is not to win a gangland war but to recover Edel’s sense of self and personal agency. Endel is not a great person. We don’t want him to survive because he is a moral asset but because his plight represents a broader struggle for agency in a world that thrives on the slavery of the mind.
When you pull back the sci-fi amplifications, it is easy to recognise similar features of mind manipulation in today’s society. What makes the book so important is that Napper shows, in glaring detail, how the individual consents to their own enslavement. They give up the very thing that makes them human, as if it doesn’t matter. Why do you let this happen? Why do you let them do this to you? I don’t know, I can’t remember.
But when we make the decision to fight for this precious thing we call the ‘self,’ it is not so easy to define. Are we our memories? Our subconscious urges? Our instincts? Does the body know what the mind has forgotten? Do we trust those who witness us from the outside–the external storage systems of self?
It’s a brilliant book. Go read it (except if you are trying to quit smoking, in which case, you might very well crack).
Craft-Related Notes:
-Napper captures the feel of Blade Runner where the city is a mutilation of something that was once human. We have lost something precious, we don’t know what it is. It keeps raining, the corrupt structures are so elaborate we may never get out, and yet humanity glimmers in the dark, love tugs at us from the recesses of memory, and the choice is still there for us to salvage something real.
-Napper’s style is compact and complex. I found this with 36 Streets as well. He never fatigues the reader’s comprehension and yet he communicates deep and fascinating ideas about the nature of memory, identity and consciousness. Ideas that are purified and distilled in such a way that I still find myself comparing his writing to a good whisky.
36 Streets blew me away and coming off the back of such a brilliant book, I had gone and bought most of Napper’s other titles. I kept them there on my shelf, saving them up for a time when all the other books in the world were letting me down. Things were not quite so dire when I started The Escher Man but I was definitely in a reading lull.
My Impression:
This book delivered the goods. I found myself sucked back into the world of 36 Streets but with a totally different character who had a story of his own to tell. Endel ‘Endgame’ Ebbinghaus is an Australian tough guy, beating heads in Macau. He is “a violent man,” as he keeps telling himself. He had a wife, a kid, a life of some kind, but all of that is lost in the memory wipes that he willingly consents to in order to operate as a killing machine.
Napper takes the reader on a journey where reality is not what it seems and where the real battle is not to win a gangland war but to recover Edel’s sense of self and personal agency. Endel is not a great person. We don’t want him to survive because he is a moral asset but because his plight represents a broader struggle for agency in a world that thrives on the slavery of the mind.
When you pull back the sci-fi amplifications, it is easy to recognise similar features of mind manipulation in today’s society. What makes the book so important is that Napper shows, in glaring detail, how the individual consents to their own enslavement. They give up the very thing that makes them human, as if it doesn’t matter. Why do you let this happen? Why do you let them do this to you? I don’t know, I can’t remember.
But when we make the decision to fight for this precious thing we call the ‘self,’ it is not so easy to define. Are we our memories? Our subconscious urges? Our instincts? Does the body know what the mind has forgotten? Do we trust those who witness us from the outside–the external storage systems of self?
It’s a brilliant book. Go read it (except if you are trying to quit smoking, in which case, you might very well crack).
Craft-Related Notes:
-Napper captures the feel of Blade Runner where the city is a mutilation of something that was once human. We have lost something precious, we don’t know what it is. It keeps raining, the corrupt structures are so elaborate we may never get out, and yet humanity glimmers in the dark, love tugs at us from the recesses of memory, and the choice is still there for us to salvage something real.
-Napper’s style is compact and complex. I found this with 36 Streets as well. He never fatigues the reader’s comprehension and yet he communicates deep and fascinating ideas about the nature of memory, identity and consciousness. Ideas that are purified and distilled in such a way that I still find myself comparing his writing to a good whisky.
September 12, 2024
T.R. Napper’s The Escher Man is a gripping sci-fi thriller that plunges you into a dystopian future where memory manipulation is the ultimate weapon. The story follows Endel "Endgame" Ebbinghaus, the head of security for a powerful drug cartel in Macau, as he battles not only external enemies but also the erasure and rewriting of his own memories. Haunted by the fragments of his estranged family and his desire for a way out, Endel finds himself trapped in a labyrinth of his own mind, unable to distinguish friend from foe—or even his own true identity.
With a distinct Blade Runner-esque atmosphere, Napper masterfully combines vivid cyberpunk world-building with fast-paced action. The setting, rich with the neon-drenched chaos of Asian megacities, adds an immersive backdrop to the twisting, psychological narrative. The violent sequences are sharp and unrelenting, keeping the tension high throughout. Yet, at the core of this story is the deep, emotional struggle of a man searching for redemption and freedom in a world that has weaponized his very thoughts.
Fans of cyberpunk and psychological thrillers will appreciate The Escher Man for its complex narrative, compelling protagonist, and the philosophical exploration of memory and identity. It’s a dark, thought-provoking, and action-packed ride that offers plenty of twists along the way.
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book.
With a distinct Blade Runner-esque atmosphere, Napper masterfully combines vivid cyberpunk world-building with fast-paced action. The setting, rich with the neon-drenched chaos of Asian megacities, adds an immersive backdrop to the twisting, psychological narrative. The violent sequences are sharp and unrelenting, keeping the tension high throughout. Yet, at the core of this story is the deep, emotional struggle of a man searching for redemption and freedom in a world that has weaponized his very thoughts.
Fans of cyberpunk and psychological thrillers will appreciate The Escher Man for its complex narrative, compelling protagonist, and the philosophical exploration of memory and identity. It’s a dark, thought-provoking, and action-packed ride that offers plenty of twists along the way.
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book.
August 14, 2024
Absolutely top-shelf cyberpunk from Napper, as always. Grim, gritty, and action packed, this is the book for you if you're looking for bleak futures, cybered-up crime syndicates, and dark conspiracies. Can't recommend highly enough!
September 20, 2024
The Escher Man is a trippy story about a hired killer working in Macau whose memories have been tampered with. In this future, people have memory pins that hold memories for storage, sharing, and, apparently, uploading altered versions. And this works great if you routinely kill people but don’t want to think about it, or if you want to hide information about your family to keep them safe from anyone who might be torturing you today. And if you hide this information from yourself, how do you get those memories back?
As if he were on the famous Escher staircase, the hired killer goes from one job to the next, never really gaining ground, until he has a chance to bring a corrupt system down and reunite with his family. I quite liked this dark and mysterious sci-fi tale, narrated with an Aussie accent!
My thanks to the author, publisher, producer, and #NetGalley for access to the #EscherMan audiobook for review purposes. It is currently available.
As if he were on the famous Escher staircase, the hired killer goes from one job to the next, never really gaining ground, until he has a chance to bring a corrupt system down and reunite with his family. I quite liked this dark and mysterious sci-fi tale, narrated with an Aussie accent!
My thanks to the author, publisher, producer, and #NetGalley for access to the #EscherMan audiobook for review purposes. It is currently available.
February 25, 2025
started off strong, capturing my interest with its intriguing premise and sharp writing. However, as the story progressed, it became overly long and convoluted, losing the initial clarity and excitement. The plot twists and complex narratives that initially drew me in began to tangle, making the book feel like it would have been better suited to a TV show format, where visual storytelling might have clarified and enhanced the intricate developments. While it has its merits, the novel might have achieved more impact with tighter editing and a more streamlined story.
September 19, 2024
I really enjoyed The Escher Man!
It's about Endel ‘Endgame’ Ebbinghaus, a violent man, that is head of security for the boss of a drug cartel.
He is also a father and husband, haunted by the memories of his family and the life they once had, and he wants them back.
In a world where memory manipulation is a weapon of the powerful and with his memories being wiped and re-written. Endel can’t tell friends and enemies apart anymore, and now he must find a way to escape the labyrinth they’ve made of his mind and take revenge.
The Escher Man was a really entertaining read! It's a cyberpunk novel, which made me really excited as while I'm a huge fan of cyberpunk, I've never actually read a book in the genre. This was a great first one to read, and as the author has more books set in the same world. I'll definitely be reading them at some point!
The plot was great and kept me on my toes, and it was always surprising me.
The action was top-notch and was just as violent as you would expect. It was so much fun to read, and to be honest, this would really make an amazing movie!
The world building was great and probably my favourite part and just what you would expect from a cyberpunk world. I really loved it!
Endel was also a great character, though not the most likeable or even a reliable narrator, but I still really liked him. I especially loved his relationship with his family!
The Escher Man was definitely a great book that I highly recommend!
The last thing I want to say is I'm actually a huge fan of the Cyberpunk 2077 game, and if you love the game, I would recommend reading this book as well!
It's about Endel ‘Endgame’ Ebbinghaus, a violent man, that is head of security for the boss of a drug cartel.
He is also a father and husband, haunted by the memories of his family and the life they once had, and he wants them back.
In a world where memory manipulation is a weapon of the powerful and with his memories being wiped and re-written. Endel can’t tell friends and enemies apart anymore, and now he must find a way to escape the labyrinth they’ve made of his mind and take revenge.
The Escher Man was a really entertaining read! It's a cyberpunk novel, which made me really excited as while I'm a huge fan of cyberpunk, I've never actually read a book in the genre. This was a great first one to read, and as the author has more books set in the same world. I'll definitely be reading them at some point!
The plot was great and kept me on my toes, and it was always surprising me.
The action was top-notch and was just as violent as you would expect. It was so much fun to read, and to be honest, this would really make an amazing movie!
The world building was great and probably my favourite part and just what you would expect from a cyberpunk world. I really loved it!
Endel was also a great character, though not the most likeable or even a reliable narrator, but I still really liked him. I especially loved his relationship with his family!
The Escher Man was definitely a great book that I highly recommend!
The last thing I want to say is I'm actually a huge fan of the Cyberpunk 2077 game, and if you love the game, I would recommend reading this book as well!
November 25, 2024
Though it’s his newest published, Napper describes this book as being 10 years in the works, making it by far his oldest feature length novel, and it shows. It still kept me interested, the action scenes are decent, settings interesting. But the prose is stilted at times, not nearly as advanced and well written as 36 Streets or even the fantastic short stories collection Neon Leviathan. Also, i know the narrator is unreliable, written on first person from a man whose memory is constantly wiped, but i don’t think the reader should have to search and find that kind of reasoning to excuse repeating scenery descriptions like the ‘soy chicken wings’ and ‘milky way across the sky’. Recommended still but nothing groundbreaking.
November 18, 2024
I kept going back between 4 and 5 stars on this one. Napper's brand of cyberpunk channels the mainstream classics of the genre in both its strengths (action sequences, technological speculation, and gritty noir world-building) and its weaknesses (testosterone fueled, cis heteronormative, and cultural stereotypes).
I had spent a little bit of time writing about Orientalism in this review and whether Napper fetishizes Asian culture, but I don't think I'm necessarily the right person to make that call. As he has actual lived experience in the region he writes about, I think he mostly does a better job treating those cultures with respect than some of the authors he is channeling. Ultimately, though, like I said, I don't think I'm really able to fully make that call. Us Americans seem to be weirder and often more sensitive about race things than Australians seem to be. Probably because our culture has done significantly less to even begin to address systemic racial injustices in our society.
Did some aspects of the main antagonist, Mr. Long, and some of the nicknames seem a little too much for me? Yeah, a little, but other than recognizing that and mentioning it in my review, there isn't much I can do about it except wait and listen to the opinions of people who are actually stakeholders in the issue. Other people's mileage may vary, and I think just recognizing that as a weakness of the book and discussing it is honestly a good enough place to start. Ultimately, like so much cyberpunk, the main antagonist is not the human villain, but rather the extractive ultra capitalist system and the corporations within it. Mr. Long ultimately just serves as a factotum of that system.
All things considered, this book reads like a cyberpunk take on a gritty Hong Kong action movie even if it's mostly set in Macau. It did a lot of things right, and I've put forth my two cents on what I thought it did wrong.
I had spent a little bit of time writing about Orientalism in this review and whether Napper fetishizes Asian culture, but I don't think I'm necessarily the right person to make that call. As he has actual lived experience in the region he writes about, I think he mostly does a better job treating those cultures with respect than some of the authors he is channeling. Ultimately, though, like I said, I don't think I'm really able to fully make that call. Us Americans seem to be weirder and often more sensitive about race things than Australians seem to be. Probably because our culture has done significantly less to even begin to address systemic racial injustices in our society.
Did some aspects of the main antagonist, Mr. Long, and some of the nicknames seem a little too much for me? Yeah, a little, but other than recognizing that and mentioning it in my review, there isn't much I can do about it except wait and listen to the opinions of people who are actually stakeholders in the issue. Other people's mileage may vary, and I think just recognizing that as a weakness of the book and discussing it is honestly a good enough place to start. Ultimately, like so much cyberpunk, the main antagonist is not the human villain, but rather the extractive ultra capitalist system and the corporations within it. Mr. Long ultimately just serves as a factotum of that system.
All things considered, this book reads like a cyberpunk take on a gritty Hong Kong action movie even if it's mostly set in Macau. It did a lot of things right, and I've put forth my two cents on what I thought it did wrong.
May 7, 2025
A grim tale of Endel, a violent henchman with a tortured history who's losing himself in drink and gambling. Just as this was getting a bit tiring, the deeper story unfolds and you realise our protagonist is as much a victim himself - that his memory could be unreliable, and if true, is he really who he thinks he is?
Napper posits that our identity is, to a large extent, the product of our memories, and explores what happens when a technology (memory pins) makes that a flexible concept. This sometimes makes for a challenging read, as Endel's memory issues make him an unreliable first-person narrator and memory resets trigger narrative resets just as I'd become invested in a new setup, leading to a very stop-start flow. I also felt Endel's character lacked development - we peel back the violent gangster to find just another violent gangster underneath which felt like a missed opportunity. There wasn't a lot to like about him and he never really redeemed himself.
More a thriller than cyberpunk, the narrative feels like an extended hyper-violent gangster movie cut with a large dollop of Momento. I would have liked to spend more time exploring the wider dystopia that had been created by the use of memory pins rather than staying so tightly focused on the gangsters and their haunts. On the plus side, I really liked the imaginative tech, the Asian flavour, and the family scenes and relationships were well done. But overall it failed to make the most of exploring the implications of fungible memory and identity, and was too preoccupied with the violence - more John Wick than Momento.
Napper posits that our identity is, to a large extent, the product of our memories, and explores what happens when a technology (memory pins) makes that a flexible concept. This sometimes makes for a challenging read, as Endel's memory issues make him an unreliable first-person narrator and memory resets trigger narrative resets just as I'd become invested in a new setup, leading to a very stop-start flow. I also felt Endel's character lacked development - we peel back the violent gangster to find just another violent gangster underneath which felt like a missed opportunity. There wasn't a lot to like about him and he never really redeemed himself.
More a thriller than cyberpunk, the narrative feels like an extended hyper-violent gangster movie cut with a large dollop of Momento. I would have liked to spend more time exploring the wider dystopia that had been created by the use of memory pins rather than staying so tightly focused on the gangsters and their haunts. On the plus side, I really liked the imaginative tech, the Asian flavour, and the family scenes and relationships were well done. But overall it failed to make the most of exploring the implications of fungible memory and identity, and was too preoccupied with the violence - more John Wick than Momento.
February 9, 2025
This one checks all the boxes for me when it comes to noir cyberpunk novel.
Endel "Endgame" Ebbinghouse is cold-blooded enforcer for Macau crime Syndicate led by mysterious Mr. Long. What makes Endgame's job specific is the fact that he gets his memory wiped after every action thus becoming impenetrable to any police investigation. And Endgame is OK with this until something starts to nag at him - if he is such a man of violence how is it possible he can have a relationship with his estranged wife and kids of the sorts he has? His wife wants to talk to him, she wants his children to see him - how is this possible if he is such a horror of a man? So Endgame starts the investigation, of course he does not disclose it to the rest of the syndicate and very soon he finds himself in the middle of the maze - not knowing how he got there and where is he going towards. People around him seem - you know sort-of-a - to know more, but how to trust them since they are in the same business as Endgame?
Author manages to describe this - vertigo? - feeling our hero has of not being able to figure out if he is in control or just driven like a drone very vividly. How can one decide to forego all his memories, what makes the person the person one is. Sum of experiences, views on life ..... everything, abandoned for the services to Syndicate. Endgame justifies this by need to be free of incriminating evidence, and also as a means of protecting his family, but is that truly the case? Or is it just for Syndicate? What Endgame discovers just keeps growing and growing and escalating, until the end (of course, all knowledge is bought by blood, as in Endgame's blood).
From Macau, Southern China, to Northern Vietnam - Endgame goes through the motions and comes across people that shed ever more light on his circumstances. He is not super capable spy hero, nor someone that can fight through insurmountable odds - he gets caught, gets kicked around but he manages to pick himself up and move on. And when he comes across something he cannot understand he applies his trickery and aggression to create such mayhem that he forces all the filth to pop up. Now, in most cases this bites him in his a*** but again it is not like Endgame is subtle to begin with.
He is very much like Takeshi Kovacs, if Kovacs would actually decide to end his life as mortal. Reason why Endgame is not such a complete cynic is because he is living normal life span, while Kovacs' stack allows him to live for centuries [and after a while see rest of humanity in not so positive light]. But if there was ever a SF character that got close to Kovacs (of course, I can only relate to my book-shelf) then it is Endgame.
Supporting characters are also superb, from various enforcers, mercenaries, to mysterious Mr. Long, Chrome, Jain and kids, not to forget Axe, and Ommissioners (memory doctors), specially the one in the experimental village in Vietnam.
Action scenes, as a matter entire prose is so lean and full of energy. Only reason it took me a week to go through it was because of work (argh :)) Whenever I would find some free time and sit down I would go through chapters in minutes.
Theme of the book is of course corporatism and memory manipulation. The former is usually inseparable from the genre but latter is what gave me creeps. imagine being able to control the thoughts of masses? Being able to implant false memories or ideas to support this or that. It is wet dream of any foreign policy (and lately, as events show from last few years, of internal policy structures too). This is in my opinion the ultimate nightmare. Constant relaxation of the brain power and reliance on external sources as sources of truth makes people pliable to this type of exploitation. Horror. While Inception comes to mind when one thinks about this subject, The Escher Man presents this approach to mind control on a more industrial level, and thus more terrifying.
And finally what I especially liked - and which is something so needed in this genre (I am starting to like this word :)) - is ending. Pure gold.
If you are looking for a book that is baby of Hardwired and Altered Carbon - look no further. If you are looking for a good crime, action adventure - look no further. If you want to read perfect Cyberpunk novel - look no further.
Highly, highly recommended. One of the best books I have read so far.
Endel "Endgame" Ebbinghouse is cold-blooded enforcer for Macau crime Syndicate led by mysterious Mr. Long. What makes Endgame's job specific is the fact that he gets his memory wiped after every action thus becoming impenetrable to any police investigation. And Endgame is OK with this until something starts to nag at him - if he is such a man of violence how is it possible he can have a relationship with his estranged wife and kids of the sorts he has? His wife wants to talk to him, she wants his children to see him - how is this possible if he is such a horror of a man? So Endgame starts the investigation, of course he does not disclose it to the rest of the syndicate and very soon he finds himself in the middle of the maze - not knowing how he got there and where is he going towards. People around him seem - you know sort-of-a - to know more, but how to trust them since they are in the same business as Endgame?
Author manages to describe this - vertigo? - feeling our hero has of not being able to figure out if he is in control or just driven like a drone very vividly. How can one decide to forego all his memories, what makes the person the person one is. Sum of experiences, views on life ..... everything, abandoned for the services to Syndicate. Endgame justifies this by need to be free of incriminating evidence, and also as a means of protecting his family, but is that truly the case? Or is it just for Syndicate? What Endgame discovers just keeps growing and growing and escalating, until the end (of course, all knowledge is bought by blood, as in Endgame's blood).
From Macau, Southern China, to Northern Vietnam - Endgame goes through the motions and comes across people that shed ever more light on his circumstances. He is not super capable spy hero, nor someone that can fight through insurmountable odds - he gets caught, gets kicked around but he manages to pick himself up and move on. And when he comes across something he cannot understand he applies his trickery and aggression to create such mayhem that he forces all the filth to pop up. Now, in most cases this bites him in his a*** but again it is not like Endgame is subtle to begin with.
He is very much like Takeshi Kovacs, if Kovacs would actually decide to end his life as mortal. Reason why Endgame is not such a complete cynic is because he is living normal life span, while Kovacs' stack allows him to live for centuries [and after a while see rest of humanity in not so positive light]. But if there was ever a SF character that got close to Kovacs (of course, I can only relate to my book-shelf) then it is Endgame.
Supporting characters are also superb, from various enforcers, mercenaries, to mysterious Mr. Long, Chrome, Jain and kids, not to forget Axe, and Ommissioners (memory doctors), specially the one in the experimental village in Vietnam.
Action scenes, as a matter entire prose is so lean and full of energy. Only reason it took me a week to go through it was because of work (argh :)) Whenever I would find some free time and sit down I would go through chapters in minutes.
Theme of the book is of course corporatism and memory manipulation. The former is usually inseparable from the genre but latter is what gave me creeps. imagine being able to control the thoughts of masses? Being able to implant false memories or ideas to support this or that. It is wet dream of any foreign policy (and lately, as events show from last few years, of internal policy structures too). This is in my opinion the ultimate nightmare. Constant relaxation of the brain power and reliance on external sources as sources of truth makes people pliable to this type of exploitation. Horror. While Inception comes to mind when one thinks about this subject, The Escher Man presents this approach to mind control on a more industrial level, and thus more terrifying.
And finally what I especially liked - and which is something so needed in this genre (I am starting to like this word :)) - is ending. Pure gold.
If you are looking for a book that is baby of Hardwired and Altered Carbon - look no further. If you are looking for a good crime, action adventure - look no further. If you want to read perfect Cyberpunk novel - look no further.
Highly, highly recommended. One of the best books I have read so far.
October 10, 2024
3.5⭐️ rounded up
I would like to thank NetGalley and Titan Books for the eARC (my first ever ARC!).
In The Escher Man, we follow Endel "Endgame" Ebbinghaus, who finds himself working as the muscle for Mr. Long, the head of a large and powerful drug cartel in Macau. Humanity's technology has advanced to the point where they can make enhancements to their bodies (think artificial joints that increase speed and strength and more), and one of these advancements is the invention of a memory pin. The memory pin acts as a sort of SD card you slot in behind your ear that records up to three years of memory, including senses. As people become more and more dependent on these memory pins, their natural ability to remember things begins to decrease until they rely entirely on the pins for their memories. Endgame is in this category, however he begins to realize that things don't quite add up. His memories don't match the news, or the memories of his coworkers and family, and he realizes that his memories, personality, thoughts, all of it, are being manipulated and rewritten. And so begins Endgame's quest for truth and freedom.
I requested this ARC because of how intrigued I was by its premise. For those who have played Cyberpunk 2077, this is HEAVY on those vibes. Basically a sci-fi/cyberpunk/mafia adventure that was a lot of fun. I also think it provides some critical commentary on the control we allow tech companies to have in our lives, which is becoming more and more important as technology continues to advance at an exponential rate. I enjoyed the mafia vibes, the technology, the action scenes, and I thought the mystery of it all was very fun as well.
Where I struggled with this one was the narration. For me, a major part of my enjoyment of books is developing connections to characters, and I found my connection with Endgame lacking. I think this is due to the combination of the narration (first-person) and the premise of the book (memory loss). Reading a story in first-person narrative about someone who has no grasp on their identity, their true nature, or their life experiences, makes it very difficult to connect with the character. I think this would have been better as a longer book, allowing for more time to connect with Endgame, or as a third-person narrative style. Because I struggled to connect, I found it hard at times to care about what was happening.
That being said, I did still thoroughly enjoy this read and think that fans of sci-fi and cyberpunk will have a good time with this futuristic, mafia, sci-fi adventure.
I would like to thank NetGalley and Titan Books for the eARC (my first ever ARC!).
In The Escher Man, we follow Endel "Endgame" Ebbinghaus, who finds himself working as the muscle for Mr. Long, the head of a large and powerful drug cartel in Macau. Humanity's technology has advanced to the point where they can make enhancements to their bodies (think artificial joints that increase speed and strength and more), and one of these advancements is the invention of a memory pin. The memory pin acts as a sort of SD card you slot in behind your ear that records up to three years of memory, including senses. As people become more and more dependent on these memory pins, their natural ability to remember things begins to decrease until they rely entirely on the pins for their memories. Endgame is in this category, however he begins to realize that things don't quite add up. His memories don't match the news, or the memories of his coworkers and family, and he realizes that his memories, personality, thoughts, all of it, are being manipulated and rewritten. And so begins Endgame's quest for truth and freedom.
I requested this ARC because of how intrigued I was by its premise. For those who have played Cyberpunk 2077, this is HEAVY on those vibes. Basically a sci-fi/cyberpunk/mafia adventure that was a lot of fun. I also think it provides some critical commentary on the control we allow tech companies to have in our lives, which is becoming more and more important as technology continues to advance at an exponential rate. I enjoyed the mafia vibes, the technology, the action scenes, and I thought the mystery of it all was very fun as well.
Where I struggled with this one was the narration. For me, a major part of my enjoyment of books is developing connections to characters, and I found my connection with Endgame lacking. I think this is due to the combination of the narration (first-person) and the premise of the book (memory loss). Reading a story in first-person narrative about someone who has no grasp on their identity, their true nature, or their life experiences, makes it very difficult to connect with the character. I think this would have been better as a longer book, allowing for more time to connect with Endgame, or as a third-person narrative style. Because I struggled to connect, I found it hard at times to care about what was happening.
That being said, I did still thoroughly enjoy this read and think that fans of sci-fi and cyberpunk will have a good time with this futuristic, mafia, sci-fi adventure.
October 6, 2024
Oh boy! I just love this novel!
In the best traditions of cyberpunk this novel drags us through the high tech low life in Macau and bordered regions. How one of the reviewers said, it's a complete mindf*ck. The book starts as a usual criminal thriller, but then... I'll provide you no spoilers. Because this book is a treasure for an engaged reader.
Characters are well-fleshed, with understandable motivation, goals and flaws. Endgame is a beast.
World-building is exquisite. The novel doesn't give you any exposition, just throws you into the action and doesn't care if you get it or not. The world is vivid, alive and believable.
And the prose, prose is magnificent! Harsh, cruel, but limited vocabulary of thugs intervenes with sophisticated word combinations of scientists and educated people. Moments with memory flashes are written thoroughly and very realistically. T.R. Napper has just bulldozed his place in my Top-5 of favourite authors.
But, there are some flaws as well. Nothing is perfect, you know. But here they are minor. In some chapters, the pace was sluggishly slow, I crawled through the book, waiting for some development. Especially in the Golden Dragon casino chapters... I understand that they are important for plot, but those chapters were painfully slow.
So, the conclusion. If you love cyberpunk, just read it and you'll like it. If you love criminal thrillers with memory manipulation, just read it and you'll love it. If you like well-written characters and great world-building... you got it. So, I've got nothing more to say, just read the f*cking book!
In the best traditions of cyberpunk this novel drags us through the high tech low life in Macau and bordered regions. How one of the reviewers said, it's a complete mindf*ck. The book starts as a usual criminal thriller, but then... I'll provide you no spoilers. Because this book is a treasure for an engaged reader.
Characters are well-fleshed, with understandable motivation, goals and flaws. Endgame is a beast.
World-building is exquisite. The novel doesn't give you any exposition, just throws you into the action and doesn't care if you get it or not. The world is vivid, alive and believable.
And the prose, prose is magnificent! Harsh, cruel, but limited vocabulary of thugs intervenes with sophisticated word combinations of scientists and educated people. Moments with memory flashes are written thoroughly and very realistically. T.R. Napper has just bulldozed his place in my Top-5 of favourite authors.
But, there are some flaws as well. Nothing is perfect, you know. But here they are minor. In some chapters, the pace was sluggishly slow, I crawled through the book, waiting for some development. Especially in the Golden Dragon casino chapters... I understand that they are important for plot, but those chapters were painfully slow.
So, the conclusion. If you love cyberpunk, just read it and you'll like it. If you love criminal thrillers with memory manipulation, just read it and you'll love it. If you like well-written characters and great world-building... you got it. So, I've got nothing more to say, just read the f*cking book!
September 29, 2025
My review of Napper's previous novel, 36 Streets, closed with saying "I believe Napper has a truly great novel inside him, he just needs a little more time to find his voice." With The Escher Man, he has.
Endel ‘Endgame’ Ebbinghaus is a soldier and assassin for the Macau Syndicate. Wake up, have a drink and a cigarette, remember some awful shit, find a bloke, shoot them, drink, repeat. He's got an ex-wife and a daughter, normal citizens he watches and doesn't touch for everyone's good. And something is deeply deeply wrong with his head. The Syndicate wipes and rewrites Endel's memory on a regular basis, making him who they need to be.
Endel is locked into a path with only one end, when some subconscious desire to break free surfaces. He attempts to recover his identity, connect with his family, and get out of the Syndicate's clutches. Instead, he's dropped into criminal and political intrigues way above his pay grade and his fragmented identity, where a Vietnamese border resort is serving as the test bed for an experimental psychological warfare program to dominate the last private spaces of the soul. Survival, let alone victory, is going to take everything Endel has and then some.
The Escher Man hits a lot of the same beats of Napper's other work in this setting: Aussies in Southeast Asia, the collapse of memory and identity, violent criminals and loyal families. This book is executed with verve, real passion, and a lot of love.
Endel ‘Endgame’ Ebbinghaus is a soldier and assassin for the Macau Syndicate. Wake up, have a drink and a cigarette, remember some awful shit, find a bloke, shoot them, drink, repeat. He's got an ex-wife and a daughter, normal citizens he watches and doesn't touch for everyone's good. And something is deeply deeply wrong with his head. The Syndicate wipes and rewrites Endel's memory on a regular basis, making him who they need to be.
Endel is locked into a path with only one end, when some subconscious desire to break free surfaces. He attempts to recover his identity, connect with his family, and get out of the Syndicate's clutches. Instead, he's dropped into criminal and political intrigues way above his pay grade and his fragmented identity, where a Vietnamese border resort is serving as the test bed for an experimental psychological warfare program to dominate the last private spaces of the soul. Survival, let alone victory, is going to take everything Endel has and then some.
The Escher Man hits a lot of the same beats of Napper's other work in this setting: Aussies in Southeast Asia, the collapse of memory and identity, violent criminals and loyal families. This book is executed with verve, real passion, and a lot of love.
November 2, 2024
Excellent book!!!
T.R. Napper has become one of my favorite authors in just a few books. He writes great characters that have depth and complexity and does it effortlessly without sacrificing the pacing of the story. Great world building with fantastic action sequences. This story was gritty and dark, but had moments of warmth and hope with a dash of humor thrown in. What really struck me was the world in this book could easily be the one we live in everyday and what this world could become. Maybe it already has. I like a story that makes me pause and reflect. This was one of those. Do yourself a solid and check out this author. You won't be disappointed.
T.R. Napper has become one of my favorite authors in just a few books. He writes great characters that have depth and complexity and does it effortlessly without sacrificing the pacing of the story. Great world building with fantastic action sequences. This story was gritty and dark, but had moments of warmth and hope with a dash of humor thrown in. What really struck me was the world in this book could easily be the one we live in everyday and what this world could become. Maybe it already has. I like a story that makes me pause and reflect. This was one of those. Do yourself a solid and check out this author. You won't be disappointed.
November 21, 2024
This is an excellent follow-up novel to the author's stunning debut 36 Streets. The recent Ghost of the Neon God gave us a bitter and brilliant reminder of Napper's cutting take on corporate techno-thuggery, and here comes the main event. Intricate and brutal, insightful and thought-provoking: Napper is required reading for Cyberpunk fans.
Read my full review, upcoming on the website of the British Fantasy Society, where there are many more reviews of recent works to enjoy.
https://britishfantasysociety.org/blog/all-reviews/
Read my full review, upcoming on the website of the British Fantasy Society, where there are many more reviews of recent works to enjoy.
https://britishfantasysociety.org/blog/all-reviews/
January 27, 2026
My hyper fixation is Cyberpunk 2077 and I’m constantly looking for Cyberpunk books that give me the same vibe as the world and lore of the game and this book was one of the better Cyberpunk books I’ve read that really scratched the itch I was looking for. And for that reason this is a 4⭐️ book. It’s fast paced, action packed, violent as hell, with a main protagonist that is for all intents and purposes is a “bad guy” but you’re still rooting for him. The book does lack some depth so I could see why this would be rated lower for other people but for me this was exactly what I was looking for.
November 13, 2024
Thoroughly enjoyable. The descriptions of the setting just drip from the pages. It's cyberpunk, but with an eastern sensibility from someone who clearly understands it and knows the places. The action moves along at a cracking pace. It could very easily be a movie.
March 26, 2025
What a story! The story reminds a bit of the film Johnny Mnemonic. Such a good story about a hitman who loves his family, corporations with brain tech memory chip implants and cyberpunk military upgrades to the body. I highly recommend this one!
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