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Neon Dreams: A Cyberpunk Detective Thriller
A new case for Detectives Kate Spader and Siro Ferreira-Nunes!
261 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 23, 2024
14 people are currently reading
17 people want to read
About the author
Anna Mocikat
58 books206 followersAnna Mocikat is a successful Cyberpunk and Space Opera author.
She was born in Warsaw, Poland, but spent most of her life in Germany where she attended film school, worked as a screenwriter and a game writer for several years.
Her "MUC" novels have been nominated for the most prestigious awards for Fantasy and science fiction in Germany.
In 2016 Anna moved to the USA where she continued her writing career.
"Shadow City" was her debut in English in 2019.
Since then she also published the "Behind Blue Eyes" series, the "Cyber Squad" series, the "Nephilim" series as well as "Space Punks" and "Neon Nights."
She was born in Warsaw, Poland, but spent most of her life in Germany where she attended film school, worked as a screenwriter and a game writer for several years.
Her "MUC" novels have been nominated for the most prestigious awards for Fantasy and science fiction in Germany.
In 2016 Anna moved to the USA where she continued her writing career.
"Shadow City" was her debut in English in 2019.
Since then she also published the "Behind Blue Eyes" series, the "Cyber Squad" series, the "Nephilim" series as well as "Space Punks" and "Neon Nights."
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
October 22, 2024
I loved the first book in the standalone sci-fi thriller series, and I love this book just as much, if not more.
A new case for Detectives Kate Spader and Siro Ferreira-Nunes!
A sci-fi horror/thriller of a completely different kind.
Not only is it a fantastic sci-fi story from my favorite science fiction author, but it's also a creepy-crawly, mysterious horror story that will give you the creeps.
What a story!
It's perfect for the spooky season, perfect for thriller fans, and of course, perfect for sci-fi lovers.
If you think that in the future, only AI will do everything, then you're completely wrong.
Without human help, no crime will be solved in the future.
I would also say that after this book, hopefully, AI will never take over many areas of our lives 😬
I can't write too much.
No spoilers. No hints.
You need to go in blind.
You absolutely have to read this book.
You should read all of Anna's books, of course, but this one now! 😂
This is the author who convinced me to read sci-fi, and I'm so glad she did.
It is an incredibly fascinating, exciting, and captivating story.
I need more books like this, please!
💙🩷💙
A new case for Detectives Kate Spader and Siro Ferreira-Nunes!
A sci-fi horror/thriller of a completely different kind.
Not only is it a fantastic sci-fi story from my favorite science fiction author, but it's also a creepy-crawly, mysterious horror story that will give you the creeps.
What a story!
It's perfect for the spooky season, perfect for thriller fans, and of course, perfect for sci-fi lovers.
If you think that in the future, only AI will do everything, then you're completely wrong.
Without human help, no crime will be solved in the future.
I would also say that after this book, hopefully, AI will never take over many areas of our lives 😬
I can't write too much.
No spoilers. No hints.
You need to go in blind.
You absolutely have to read this book.
You should read all of Anna's books, of course, but this one now! 😂
This is the author who convinced me to read sci-fi, and I'm so glad she did.
It is an incredibly fascinating, exciting, and captivating story.
I need more books like this, please!
💙🩷💙
January 12, 2026
A man has been killed by his sex-bots.
The theme or idea is not exactly new. It has been explored in several works ('Dolly' by Elizabeth Bear, 'Ex Mchina' movie, several Japanese Anime etc.). But this is the first work that wenr beyond the definitions of pleasure, rights, sentience, or freedom.
It thrilled me, and induced couple of nightmares as well.
More importantly, it made me reinvested in the world of Olympias and the two Detectives who try to make sense of it while dealing with mega Corporations and their overarching God-like presence, vacuous yet hedonistic lifestyle of the people, crime, and the almost invisible concept of justice.
This is what Cyberpunk Detective Thrillers should be.
Highly recommended.
The theme or idea is not exactly new. It has been explored in several works ('Dolly' by Elizabeth Bear, 'Ex Mchina' movie, several Japanese Anime etc.). But this is the first work that wenr beyond the definitions of pleasure, rights, sentience, or freedom.
It thrilled me, and induced couple of nightmares as well.
More importantly, it made me reinvested in the world of Olympias and the two Detectives who try to make sense of it while dealing with mega Corporations and their overarching God-like presence, vacuous yet hedonistic lifestyle of the people, crime, and the almost invisible concept of justice.
This is what Cyberpunk Detective Thrillers should be.
Highly recommended.
March 3, 2025
This review was originally posted at https://bit.ly/4i8nCOP.
Robots are completely safe for humanity. It has been programmed into each and every one. There has never been a reported robot murder. Until now. A man has been murdered by his own sexbot harem. Eviscerated to the point it is hard to tell how much of what remains is human. It is up to Siro and Spader to find who, or what, is responsible and fast. The victim's father is a retired board member and no one can know.
I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review. As always I love Anna's books and this one did not disappoint. This book picks up a year after the events in book one. While you could, in theory, read this book without having read book one you are going to be missing a lot of background information if that is the route you choose. Personally I would suggest just starting with book one. And reading the BBE series while you are at it as there is a bit of cross-over. Both are set in the same area and have many of the same characters (ie Siro and Spader).
The book is well-written and engaging. We get to see as Siro filters through possible scenarios and the author only lets you know as much information at a given time as she is ready for you to know. I enjoyed the death scene. I am trying very hard to be vague here. Scene in lock-up with the robots. If you've read most (or all) of the author's books it isn't hard to guess what is really transpiring, but for newer readers there is every possibility it could be believed that this was the end for a character.
While I wasn't overly surprised by who was behind the murder I enjoyed the process of getting to that resolution and the author did a great job of trying to throw you off along the way. I think the "If you can't tell does it matter?" went a good way towards helping Siro with his own dilemmas surrounding getting cybernetic parts as that was always something he prided himself on not having before it was no longer an option.
As always, the main goal of the story was completed but there was still plenty of ability for the series to continue at the end of the book. I will absolutely be reading the next in this series when it comes out.
Robots are completely safe for humanity. It has been programmed into each and every one. There has never been a reported robot murder. Until now. A man has been murdered by his own sexbot harem. Eviscerated to the point it is hard to tell how much of what remains is human. It is up to Siro and Spader to find who, or what, is responsible and fast. The victim's father is a retired board member and no one can know.
I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review. As always I love Anna's books and this one did not disappoint. This book picks up a year after the events in book one. While you could, in theory, read this book without having read book one you are going to be missing a lot of background information if that is the route you choose. Personally I would suggest just starting with book one. And reading the BBE series while you are at it as there is a bit of cross-over. Both are set in the same area and have many of the same characters (ie Siro and Spader).
The book is well-written and engaging. We get to see as Siro filters through possible scenarios and the author only lets you know as much information at a given time as she is ready for you to know. I enjoyed the death scene. I am trying very hard to be vague here. Scene in lock-up with the robots. If you've read most (or all) of the author's books it isn't hard to guess what is really transpiring, but for newer readers there is every possibility it could be believed that this was the end for a character.
While I wasn't overly surprised by who was behind the murder I enjoyed the process of getting to that resolution and the author did a great job of trying to throw you off along the way. I think the "If you can't tell does it matter?" went a good way towards helping Siro with his own dilemmas surrounding getting cybernetic parts as that was always something he prided himself on not having before it was no longer an option.
As always, the main goal of the story was completed but there was still plenty of ability for the series to continue at the end of the book. I will absolutely be reading the next in this series when it comes out.
February 6, 2025
read it and see if you agree
Please do the author a favor and read this book to see if you agree with my review.
My thoughts and opinions: If it were not for the author’s sincere acknowledgement comments, I would have rated this book even less than 3-stars. I had previously read the first book in this series and found it interesting enough to continue. Until the very end of this book, when I came across the about the author page, I was under the impression that these two books represented the initial efforts of a young writer (18 - 20 years old). There were some serious shortcomings, but I found the descriptions of the scenes to be interesting and I assumed the writing would improve over time. The about the author blurb describes the author as a best-selling international multi-series TV / movie script / book author with a film school degree. So, with my initial assumptions about the author shattered, I saw this book in a completely different light.
For the most part, I found the descriptions of the scenes to be immersive.
The plot was paper thin. Exactly who you thought did it, did it.
The science part of the science-fiction was extraordinarily simplistic - like the kind of explanations you would expect from an 8 year old kid.
By far, my largest issues were with the way the author attempted to explore various societal issues, particularly issues surrounding aging and the role of elder people in society. Early in the book, without any buildup of background information, the author asserts that people in Olympias I un-alive themselves as soon as their bodies start to degrade past the point of physically being able to perform as an active police officer in the field. And no one believes in religion any more, actually it is outlawed, so there is no promise of an afterlife. Additionally, the author continues to introduce robots and technologies that are clearly intended to minimize human exposure to life threatening risk and to prolong life.
I found that these unsupported and unexplored dichotomies were disappointing and frustrating to the point of un-aliving my will to invest more of my time in the current works of this author.
Please do the author a favor and read this book to see if you agree with my review.
My thoughts and opinions: If it were not for the author’s sincere acknowledgement comments, I would have rated this book even less than 3-stars. I had previously read the first book in this series and found it interesting enough to continue. Until the very end of this book, when I came across the about the author page, I was under the impression that these two books represented the initial efforts of a young writer (18 - 20 years old). There were some serious shortcomings, but I found the descriptions of the scenes to be interesting and I assumed the writing would improve over time. The about the author blurb describes the author as a best-selling international multi-series TV / movie script / book author with a film school degree. So, with my initial assumptions about the author shattered, I saw this book in a completely different light.
For the most part, I found the descriptions of the scenes to be immersive.
The plot was paper thin. Exactly who you thought did it, did it.
The science part of the science-fiction was extraordinarily simplistic - like the kind of explanations you would expect from an 8 year old kid.
By far, my largest issues were with the way the author attempted to explore various societal issues, particularly issues surrounding aging and the role of elder people in society. Early in the book, without any buildup of background information, the author asserts that people in Olympias I un-alive themselves as soon as their bodies start to degrade past the point of physically being able to perform as an active police officer in the field. And no one believes in religion any more, actually it is outlawed, so there is no promise of an afterlife. Additionally, the author continues to introduce robots and technologies that are clearly intended to minimize human exposure to life threatening risk and to prolong life.
I found that these unsupported and unexplored dichotomies were disappointing and frustrating to the point of un-aliving my will to invest more of my time in the current works of this author.
July 18, 2025
I love Kate and Siro so much so I was really excited to dive into another adventure featuring this detective duo.
And wow what a ride. This story had me on the edge of my seat. The killer robots were so scary. If I was Siro I would have turned in my letter of resignation after the incident in the evidence room. But seriously the way Mocikat wrote the terror coming from Siro had me feeling it through the pages (well actually I listened to the audiobook but you get my point).
I also loved the back of forth of “are robots sentient” and “if you can’t tell if they’re human does it matter?” Much to unpack there I think. And the Ghost in the Shell references were the icing on the cake.
Mocikat has written another winner and I am so honored to be able to read (listen) to her books. She’s one of my favorite authors and I am so grateful I found her.
And wow what a ride. This story had me on the edge of my seat. The killer robots were so scary. If I was Siro I would have turned in my letter of resignation after the incident in the evidence room. But seriously the way Mocikat wrote the terror coming from Siro had me feeling it through the pages (well actually I listened to the audiobook but you get my point).
I also loved the back of forth of “are robots sentient” and “if you can’t tell if they’re human does it matter?” Much to unpack there I think. And the Ghost in the Shell references were the icing on the cake.
Mocikat has written another winner and I am so honored to be able to read (listen) to her books. She’s one of my favorite authors and I am so grateful I found her.
Read
November 5, 2024Great Short
The detective's are a great team and make very interesting characters so having some cases outside the main series is great.
Love how each seems to slightly tie into the overall series without any spoilers but expands on the overall universe.
The detective's are a great team and make very interesting characters so having some cases outside the main series is great.
Love how each seems to slightly tie into the overall series without any spoilers but expands on the overall universe.
November 3, 2024
Characters were fully developed. Loved the two books in this series!
November 6, 2024
great read
Another great job by Anna. A solid detective novel in a sci fi setting. Well worth your time to read it.
Another great job by Anna. A solid detective novel in a sci fi setting. Well worth your time to read it.
November 10, 2024
fun
Great story. Good world building, interesting characters, complex plot. All,in all a hard to put down mystery pick it up from kindle unlimited
Great story. Good world building, interesting characters, complex plot. All,in all a hard to put down mystery pick it up from kindle unlimited
December 2, 2024
Splendid side quest detective duo. Felt like the PG version though...
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews