Neon Lotus

by Marc Laidlaw

A finalist for the 1988 Philip K. Dick award, Neon Lotus is a colorful adventure of Buddhist cosmology set in a futuristic Tibet.

It begins with the assassination of a Tibetan scientist, creator of a “Bardo Device” that tags and follows souls from one life to the next. Identifying this soul’s next incarnation as the daughter of a Swiss-American couple, the murdered scientist’s assistant persuades the reluctant parents that their child has a critical role to play not only in the fate of an oppressed Tibet, but in the liberation of all beings.

Now a young woman, Marianne Strauss embarks on an adventure to restore the relics of an ancient Tibetan idol that is half computer, half divinity. Guided by a virtual goddess, aided by tech-savvy nomads, Marianne uncovers a demonic research program that could unravel reality…one based on the work of her previous life.

Can she really be responsible for the actions of a former incarnation? Can she

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction, Cyberpunk

286 pages, ebook

First published March 1, 1988

Reviews

[Harrison Gish · Rating 5 out of 5]

I haven't read much eighties science fiction, and it took this book by Laidlaw, who penned the excellent video games Half-Life and Half-Life 2, to open my eyes to its possibilities. It is clearly of its time, utilizing the inner realm of the mind and the spirituality potentially contained within as the out-of-body plane to which characters disappear, and focusing entirely on the Tibetan struggle against China. Laidlaw's writing is engaging, his pre-cyberspace, pre-cyberpunk science fiction world is convincing, and his engagement with the idea that spirituality as a dynamic platform through which one can sustain oneself and fend off trauma is profound. Also, the book engages with the concept of the avatar before Stephenson. Finally, every chapter name would make a great rap album title. What more do you want?

[Matthew · Rating 3 out of 5]

Neon Lotus was an interesting read for me. It straddles the line between a few different genres and themes, and uses Tibetan Buddhism as the basis for its mythos. The mishmash is both a strength and a weakness of the novel as a whole. The sci fi crossed with mythology makes for a strong framing device that gives the story a solid beginning and end, but the parts in between you get more than a fair share of deus ex machina to the point where you don't feel the hero is in any real danger. Additionally, in what I think is an attempt to try and cover the breadth of Tibetan cultures we get a very rapid fire shot at many locales and peoples without them being fully realized, with most serving a short function in the plot and then cast aside.

Reading this in 2020 was timely though, as the themes of Tibetan independence from China had a number of parallels to the current Uyghur situation. It also led to a confusing bit at the end where despite having the buildup how how brutal the Chinese authorities were being, they had already decided to grant Tibetan independence in 20 years time, and all the characters seemed more or less okay with this nullifying much of the purpose of the quest. Overall, I felt when this book hit its mark it did it was great, but when it missed you'd end up in a hole you have to clamber out of to get things moving again.

As an aside, I found it very interesting the number of parallels between this and plot points in Laidlaw's story for Half Life 2 although I don't know if they were intentional or not, or if I'm just reading too much into things.

[Jaaklactus · Rating 4 out of 5]

Buddhism techno-future detective story.

Some might label it cyberpunk. Not dystopian enough for that.

This is a mind-bending read.

[Emma · Rating 3 out of 5]

i don't like comparing an author's earlier, lesser known work to their later groundbreaking landmarks. reductions like that usually imply that their prior work serves only as some sort of build up and can't stand on its own, and that kind of devaluation would sting anyone. there are certainly echos of this book in half life 2 (we see a prototypical ravenholm! a storytelling willingness to experiment with genre (horror in particular) for a single chapter not just to keep things fresh but also to branch out and see what you can pull off as a writer. we also see a lot of the combine/breen in the antagonists, and some moments that feel very close to nova prospekt and the citadel), but i feel this would be best looked at as the work of an artist who doesn't yet know what their greatest medium is. marc laidlaw was clearly born to write video games, he understands the texture of an interactive medium and the unique opportunities afforded by the active nature of stories where you can reach out and touch the world. themes of identity and determination clumsily touched on here feel in many ways like laidlaw meditating on how he'd handle players inhabiting and guiding characters through a prewritten story. following these characters through their almost unbroken journey can lead to some pacing issues in a medium where you are forced to passively spectate, and quite a few of the descriptions feel like they'd be more spectacular when rendered out in full 3d.
while this is one of the rare science fiction novels that does indeed feel totally unique when compared to the scifi zeitgeist that's remained mostly unchanged from when the book was written, it can often be more distracting then intended. it's hard to overlook the fact that the main character is in blackface through most of the story, and the machine that fires a tracer dart at your spirit to track you in the afterlife and find your next reincarnation is very silly. a stray use of the word "cock" caught me completely off guard, there's gotta be a better word choice for that moment. i was quite honestly getting a lot of far cry 4 vibes from this book and maybe i'll add in an extra paragraph or two or three later to expound upon that.

[Mahesh · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm a long-time fan of Marc Laidlaw's fiction, since the days I would post on Marc's sub-board on the old Night Shade Books Messageboard. I learned about Neon Lotus on that messageboard, and I was intrigued by the premise: a young woman learns she is the reincarnation of Tibetan scientist.

It's kind of odd how you remember a time and place and how a book made you feel; I read the book mainly on my lunch breaks in the winter, and often shielded the book from the rain. Laidlaw has a talent for excellent character creation and lyrical language, and I liked the melding of Tibetan Buddhism with science fiction. The book is a fun, quick, and satisfying read; I highly recommend it.

[Lauri · Rating 3 out of 5]

Took me a whole year to finish reading this, but I'm glad I did. It's a unique blend of 80's scifi and Tibetan mythology packaged as a fantasy quest to collect artifacts. The story is at its best when it's exploring machines that can track a soul into the next life or ancient computer gods. The middle half is mostly traditional adventuring and avoiding baddies, though, which I found a bit laborious to read through.

[bookmunkie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can't believe how good this book is and I've never heard of it from any other source. I found it here on Goodreads basically by accident when I searched for the titles of books found in Gordon Freeman's locker in the first Half-Life game. They are real books by that game and this book's author. I'm definitely looking forward to reading more of his work.

[Jerome · Rating 4 out of 5]

Buddhism and Sci Fi? China the bad guy? Sounds like the pantheon got involved in world events. It's paced fast, yet still keeps you involved..

[Roy Adams · Rating 4 out of 5]

Neon Lotus was an interesting story about future Tibet. I know very little about Tibetian Buddhism so I have no idea how accurate some of the plot might be.

[Nikita Minin · Rating 5 out of 5]

interesting book

Very nice mix of buddhism legends and science fiction. Story about magic and miracles, faith and human resilience in the face of the hard times.

[Malcolm Schmitz · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really promising book, but some iffy writing choices soured it.

While this book was probably ahead of its time, the main character should have been Tibetan; there's really no reason for her to have been a white girl from California by way of Switzerland. It makes some of the imagery really creepy. There was also one erotic scene that came right out of nowhere and felt ridiculously fanfic-y, and not in the good way.

But the psychadelic imagery, the fascinating mix of Tibetan tradition and far-future technology, and the interesting handling of death and reincarnation make it worth a look, despite the iffy elements. I can believe this is a future that could happen, which is a big compliment for a book from the 80s.

Four stars.

[Janet Whalen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tibetan Buddhism distilled into fiction. One of my all time favourites.

[Bethany · Rating 4 out of 5]

girlfriend gave me this book. glad she did. I loved it.

[Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

That was odd! Quite a different quest narrative than I'm used to. Fun, though.