Virology

Shock Pao #2

by Ren Warom

It’s been four weeks since Shock Pao broke open the virtual world of the Slip. With the stolen bio-ware Emblem in his head, he controls all the world’s systems, and so the shadiest characters in Foon Gung are desperate to track him down. Shock and the Hornets are running out of places to hide. Meanwhile, the Patient Zeros’ cryptic illness is worsening. The source of the disease points to the distant hubs; Earth’s former cities snatched up and sent into orbit. With their pursuers nearing and time running out to find the cure, the Hornets flee skywards, from the insane underworld of Tokyo to the throngs of New York, all the time moving towards an evil that makes Hive Queens look like garden insects.

Genres: Cyberpunk, Science Fiction, Fiction

320 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 13, 2017

Reviews

[Seregil of Rhiminee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Originally published at Risingshadow.

Let me start this review by saying: Wow, what an outstanding and ambitious novel! I'm so glad I could read Ren Warom's Virology, because it's stunningly good and perfectly executed. It's the kind of sequel all sequels should be, because it's better and bolder than its predecessor. Everything has evolved since Escapology and feels much grander in scope. It was wonderful to read again about the familiar characters and their escapades, because this time the stakes are higher and the story pulses with unstoppable energy.

Ren Warom's previous novel, Escapology, was one of last year's best and most thrilling science fiction novels. It was such a powerful and original vision of cyberpunk fiction that it astonished me with its weirdness and grittiness. It raised the bar for cyberpunk fiction quite high, because it made all the other cyberpunk novels seem stale in comparison. I'm glad to say that Virology continues to raise the bar even higher. It offers a spellbounding and immersive reading experience to readers who expect the best from their science fiction stories. Once you start reading this novel, you'll find yourself turning pages late into the night to find out what happens next.

Virology is everything that Escapology is and then some. In Escapology, the author merely scratched the surface, because now she delves deeper into her world and introduces new places. Escapology was a rewarding reading experience, because it introduced the world and the characters, but now things are clearer and more precise, not to mention more amazing. The author revs up the tension and brings more energy into her narrative by adding more gears to the story and taking the characters to new environments.

I feel compelled to say that Virology is the best cyberpunk novel I've ever read, because it's head and shoulders above other novels of its kind due to its addictive story, weirdness and intriguing characters. It's without any kind of doubt the ultimate reading experience in cyberpunk fiction, because - besides having stunning technological wonders, terrors, action, weirdness, surprises and plot twists - it has a strongly beating heart at the core of the story with a rhythm of its own that compels readers to devour it quickly.

In this novel, Zenada is looking for someone to unlock her prison and set her free. She dreams of richly deserved punishment... Shock Pao is on the run and hides, because he's a fugitive. He is now not entirely human anymore, but a mishmash of aching scars, bio-ware and brokenness. With the stolen bio-ware Emblem he can control all the world’s systems, which has led him to being tracked down by the shadiest characters in Foon Gung... Amiga is hunting Grey Cartel members and takes one of them alive for interrogation... On Shanghai Hub, Evelyn Tsai knows that landscape of power has changed and power is up for grabs. She has captured Marcus and Tahira to make them sign up in partnership with Tsai Holdings... On the edge of the Chinese District, there's a makeshift hospital which is a place to try and find a way to heal the Zeros of the Gung while the virad sickness continues to mutate and spread...

This is the beginning of a story in which the happenings take place in Foon Gung and the metropolitan hubs surrounding the world. This is all I'll reveal about the story. Trust me when I say that you don't want to know more about the story in advance, because it is so full of details and happenings that it wouldn't be fair to mention all of them.

The characterisation is wonderfully swift and engaging. The characteristics of each character are fluently introduced to readers as they face problems and try to deal with them. With a few words, the author creates believable visions of characters whose lives are difficult and who do their best to stay alive under difficult and challenging circumstances.

Shock Pao and Amiga are perhaps the best characters I've ever encountered in this kind of fiction, because they're intriguingly vivid characters. Many things have changed for both of them and also to their allies, because Shock broke open the virtual world of the Slip and they have to find a way to save themselves. Their lives are anything but easy, but they do the best they can to survive. The minor characters and villains are also intriguingly vivid.

The worldbuilding is exceptionally good, because the author expands the vibrant world she introduced in Escapology. I love the author's stark vision of a post-apocalyptic world, because she paints a picture of a world forever changed. She writes excellently about Foon Gung and takes her readers on a journey into the orbiting stations - Hubs - that contain the world's major cities. By writing about the Hubs and the cities inside them, the author wonderfully deepens and expands her future world.

I like Ren Warom's writing style very much, because I find it satisfyingly fast-paced. She clearly has a talent for storytelling, because she keeps things in motion and effortlessly maintains tension. With this novel, she establishes herself as one of the most talented and most original authors of cyberpunk fiction, because she drives the story powerfully forward and keeps the surprises and thrills coming at a fierce pace. I love her way of making chaos and madness seem sexy and energetic. She keeps all the plot threads firmly in her hands and delivers suprises.

Reading about avatars, Zen, the Zeros, the Hubs and issues concerning Fulcrum and Paraderm was fascinating for me. I found no faults anywhere, because the plot threads related to these things were handled perfectly - shady schemes, power struggle and riveting action collide in a powerful way.

What makes Escapology and Virology especially gorgeous is the author's ability to weave New Weird elements into her story. In both novels, the New Weird elements are an integral part of the story and its fascination. Another thing worth mentioning is that Ren Warom addresses such themes and issues as technological advances, survival, freedom, sexuality, power struggle and out-dated attitudes in both novels.

The action and fight scenes are satisfyingly gritty. Violence is not pretty in this novel, but messy, visceral and brutal. The author doesn't glorify it, but depicts it as realistically as possible and detaches it from Hollywood-like meaningless violence by showing how messy it can be. This brings a lot of freshness to the story.

Just like in Escapology, Ren Warom doesn't explain everything to her readers. As the story unfolds, certain things are explained and revealed, but not everything. This is great, because it's wonderful to read a story in which the author trusts her readers to be intelligent enough to figure out certain things for themselves. This kind of storytelling is deeply rewarding.

I give Virology full five stars on the scale from one to five stars, because it's simply amazing. It's been quite a while since I've read anything as good and enthralling as this novel when it comes to cyberpunk fiction, so I can't help but praise it (this novel truly deserves all the praise it gets). If you're like me and find many cyberpunk novels boring and tedious and lacking in characterisation, you won't be disappointed by this novel, because it's something different.

Ren Warom's Virology is a fast-paced, furious and meaningful science fiction novel that exceeded all of my expectations. If you have a taste for gritty and fascinating cyberpunk fiction, I strongly urge you to read this novel, because it has plenty of style and substance. It's a glorious display of boldness, imagination and strong storytelling.

Highly recommended!

[Fraser Simons · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm back! After work being soul crushing for the last stint, it's eased up so I can actually have time to do things I want to do, like reading books and designing games!

Virology is the sequel novel to Escapeology, which I enjoyed immensely. It picks up virtually right after the first one, Shock, a hacker is in a weird/bad/interesting state. He'd melded with Emblem, is hunted by virtually everyone. And Amiga, the cleaner, is on the run with the hornets, a group of J-Hacks who kind of remind me of a Shadowrun group--if they were written well and it wasn't all about striking at corps and taking jobs and stuff.

What you need to know is that basically, they're all together and being hunted and there's more bad guys than the last one. Good news is that combined with these things, such as Zen, infecting people with virads in order to spread and infect more people to terrible ends. All of these bad folks are well written and I loved that the women were allowed to just be plain bad people, not used as specific plot devices or sexual scenes, or embodying one specific idea.

In addition to that, so too do the J-hacks. Where in the first book they were secondary or tertiary characters, now they feel more fleshed out and like a more cohesive family. One that Shock and Amiga, the main characters latch onto and have lots of great interactions with.

The novel plays out like it could be a very good action flick, great characters and motivations and gun play, and fight scenes, etc. But it also has the same underlying focus on being marginalized people, for various reasons depending on the character. And the exploration of what addiction looks like and does to a person on a case by case basis, without the stigmatism and tropes generally used in first and sometimes second wave cyberpunk books.

It's clean Ren has experience with this and the writing is quick, snappy, and versatile, suiting the perspectives of each character well. Helping separate them by syntax was very helpful because it felt like a lot more going on with the characters this go around.

Some people couldn't get through Escapelogy because of how harsh the world was to Shock, a trans character, simply because for them, it hit a bit too close to home. I think if that is the case you could jump into Virology well enough and not have that same experience. And also, I quite liked that character development by the end of the first book, when Shock's identity played a huge role in the end game, and the oppression he faced.

In short: is good, you should read it. More good cyberpunk, yes! Although I'd probably label it as post-cyberpunk as I would argue it subverts some pretty shitty tropes established in first wave. And I like to think having a well done trans character also struggles against the initial conventions. Whatever you label it as, I recommend it!

[Daniel · Rating 2 out of 5]

This review originally published in Looking For a Good Book. Rated 2.0 of 5

I had no idea that this was the second book in a series until I went to grab the image from Goodreads to add to the blog. Now I understand! I understand why I didn't enjoy this book. I was missing some vital parts of the story! I also hadn't realized, when I requested a copy, that it's cyberpunk - a genre that I don't generally click with (though there are exceptions).

Access to a virtual world known as the Slip is in the head of Shock Pao. He stole the bioware program and now he control's all the systems around the globe. This makes him a target, of course, for every criminal wanting that access.

While Shock is constantly seeking new hiding places, there is a strange illness plaguing the planet. The source seems to be from one of the outer hubs (former Earth cities that were sent into orbit). Time is running out to secure a cure.

The post-apocalyptic world, as created by author Ren Warom, is dark, gritty, messy, and brutal. There's plenty of action - fight and flight. And there's plenty of high tech intrigue. What I didn't find was a reason to care.

The characters living, fighting, and dying in this world start as enigmas to me, and remain so all the way through. And while I like the dark sci-fi that borders horror, at some point I need to be let in on why the world is the way it is. How does it work? How do our characters navigate this new space? I'm willing to wait for some of these answers - and in fact prefer to be led slowly to the reveals. But if this information came, I was already too lost to care.

It makes some sense, though, to discover that there was a previous volume. I highly suspect some of my questions were already addressed with the first book, meaning you really would want to read the series from the start to truly enjoy this.

Looking for a good book? Virology, by Ren Warom, is the second book in the Shock Pao series and this book does not stand alone as a novel to this reader. Curious readers should check out the first book, Escapology, before deciding whether or not to read on.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Edelweiss, in exchange for an honest review.

[S.J. Higbee · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don’t generally reread books and it was a while since I’d read Escapology so for a handful of the opening scenes, I was slightly adrift working out what was going on. However, it didn’t take long to get my bearings in the world, again. That said, if you generally don’t crash midway into series (it’s one of my main hobbies) then do track down the excellent first book before tackling this one – you’ll enjoy it a whole lot more.
Once comfortably back with these extraordinary characters, I was back in Warom’s dense world and enjoying the ride. She manages to braid some lyrical descriptions with grungy settings, where you can almost smell the decomposing rubbish – and she manages to pull off the same knack with her characters. Amiga is essentially a merciless killing machine – anyone who stands in her way risks death. And yet, I really like her, despite not generally being a huge fan of gory fights. It doesn’t hurt that Warom is also deft at weaving a dark thread of humour throughout her stories, which helps leaven the gritty settings, horrible living conditions and patently unjust social system in this dystopian future version of our world.
While her scene setting is exceptionally good, it is her characters that ping off the page and give her story a slightly larger than life, almost gothic feel about them. I really cared about them – and given that there is a high death rate – I found myself holding my breath every time they went on a raid. While they were often fighting against better equipped, more numerous adversaries, Warom manages to convince me when they prevail.
I also enjoyed the ending, which worked well for me. Though, I’m sure Shock will continue getting into trouble – he isn’t built for routine, everyday life. Whatever else befalls him, I’m hoping that Warom will write about it.
9/10

[David Bjorne · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s always a joy to discover a writer who makes you sit up and take notice. Ren Warom writes so well that it wasn’t enough to have her books on my Kindle; I wanted the physical books on my way-too-stuffed shelves. I made room.

Virology is a thrilling sequel to Escapology, building expertly on the previous novel. It’s been a month since the Haunt, the Cleaner and the Hornets helped change the world, and there are forces who aren’t happy with that change. Soon enough, Shock and crew find themselves hunted, and being who they are, they go on the hunt themselves to exact justice. As before, I love the world created here, and this time we get to see so much more of it. The characters are once again vividly written, and their loyalty to each other shines through. Wildly entertaining stuff.

[Neon Snake · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ridiculously good. There are very few cyberpunk books being written in this decade that truly earn the title, and this and it's prequel are two of them.

Fast-paced, exciting, technologically savvy, funny, stylish, cool...and meaningful. This book has a huge beating heart underneath the flash, and that's what propels the stories, makes it difficult to put down; it drives the characters onwards and onwards.

There's few books that I'm willing to re-read, this and Escapology are the first for many years that I have the urge to pick up again, and spend time with Shock, Amiga, Deuce and the Hornets all over again, as they fight for each other and for they believe in.

Beautiful.

[Rebecca M · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved Escapology and I adored Virology. Fantastic characters vividly written that I care about passionately, a world built with with obvious care and vision, and startlingly beautiful passages that make you *feel*.

Reading Escapology left me feeling dazzled but somewhat confused at times, struggling to build a clear picture of exactly what was happening and why, but Virology felt more open and precise without losing any of the magic and cyberpunk mystique of the first installment.

Highly, highly recommend - I pre-ordered this novel (something I almost never do) because of my appreciation for Escapology, and it exceeded my expectations. I'm anxious for more from Ren Warom. <3

[Zachary Waxman · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent sequel. While Escapology was a full on cyber punk novel, successfully carrying the torch of its predecessors, Virology is more of an action novel. This go around we see secondary characters take more of a central role. It starts off in a sort of the world has now. changed vibe, as a result of the end of Escapology. The Slip IRL stuff is great. Soon however it becomes of a prolonged chase seen and the action never really lets up until the last two or three chapters. Honestly some of the best written fight scenes I've read in a long time. They just keep escalating in excitement and absurdity.

Hoping for more in this universe, but I'll settle if this is the end.

[Thomas Goodine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really good pacing and story for the most part, but I would say that the ending didn't do it for me. Many of the final showdowns with various villains were let downs — mini climaxes, swelling like waves, and then disappearing with a wheeze rather than a crash. The chapter confronting the main villain was good, though. Overall, it was a very good read, and even better than the first in the series.

[Ole Imsen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent fast-paced and action-packed Cyberpunk/Techno-Thriller. It also works as an action-filled near-future SF novel.
Warom is a great writer and pulls you in quickly and does not let you go until you get to the end.

If any of the above sounds remotely interesting you should get this. (Just remember to get the preceding book "Escapology" first.)

[Bob · Rating 5 out of 5]

Twenty words not enough

Eating through ‘‘tis in gulps and skitters, maybe I should start again, I’d like that.caught up in
Imagination. Rest awhile, like it.

[Juli Manz]

Extremely odd and hard to understand plot, sub-plot, and historical plot that is never explained.

[Rachael Dunn · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't enjoy it as much as I did Escapology. New characters were introduced all the time, but I never developed much of a reason to care about them. Still love the grimy, cyberpunk setting though.

[kit · Rating 5 out of 5]

brutal and brilliant sequel. philosophically and politically mature, written with heart, also just...fun.

[Spencer Keralis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Broader character development, higher stakes, and really brilliant world-building make this a worthy sequel.