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Easytown Novels #1-3
The Easytown Novels: Books 1-3
The Easytown Novels are a stunning example of how two very different genres combine to create a frighteningly real near future world where the advancement of technology has stalled for the average citizen, while the divide between the rich and the poor widens. Classic noir stories of the past focus on the city with a thousand stories, investigated by the hard-nosed detective beset upon by the femme fatale, unfortunate victims, and who-done-it mysteries. Meanwhile, the hallmarks of the cyberpunk genre are the futuristic elements of climate change, social depravity, moral ambiguity, and corporate greed. The Easytown Novels combines the two genres in a way that will make this series a staple in the sci-fi noir genre. The Immorality Clause, book 1 Easytown’s robotic pleasure clubs are a serial killer’s playground. The futuristic slum in eastern New Orleans is a violent place where any vice can be satisfied--for a price. As long as the taxes are paid and tourists continue to flock to the city, businesses are allowed to operate as they see fit. Easytown has given rise to the robotic sex trade; where the robots are nearly human and always better than the real thing. Homicide detective, Zach Forrest, has never trusted the machines. When a string of grisly murders rocks the city, he must hunt down the killer responsible. With no witnesses, and no evidence, Forrest embarks on an investigation that will challenge the very scope of reality. Will Forrest find the killer before he becomes the next victim? Tears of a Clone, book 2 Torture tourism is an illegal sport in Easytown—unless the victim is a clone, then nobody cares. When Detective Zach Forrest discovers the mutilated bodies of three clones in a garbage compactor, he’s dismayed that no one wants anything to do with the investigation. He takes matters into his own hands and visits Tommy Voodoo, aka The King of Easytown, to get information. Forrest is shocked to learn of the multi-million dollar industry of torture tourism going on right under everyone's nose. He embarks on an unauthorized investigation and discovers that the truth behind the clone murders is more terrifying than he’d imagined. West End Droids & East End Dames, book 3 Easytown’s back alleys are even more dangerous as criminals have thrown away the last of their humanity—now nothing can stop them. Just when his life seemed to be getting back on track, Detective Zach Forrest finds himself in the midst of a whirlwind of treachery, lies, and mayhem that threatens to unravel the delicate balance of power in Easytown. Everything comes crashing down on Forrest when a rampaging cyborg attacks him, disrupting his investigation into the death of a lowly thumper club doorman who knew too much. Before he can determine his next move, a beautiful, mysterious evidence clerk lands on his doorstep, forcing her way into his life despite the NOPD’s rules against fraternization. Meanwhile, to combat the rapidly increasing number of cybernetically enhanced criminals, the police chief assigns him the difficult task of tracking down and stopping the street doctors who build the abominations at any cost. But, will it cost Zach more than he’d expected?
738 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 25, 2019
3 people are currently reading
11 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
December 18, 2020
The Easytown novels are some of my favorite indie books period, let alone indie cyberpunk. The New Orleans envisioned by Brian Parker is a fantastic mixture of the sweaty traditionalist Catholic South and the sleazy cybernetic future that provides to every imaginable vice. Zachary Forrest is a fantastic protagonist and watching him bumble his way through relationships as well as the cases that are frequently complicated conspiracies.
Detective fiction and noir with science fiction elements is the heart of cyberpunk the same way that Westerns and samurai films are the heart of Star Wars. Brian Parker gets that and his Chandler-esque books follow a detective who would be at home in Columbo if not for the fact he has to deal with robot hookers as well as AI. I enjoyed every single one of these stories and wish the author would do a fourth book.
Rarely am I invested in the love life of my protagonists but I also really enjoyed Zachary's bad luck with women that reaches comical levels at the start of each book.
Detective fiction and noir with science fiction elements is the heart of cyberpunk the same way that Westerns and samurai films are the heart of Star Wars. Brian Parker gets that and his Chandler-esque books follow a detective who would be at home in Columbo if not for the fact he has to deal with robot hookers as well as AI. I enjoyed every single one of these stories and wish the author would do a fourth book.
Rarely am I invested in the love life of my protagonists but I also really enjoyed Zachary's bad luck with women that reaches comical levels at the start of each book.
January 7, 2020
I absolutely loved this series! I love the old time film noir detectives ala Sam Spade and the protagonist in this book, Zachary Forrest, reminds me of those fedora-wearing guys. I also love the original movie, "Blade Runner", and this series reminded me of that movie many, many times.
Futuristic New Orleans has a section called Easytown (probably today's French Quarter) which specializes in sex clubs populated with sex robots. When several patrons and employees are murdered in gruesome ways, Zach has to try to find out who is doing the killing. Along the way, he becomes involved with a beautiful witness named Paxton Amora. This relationship comes to haunt Zach in more ways than one!
This series has cyborgs, drones, droids, artificial intelligence, as well as drugs, prostitution, and murder. Zach goes about his job in a no-holds barred way, endangering love, life and limb, in order to get his man (or woman).
If you are looking for a well-written cyberpunk series with traces of noir detective novels, this is the one you need to read or listen to. At the end of the third book, Zach has pretty much used up all of his favors within the NOPD, but the author hints at more adventures to come in the next phase of Zach's life.
I love the characters, including Zach's assistant, Andi, who is little like Alexa (but much more fun). The dialogue is great and I especially enjoyed Zach and Andi's interactions. Zach has a smart-assed attitude that won't quit and adds a lot to the book. I loved the idea of the talking toilet that gives you an automatic urine analysis every time you use it.
The narration was wonderful. Mr. Penz didn't just read this book, he portrayed every scene and you feel like you are watching a movie while listening. When the character is in pain, you can feel it in the narration. His performance added a lot to my enjoyment of these books.
Brian Parker has done an excellent job with this series and I look forward to reading more of his work. He has built a world full of well-developed characters and futuristic technology that will keep the biggest cyperpunk fan reading. I will definitely recommend his writing to my friends!
I was given the chance to listen to the audiobook version of this series through Audiobook Boom! and chose to review it.
Futuristic New Orleans has a section called Easytown (probably today's French Quarter) which specializes in sex clubs populated with sex robots. When several patrons and employees are murdered in gruesome ways, Zach has to try to find out who is doing the killing. Along the way, he becomes involved with a beautiful witness named Paxton Amora. This relationship comes to haunt Zach in more ways than one!
This series has cyborgs, drones, droids, artificial intelligence, as well as drugs, prostitution, and murder. Zach goes about his job in a no-holds barred way, endangering love, life and limb, in order to get his man (or woman).
If you are looking for a well-written cyberpunk series with traces of noir detective novels, this is the one you need to read or listen to. At the end of the third book, Zach has pretty much used up all of his favors within the NOPD, but the author hints at more adventures to come in the next phase of Zach's life.
I love the characters, including Zach's assistant, Andi, who is little like Alexa (but much more fun). The dialogue is great and I especially enjoyed Zach and Andi's interactions. Zach has a smart-assed attitude that won't quit and adds a lot to the book. I loved the idea of the talking toilet that gives you an automatic urine analysis every time you use it.
The narration was wonderful. Mr. Penz didn't just read this book, he portrayed every scene and you feel like you are watching a movie while listening. When the character is in pain, you can feel it in the narration. His performance added a lot to my enjoyment of these books.
Brian Parker has done an excellent job with this series and I look forward to reading more of his work. He has built a world full of well-developed characters and futuristic technology that will keep the biggest cyperpunk fan reading. I will definitely recommend his writing to my friends!
I was given the chance to listen to the audiobook version of this series through Audiobook Boom! and chose to review it.
June 24, 2023
This is my 3rd time listening to this series. I almost never re-read books and never re-listen to audio books, but this series is an exception.
The first read through was out of order, based on the timing I got the books. I originally read them 2, 3, anthology, 1. When I first read the series I read them in order, but spaced out with other books in between. This time I read all 3 back to back. I have individual reviews on all three books based on my first time reading through, but this time I wanted to focus on the trilogy.
One thing I noticed this time was how different all three books are. The first book is about a murder, or several connected murders. The second is about corruption and rescuing people. The third is about the fall of Zach Forrest. The bulk of the 3rd book is about the main characters trouble with IA and how he clearly won't change who he is. The police work and the case are more of a back drop the the rest of it.
The cyberpunk elements shift from book to book, as well. Book 1 is all about robots, book 2 is all about clones, book 3 being about body mods. While all 3 exist in all the books, each book showcases only 1 at a time.
Being a police procedural/mystery there is quite obviously a thing at the end to find, the murder, ring leader, etc. But knowing the twists and turns of this book doesn't take away from the re-read. There is always something I missed. Foreshadowing is littered through out the series, and it is fun to pick up on things that I missed before.
The characters in this series are all well rounded and feel complete. There are few people that pop up that are not nuanced. Backstories are not always fleshed out but the characters always have complex motivations.
The voice narration, by Daniel Penz, is amazing. He has a great range of voices and adds some modulation for phonecalls and AI's. It is a great experience, listening to this series.
All in all, this is a great trilogy, worth listening and relistening. There is some great mystery, great action and suspense. The voice acting is amazing and over all it is a tremendous experience. I highly recommend this/these books.
The first read through was out of order, based on the timing I got the books. I originally read them 2, 3, anthology, 1. When I first read the series I read them in order, but spaced out with other books in between. This time I read all 3 back to back. I have individual reviews on all three books based on my first time reading through, but this time I wanted to focus on the trilogy.
One thing I noticed this time was how different all three books are. The first book is about a murder, or several connected murders. The second is about corruption and rescuing people. The third is about the fall of Zach Forrest. The bulk of the 3rd book is about the main characters trouble with IA and how he clearly won't change who he is. The police work and the case are more of a back drop the the rest of it.
The cyberpunk elements shift from book to book, as well. Book 1 is all about robots, book 2 is all about clones, book 3 being about body mods. While all 3 exist in all the books, each book showcases only 1 at a time.
Being a police procedural/mystery there is quite obviously a thing at the end to find, the murder, ring leader, etc. But knowing the twists and turns of this book doesn't take away from the re-read. There is always something I missed. Foreshadowing is littered through out the series, and it is fun to pick up on things that I missed before.
The characters in this series are all well rounded and feel complete. There are few people that pop up that are not nuanced. Backstories are not always fleshed out but the characters always have complex motivations.
The voice narration, by Daniel Penz, is amazing. He has a great range of voices and adds some modulation for phonecalls and AI's. It is a great experience, listening to this series.
All in all, this is a great trilogy, worth listening and relistening. There is some great mystery, great action and suspense. The voice acting is amazing and over all it is a tremendous experience. I highly recommend this/these books.
April 14, 2020
I am still trying to decide how to word this review. It’s never easy to review an entire series at once, especially one that was out there as this one.
In the future, New Orleans has a section called Easytown where the French Quarter used to be. This is a spot that specializes in nightlife, sex clubs in particular. Except these are no ordinary clubs. They’re filled with sex robots. When patrons start to be murdered, the protagonist Zachary, has to find out who’s responsible.
I loved this series because not only does it have a noir feeling, it holds an interesting balance of technology like cyborgs and artificial intelligence, but it also has plenty of modern day issues like drugs and murder.
Zach is a very shoot first, ask questions later type of main character. He’s confident and not afraid to follow his gut. I didn’t like him at first, but I warmed up to him the longer I listened. All the characters, in fact, are interesting in their own ways. I liked Zach’s assistant Andi in particular.
There are some things in the futuristic world that made me laugh. Such creative worldbuilding all around.
The narrator did an absolutely fantastic job as well. He brought the stories to life.
This book was given to me for free at my request and I provided this voluntary review.
In the future, New Orleans has a section called Easytown where the French Quarter used to be. This is a spot that specializes in nightlife, sex clubs in particular. Except these are no ordinary clubs. They’re filled with sex robots. When patrons start to be murdered, the protagonist Zachary, has to find out who’s responsible.
I loved this series because not only does it have a noir feeling, it holds an interesting balance of technology like cyborgs and artificial intelligence, but it also has plenty of modern day issues like drugs and murder.
Zach is a very shoot first, ask questions later type of main character. He’s confident and not afraid to follow his gut. I didn’t like him at first, but I warmed up to him the longer I listened. All the characters, in fact, are interesting in their own ways. I liked Zach’s assistant Andi in particular.
There are some things in the futuristic world that made me laugh. Such creative worldbuilding all around.
The narrator did an absolutely fantastic job as well. He brought the stories to life.
This book was given to me for free at my request and I provided this voluntary review.
November 28, 2023
The first three of a series.
A must of a book.
The author Brian Parker got one amazing brain with unbelievable imagination.
I was writing a really long review on this trilogy but have decided to delete it all and just say INCREDIBLE.
Excellent and pure joy.
with twist after twist.
Beautiful narration by Daniel Penz for each of the characters in this creation.
Without a doubt
got my full
recommendations !!!
Oded Ostfeld.
A must of a book.
The author Brian Parker got one amazing brain with unbelievable imagination.
I was writing a really long review on this trilogy but have decided to delete it all and just say INCREDIBLE.
Excellent and pure joy.
with twist after twist.
Beautiful narration by Daniel Penz for each of the characters in this creation.
Without a doubt
got my full
recommendations !!!
Oded Ostfeld.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews