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Switchblade: Tech Noir
This is it, Switchblade: Tech Noir, the ultimate cutting edge cyberpunk anthology—and that’s only the half of it. One of a two volume set, featuring hard boiled gutter noir, with a sci-fi twist. Presented alongside the ultimate cyber Pulp companion issue, Pulp Modern: Tech Noir. Ten hard-hitting no luck tales from dystopian doomsayers. With fiction from Callum McSorley, James Edward O’Brien, Mandi Jourdan, Hugh Lessig, Rob D. Smith, John Moralee, along with Switchblade veterans, Matt Gomez, Nick Kolakowski, Eric Beetner, and Alec Cizak.
- GenresCrime
222 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 20, 2019
1 person is currently reading
14 people want to read
About the author
Eric Beetner
105 books120 followersBIO:
Eric Beetner has been hailed as “the new maestro of noir,” by Ken Bruen and “The 21st Century’s answer to Jim Thompson” by LitReactor.
He has written more than 2 dozen novels and his short stories has been featured in over 30 anthologies and along the way he’s been nominated for an ITW award, a Shamus, Derringer and three Anthony awards. He’s won none of them.
Novels include There and Back, All The Way Down, Two In The Head, Rumrunners, The Devil Doesn't Want Me and many more.
For more visit ericbeetner.com
Eric Beetner has been hailed as “the new maestro of noir,” by Ken Bruen and “The 21st Century’s answer to Jim Thompson” by LitReactor.
He has written more than 2 dozen novels and his short stories has been featured in over 30 anthologies and along the way he’s been nominated for an ITW award, a Shamus, Derringer and three Anthony awards. He’s won none of them.
Novels include There and Back, All The Way Down, Two In The Head, Rumrunners, The Devil Doesn't Want Me and many more.
For more visit ericbeetner.com
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
December 11, 2019
Switchblade: Tech Noir delivers about as much grim future as I'm capable of handling at the moment.
Layout and design are inventive and attractive, and the line-by-line writing is very strong throughout. I find myself wondering if a bit more thematic variety would have served the issue well; after enough protagonist badassery involving shiny chrome and cybernetics, my eyes began to glaze a bit. But it's a minor complaint. If you pick up an issue with "tech noir" in great big bold print on the cover, I suppose you should probably expect things to get dark and tech-y.
My favorite stories included Callum McSorley's BABY ON BOARD, which deploys perhaps the widest and most inventive range of tech apps herein; Hugh Lessig's MUSCLE MEMORY, which features an intriguingly vulnerable protagonist as well as an ingenious concept involving the nexus of organized crime and climate change; and Alec Cizak's POST-BIOLOGICAL STRESS DISORDER, the most inward-looking of these tales, a deep dive into the quest for kicks in the absence of an endocrine system.
Layout and design are inventive and attractive, and the line-by-line writing is very strong throughout. I find myself wondering if a bit more thematic variety would have served the issue well; after enough protagonist badassery involving shiny chrome and cybernetics, my eyes began to glaze a bit. But it's a minor complaint. If you pick up an issue with "tech noir" in great big bold print on the cover, I suppose you should probably expect things to get dark and tech-y.
My favorite stories included Callum McSorley's BABY ON BOARD, which deploys perhaps the widest and most inventive range of tech apps herein; Hugh Lessig's MUSCLE MEMORY, which features an intriguingly vulnerable protagonist as well as an ingenious concept involving the nexus of organized crime and climate change; and Alec Cizak's POST-BIOLOGICAL STRESS DISORDER, the most inward-looking of these tales, a deep dive into the quest for kicks in the absence of an endocrine system.
December 6, 2019
A hundred years from now, the streets will be as mean as they ever were. Cruelty and avarice will be the edicts of the land. Drugs not yet synthesized will have us in a servile stupor. Machines will rise and cities will fall to rubble. At least, that’s what these brilliantly imaginative noir and sci-fi authors have envisioned for our future. Switchblade: Tech Noir is a collection I can easily recommend to anyone with an interest in sci-fi or crime fiction. In fact, the anthology was so much fun that I wasn’t able to pick out my favorite stories, since they were all so well-written and uniquely crafted. Each tale offers a bold look into the gritty dystopia at our doorstep, and would make a great lunchtime read, stocking stuffer, or late night eye candy to fill your dreams with electric fantasies.
November 15, 2019
Each of the stories in Switchblade Magazine’s Tech Noir special issue nicely blends noir with science fiction.
My favorites are as follows:
In “Muscle Memory” by Hugh Lessig, a father seeks to fulfill his daughter’s wish despite his ever-accelerating dementia. The protagonist’s determination in the face of his illness is something special.
“Night Mayor” by Nick Kolakowski, which showcases his convoy escort driver protagonist from MAXINE UNLEASHES DOOMSDAY. Kolakowski also wrote “My Worst Morning Ever,” a standout story in SB7.
“Killer App” by Eric Beetner features a memory broker who gets more than he bargained for when he takes to stealing memories instead of buying them.
“Baby on Board” by Callum McSorley features killer world building as well as this outstanding line: “War had turned her into an animal so science created a human suit for her to wear.”
“Galatia in the Garden of Eden” by Matthew X Gomez where the hunt for a missing woman leads to a futuristic den of iniquity.
This anthology is a must for readers who enjoy edgy science fiction and noir. I can’t wait to check out the Pulp Modern companion tech noir issue.
My favorites are as follows:
In “Muscle Memory” by Hugh Lessig, a father seeks to fulfill his daughter’s wish despite his ever-accelerating dementia. The protagonist’s determination in the face of his illness is something special.
“Night Mayor” by Nick Kolakowski, which showcases his convoy escort driver protagonist from MAXINE UNLEASHES DOOMSDAY. Kolakowski also wrote “My Worst Morning Ever,” a standout story in SB7.
“Killer App” by Eric Beetner features a memory broker who gets more than he bargained for when he takes to stealing memories instead of buying them.
“Baby on Board” by Callum McSorley features killer world building as well as this outstanding line: “War had turned her into an animal so science created a human suit for her to wear.”
“Galatia in the Garden of Eden” by Matthew X Gomez where the hunt for a missing woman leads to a futuristic den of iniquity.
This anthology is a must for readers who enjoy edgy science fiction and noir. I can’t wait to check out the Pulp Modern companion tech noir issue.
April 13, 2020
Haggard noir tales of cyberpunks and dystopian future crime in the vein of Blade Runner. You're bound to find a story that draws you into the shadows of Tech Noir.
December 3, 2019
Tech Noir is a story collection that paints the future as a neon-dystopia full of disaffected cyborg warriors, slimy corporate/government types, and the usual list of patsies. I have issues with some short story collections, as they can be a very hit or miss reading experience. Thankfully, Tech Noir is great all the way through. The standouts include; Killer App by Eric Beetner, Baby on Board by Callum McSorley, Night Mayor by Nick Kolakowski, Galatea in the Garden of Eden by Matthew X Gomez and Sundown by Rob D Smith. I’d like to also make note of how great the book looked, both in paper and electronic format. Great art throughout.
May 14, 2020
Tech Noir is exactly the thing I’ve been looking for. Futuristic stories that are heavy on the crime side of the literary spectrum. I wish I hadn’t waited so long to read it. Lately I’ve felt either burned out or bored with crime fiction and Tech Noir has that little something extra that makes it feel fresh. It starts strong and ends stronger. If “high-tech, low-life” is what you’re looking for you’ve found it.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews