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SINless #2
Nanoshock
Cyberpunk fallen angel Riko is back, in KC Alexander’s outrageous sequel to the savage Necrotech.
As Riko works to rebuild her shattered cred, following the events of Necrotech, she’s stuck fighting off every jerk looking to raise their standing on the streets. But when a corp with some serious influence ups the stakes, Riko’s going to have to take the fight to them, put this nonsense down for good. Nothing is what it seems when corp politics are in play, and another necro blight right where her answers are buried might very well be the end of the life she didn’t know she’d borrowed.
File Under: Science Fiction
As Riko works to rebuild her shattered cred, following the events of Necrotech, she’s stuck fighting off every jerk looking to raise their standing on the streets. But when a corp with some serious influence ups the stakes, Riko’s going to have to take the fight to them, put this nonsense down for good. Nothing is what it seems when corp politics are in play, and another necro blight right where her answers are buried might very well be the end of the life she didn’t know she’d borrowed.
File Under: Science Fiction
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First published September 7, 2017
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 45 reviews
October 1, 2017
Wow.
What a ride! I mean, I'm a die-hard fan of anything cyberpunk, but this one takes things to a whole new level of pacing, action, great story, great characters, and above all, a rip-roaring fun time.
I will not spoiler this, but I can say that it's even better than the first book. I'm not saying the quality is all that different, but so much more seems to happen in this one. More development, more emotional backlash, more tension, more mindblowing implications.
It picks up our nearly cred-less hero spiraling down the social pariah hole and doing everything she possibly can to survive, including working for corporate c***s, and it just goes downhill from there. Am I feeling it? Oh yeah. Do I blame her for her shell-shocked existence? Not at all. Is she f***ed? I do believe so.
I just can't believe how much solid story follows this, just how cool the turns are, or how much I love the tech, nano and otherwise, nor how awesome are the pitfalls. Necros are when the nano colonies inside your heavily modded body replicate out of control and eat you alive and turn you rabid. Everyone puts you down at that point. Nanoshock is the state of going into full conversion.
These titles aren't just for show. It's the one-two step toward total f***ing meltdown. :)
So F***ing Cool. :)
And yeah, the voice and the insults and the curses are just as good in this one as in the first one. I'm totally rocking to Riko. She's gotta be one of my very-most-favorite cyberPUNK characters in a very long time... maybe ever.
I'm still reeling with the end of this. Just wow.
What a ride! I mean, I'm a die-hard fan of anything cyberpunk, but this one takes things to a whole new level of pacing, action, great story, great characters, and above all, a rip-roaring fun time.
I will not spoiler this, but I can say that it's even better than the first book. I'm not saying the quality is all that different, but so much more seems to happen in this one. More development, more emotional backlash, more tension, more mindblowing implications.
It picks up our nearly cred-less hero spiraling down the social pariah hole and doing everything she possibly can to survive, including working for corporate c***s, and it just goes downhill from there. Am I feeling it? Oh yeah. Do I blame her for her shell-shocked existence? Not at all. Is she f***ed? I do believe so.
I just can't believe how much solid story follows this, just how cool the turns are, or how much I love the tech, nano and otherwise, nor how awesome are the pitfalls. Necros are when the nano colonies inside your heavily modded body replicate out of control and eat you alive and turn you rabid. Everyone puts you down at that point. Nanoshock is the state of going into full conversion.
These titles aren't just for show. It's the one-two step toward total f***ing meltdown. :)
So F***ing Cool. :)
And yeah, the voice and the insults and the curses are just as good in this one as in the first one. I'm totally rocking to Riko. She's gotta be one of my very-most-favorite cyberPUNK characters in a very long time... maybe ever.
I'm still reeling with the end of this. Just wow.
December 12, 2017
Nanoshock, the second in K.C. Alexander's SINless series, finds foul-mouthed Riko on the outs with both her corporate sponsor and her street-level gang of killers, her credibility shattered (likely beyond repair) for the murder of her teammate and lover, and an enemy operating in the shadows with the express purpose of killing her.
Alexander kicks things off in grand fashion with what might be the best opening line of 2017, and perhaps ever, with Riko musing, “You haven’t lived until you’ve fisted a nun under the cheap light of a neon Jesus.” It's the kind of wonderfully sacrilegious moment that makes my heart flutter, and lets readers know right off the bat what kind of book they're in store for. Yes, Nanoshock is irreverent, highly sexualized, and packed to the rim with over-the-top violence. Riko's particular brand of murder has her placed as a splatter specialist, the kind of job description that lets you know there won't be any clean, quiet kills to come. The action here is big and loud, much like Riko's mouth.
Frankly, though, Riko's mouth wears thin after a while. She's antisocial, presents more than her fair share of psychological and emotional disorders, makes a number of rash (and oftentimes poor) decisions, and if she's not busy killing would-be allies she's going out of her way to alienate everyone she comes into contact with in the most vulgar terms she can manage. I don't need my antiheroes to be all soft and cuddly, but Riko's shtick gets awfully tiresome awfully quick. While Alexander gives us a few moments of insight, digging beneath her character's rock-hard hide to show flashes of her softer side, they're few and far between. Most of the attention is on Riko being the biggest, the baddest, and the most hot-headed, hurting everyone she comes into contact with. She's unsympathetic to the max, and I found myself wondering why anybody in her world wants anything at all to do with her.
The attitude that defines and encapsulates Riko makes the book a bit of a slog to get through, and that's even before we get to the muddled narrative. Although the plot is fairly one-note, there's a load of back-and-forth violence to muddy the waters and give it the appearance of being more complex than it actually is.
As with Necrotech, solid answers to the Why of it all are sparse, but the climax is a well constructed and violent tour-de-force. In addition to staging some terrific action sequences and moments of wonderful gruesomeness (the infectious cybernetic blight of necrotech itself is a marvelous invention, and Alexander gives us plenty of gory details about it over these two novels, I'm still left wanting more), the author has constructed a beautifully dreary cyberpunk world. The dark and grimy streets Riko inhabits are well realized, the city itself so heavily polluted post-climate change that sunlight can't make it through the ever-present smog. In fact, it's a setting that is a perfect metaphor for Riko herself. Personally, I wouldn't mind a little bit more light getting through come book number three.
[Note: I received an advanced copy of this title from the publisher via NetGalley.]
Alexander kicks things off in grand fashion with what might be the best opening line of 2017, and perhaps ever, with Riko musing, “You haven’t lived until you’ve fisted a nun under the cheap light of a neon Jesus.” It's the kind of wonderfully sacrilegious moment that makes my heart flutter, and lets readers know right off the bat what kind of book they're in store for. Yes, Nanoshock is irreverent, highly sexualized, and packed to the rim with over-the-top violence. Riko's particular brand of murder has her placed as a splatter specialist, the kind of job description that lets you know there won't be any clean, quiet kills to come. The action here is big and loud, much like Riko's mouth.
Frankly, though, Riko's mouth wears thin after a while. She's antisocial, presents more than her fair share of psychological and emotional disorders, makes a number of rash (and oftentimes poor) decisions, and if she's not busy killing would-be allies she's going out of her way to alienate everyone she comes into contact with in the most vulgar terms she can manage. I don't need my antiheroes to be all soft and cuddly, but Riko's shtick gets awfully tiresome awfully quick. While Alexander gives us a few moments of insight, digging beneath her character's rock-hard hide to show flashes of her softer side, they're few and far between. Most of the attention is on Riko being the biggest, the baddest, and the most hot-headed, hurting everyone she comes into contact with. She's unsympathetic to the max, and I found myself wondering why anybody in her world wants anything at all to do with her.
The attitude that defines and encapsulates Riko makes the book a bit of a slog to get through, and that's even before we get to the muddled narrative. Although the plot is fairly one-note, there's a load of back-and-forth violence to muddy the waters and give it the appearance of being more complex than it actually is.
As with Necrotech, solid answers to the Why of it all are sparse, but the climax is a well constructed and violent tour-de-force. In addition to staging some terrific action sequences and moments of wonderful gruesomeness (the infectious cybernetic blight of necrotech itself is a marvelous invention, and Alexander gives us plenty of gory details about it over these two novels, I'm still left wanting more), the author has constructed a beautifully dreary cyberpunk world. The dark and grimy streets Riko inhabits are well realized, the city itself so heavily polluted post-climate change that sunlight can't make it through the ever-present smog. In fact, it's a setting that is a perfect metaphor for Riko herself. Personally, I wouldn't mind a little bit more light getting through come book number three.
[Note: I received an advanced copy of this title from the publisher via NetGalley.]
January 21, 2021
We need to have a talk about why you haven’t picked up this book yet. I know, I know. You’re scared. I’d be scared of Riko too. She is the bad-est ass-est of the baddest asses. But she has something so many other fictional characters don’t: A voice. And she demands you hear it.
Every book needs a plot. Every book needs a conflict. Every book needs characters. This book has all of the above, but where it really shines is in the character department. More on that later. First …
Plot: Badass mercenary with an attitude is trying to scrape together the cred she lost when she woke up in a corporate lab and discovered she was unknowingly involved with her girlfriend’s death and some other shady shit she doesn’t remember. In the interest of self-preservation, her friends and contacts have ditched her. Ain’t nobody tryin’ to get any of her shit on their shiny shoes. She’s on her own. But Riko has never been a follower, and she’ll figure out how to regain her standing in this cyberpunked world full of corporate scumbags and lowlife street bitches on her own—or die trying.
Conflict: Everyone (and I do mean EVERYONE) hates Riko, and now they’re gunning for her to claim the hefty bounty on her head, avenge the dead girlfriend, and collect some street cred of their own. Three shitbirds, one stone.
Characters: There are a bunch of them, but the only one who matters is Riko. She is EVERYTHING. From her smartass, rapid-fire, razor-sharp tongue to her absolute defiance in the face of everything and everyone standing in her way, Riko shines as one of the most interesting heroines I’ve ever read. Don’t believe me? Read the sample of the first chapter—no, the first SENTENCE—and tell me I’m wrong. Her voice is loud, ballsy, and undeniable, and I’m here for all of it. Riko is my own personal wet dream for a lead character. I’ve been waiting to find her since I started reading adult books. I have a feeling there will never be another heroine who can top her. KC Alexander’s talent has shaped this character into an all-time favorite. The story is good. The voice is incredible.
If you’re easily offended by wondrously colorful graphic language, blasphemous sexual acts unleashed on not-so-innocent nuns, the care and proper handling of religious zealots, raging and glorious bisexuality on full display, rabid violence and disregard for human (and other) life, or a woman who just checked her cupboard and found a cluster of spider webs and zero fucks inside, this is not the book you’re looking for. But if any of the above appeals, I’m asking—no, BEGGING—you to give the SINless series a try. It’s for selfish reasons. I need book 3, and that’s only gonna happen if more people discover, savor, and put these books on blast.
In a literary landscape littered with spineless heroines, monochromatic plots, lackluster conflicts, and timid voices, Riko writhes unapologetically atop Bookland’s throne of upraised word-swords—no lube necessary.
Every book needs a plot. Every book needs a conflict. Every book needs characters. This book has all of the above, but where it really shines is in the character department. More on that later. First …
Plot: Badass mercenary with an attitude is trying to scrape together the cred she lost when she woke up in a corporate lab and discovered she was unknowingly involved with her girlfriend’s death and some other shady shit she doesn’t remember. In the interest of self-preservation, her friends and contacts have ditched her. Ain’t nobody tryin’ to get any of her shit on their shiny shoes. She’s on her own. But Riko has never been a follower, and she’ll figure out how to regain her standing in this cyberpunked world full of corporate scumbags and lowlife street bitches on her own—or die trying.
Conflict: Everyone (and I do mean EVERYONE) hates Riko, and now they’re gunning for her to claim the hefty bounty on her head, avenge the dead girlfriend, and collect some street cred of their own. Three shitbirds, one stone.
Characters: There are a bunch of them, but the only one who matters is Riko. She is EVERYTHING. From her smartass, rapid-fire, razor-sharp tongue to her absolute defiance in the face of everything and everyone standing in her way, Riko shines as one of the most interesting heroines I’ve ever read. Don’t believe me? Read the sample of the first chapter—no, the first SENTENCE—and tell me I’m wrong. Her voice is loud, ballsy, and undeniable, and I’m here for all of it. Riko is my own personal wet dream for a lead character. I’ve been waiting to find her since I started reading adult books. I have a feeling there will never be another heroine who can top her. KC Alexander’s talent has shaped this character into an all-time favorite. The story is good. The voice is incredible.
If you’re easily offended by wondrously colorful graphic language, blasphemous sexual acts unleashed on not-so-innocent nuns, the care and proper handling of religious zealots, raging and glorious bisexuality on full display, rabid violence and disregard for human (and other) life, or a woman who just checked her cupboard and found a cluster of spider webs and zero fucks inside, this is not the book you’re looking for. But if any of the above appeals, I’m asking—no, BEGGING—you to give the SINless series a try. It’s for selfish reasons. I need book 3, and that’s only gonna happen if more people discover, savor, and put these books on blast.
In a literary landscape littered with spineless heroines, monochromatic plots, lackluster conflicts, and timid voices, Riko writhes unapologetically atop Bookland’s throne of upraised word-swords—no lube necessary.
December 8, 2017
K C Alexander has a truly unique voice in books. I have been reading her work for years. I immediately heard that unique stylein her first book series in a different genre and I knew I would recognize that unique flavor anywhere I found it. Alexander is a very accomplished story crafter, and in the midst of a deeply personal crisis, and a burst of creative rage at being told what she could and could not write, she created Riko. Lucky for us!
Riko is a street thug, with a diamond steel arm and a penchant for some of the most creative cursing I've seen since Miriam Black hit the scene in Blackbirds by the irrepressible Chuck Wendig. She also has a metric fuck-ton of brash and snark that never lets up whether she is fucking, fighting or fleeing. I love her in all of her mightily flawed magnificence. She is a force of her own making.
K C Alexander presents this violent, fast paced, in your face, cyber thrill ride apologetically and with a mega-grittiness aptly described as "Razor blades for your brain." Both Necrotech and Nanoshock are whirlwinds of violence, sex, blinding color, pounding music, designer drugs, guns, knives and muscle. The author has a real gift for some well polished prose and nearly poetic sarcasm and snark.
Riko is constantly at odds with her own, self-sabotaging behavior.She is gender queer and goes after whatever she likes, women, men, and sometimes both at once. She's relentless, angry, and when she cuts loose, it is with stellar abandon. She is also in some seriously bad straights for a mercenary who had decent amount of cred to her name. Add a hair trigger temper that belies her true feelings and a life of pain as the best teacher, and you have one of the most memorable characters I've read both in and out of this genre.
Riko's story is the epitome of cyberpunk low-life high-tech with serious life threatening, consequences, a near future of ecological destruction, and completely corrupted corporate control that creates wars within the over crowded metropolis areas with the gangs that struggle for control and creds in the roughest parts of the huge cities. Riko's cred is in the shitter and she can't figure out who is targeting her. She can't remember the past 3 months. and she won't stop till she gets the answers she needs or dies trying.
These books are a seriously fun, raunchy, cyber-ride. Highly recommended for lovers of cyberpunk that need a book that grabs your face and squeezes, really hard.
Riko is a street thug, with a diamond steel arm and a penchant for some of the most creative cursing I've seen since Miriam Black hit the scene in Blackbirds by the irrepressible Chuck Wendig. She also has a metric fuck-ton of brash and snark that never lets up whether she is fucking, fighting or fleeing. I love her in all of her mightily flawed magnificence. She is a force of her own making.
K C Alexander presents this violent, fast paced, in your face, cyber thrill ride apologetically and with a mega-grittiness aptly described as "Razor blades for your brain." Both Necrotech and Nanoshock are whirlwinds of violence, sex, blinding color, pounding music, designer drugs, guns, knives and muscle. The author has a real gift for some well polished prose and nearly poetic sarcasm and snark.
Riko is constantly at odds with her own, self-sabotaging behavior.She is gender queer and goes after whatever she likes, women, men, and sometimes both at once. She's relentless, angry, and when she cuts loose, it is with stellar abandon. She is also in some seriously bad straights for a mercenary who had decent amount of cred to her name. Add a hair trigger temper that belies her true feelings and a life of pain as the best teacher, and you have one of the most memorable characters I've read both in and out of this genre.
Riko's story is the epitome of cyberpunk low-life high-tech with serious life threatening, consequences, a near future of ecological destruction, and completely corrupted corporate control that creates wars within the over crowded metropolis areas with the gangs that struggle for control and creds in the roughest parts of the huge cities. Riko's cred is in the shitter and she can't figure out who is targeting her. She can't remember the past 3 months. and she won't stop till she gets the answers she needs or dies trying.
These books are a seriously fun, raunchy, cyber-ride. Highly recommended for lovers of cyberpunk that need a book that grabs your face and squeezes, really hard.
November 17, 2017
So just for shit and giggles here's the first sentence of the book.
You haven't lived until you've fisted a nun under the cheap light of a neon Jesus.
If you think you can take a book that follows that sentence, go ahead and try. I apparently couldn't and it would have ended up being a 3* except...
Both books - Necrotech as well - probably highly depend on the mood of the reader (yes most books do but...). This time it was like eating raw steak, when I really wanted to indulge in chocolate. And I am allergic to beef.
Dangerous as masturbating with the barrel of a Sauger 877, safety off. The hunger riding my high made that sound like a great idea.
So the trend from book one continues, nitty, gritty, bloody, gutter street action with an out-of-control anti-hero as MC (a protagonist is something else entirely). I spent most of the book rooting for Riko to-get-a-fucking-grip-for-once.
That’s the city for you. Breed ’em hard or breed ’em to die. Even the beggars have a few tricks up their nonexistent sleeves. To run, if not to fight.
The first 20% of the book are taken up by a longish sequence during which Riko fights through the slums of the slums. She's set up somehow by someone who knows she's cooperating with Malik Reed. She's hitting or shooting everything that moves and the expletives run rampant along with her. During this sequence the events of book one are recapped extensively - too much so.
Wolf, my satisfied ass. Guaranteed I’d used that thing on him till he screamed. Lance seemed to have returned the favor. Probably while I was plastic balls deep in the other one,...
And then the plot begins although like Riko herself the reader more or less has to muddle through it and is likely to erupt into uncontrollable anger and aggression because most of what is happening doesn't make a lot of sense most of the time.
What these suitfuckers don’t realize is that nutting up means an easy boot to the testicles, and how was I supposed to resist it when the idiots are so quick to sack up in my face?
For some reason she also gets another shot at a team of Malik's corp. And this quote shows how well that is likely going to go. Malik - in control, competent and mysterious - remains my favorite character but obviously we get to see very little of him since Riko wants to do as little as possible with his corporation. Same for Indigo who - despite the "run" of the previous book - still doesn't trust Riko.
Throughout the book Riko gets beat up as much as she dishes out but because "nanos" she can be repaired and beat up again in no time. It does get repetitive though.
A HOLDING CELL. They’d put me in a shitsucking padded cell, white on white on white – which made no sense because by the time I was done, I’d punched the door bloody.
So I am guessing that whatever Riko's problem is, it is some kind of mental disorder - I think I read somewhere it is supposed to show what PTSD is like. The thing is: I do not know much about PTSD, I don't know anyone suffering from it. I don't recognize the symptoms. If this book sets out to educate a reader like me it would help immensely if this was talked about and named somewhere either in the plot or at least in some kind of afterword. The only hint I found is the moment when Orchard puts Riko on anti-anxiety meds and suddenly Riko appears if not a different person at least a lot more "mellow".
There are so many intense moments with Riko where she really tries to act in a different way and just can't get beyond that inner blockade and so doesn't but instead beats up her allies. I do believe that her mental illness - whatever it is - is portrayed quite good and that's why I am leaving this as a 4*. But combined with the expletives and her "dick swinging" it makes for an exhausting read.
“What shall I call you?” She sized him up. Didn’t offer a hand. “Muerte.” “Death.” His lips twitched. My fists twitched too. Maybe they should meet. Again. “A pleasure.” “All yours,” she said sweetly. That’s my girl.
My favorite moment of the book was when they finally get a clue to follow
And then comes the end. It was probably good and I hated it.
So the world remains interesting, the tech fascinating, the characters off-putting or dead and the plot is just window dressing on Riko's downward-spiraling character arc.
For more context, the author has written about this book on Scalzi's The Big Idea: Nanoshock
You haven't lived until you've fisted a nun under the cheap light of a neon Jesus.
If you think you can take a book that follows that sentence, go ahead and try. I apparently couldn't and it would have ended up being a 3* except...
Both books - Necrotech as well - probably highly depend on the mood of the reader (yes most books do but...). This time it was like eating raw steak, when I really wanted to indulge in chocolate. And I am allergic to beef.
Dangerous as masturbating with the barrel of a Sauger 877, safety off. The hunger riding my high made that sound like a great idea.
So the trend from book one continues, nitty, gritty, bloody, gutter street action with an out-of-control anti-hero as MC (a protagonist is something else entirely). I spent most of the book rooting for Riko to-get-a-fucking-grip-for-once.
That’s the city for you. Breed ’em hard or breed ’em to die. Even the beggars have a few tricks up their nonexistent sleeves. To run, if not to fight.
The first 20% of the book are taken up by a longish sequence during which Riko fights through the slums of the slums. She's set up somehow by someone who knows she's cooperating with Malik Reed. She's hitting or shooting everything that moves and the expletives run rampant along with her. During this sequence the events of book one are recapped extensively - too much so.
Wolf, my satisfied ass. Guaranteed I’d used that thing on him till he screamed. Lance seemed to have returned the favor. Probably while I was plastic balls deep in the other one,...
And then the plot begins although like Riko herself the reader more or less has to muddle through it and is likely to erupt into uncontrollable anger and aggression because most of what is happening doesn't make a lot of sense most of the time.
What these suitfuckers don’t realize is that nutting up means an easy boot to the testicles, and how was I supposed to resist it when the idiots are so quick to sack up in my face?
For some reason she also gets another shot at a team of Malik's corp. And this quote shows how well that is likely going to go. Malik - in control, competent and mysterious - remains my favorite character but obviously we get to see very little of him since Riko wants to do as little as possible with his corporation. Same for Indigo who - despite the "run" of the previous book - still doesn't trust Riko.
Throughout the book Riko gets beat up as much as she dishes out but because "nanos" she can be repaired and beat up again in no time. It does get repetitive though.
A HOLDING CELL. They’d put me in a shitsucking padded cell, white on white on white – which made no sense because by the time I was done, I’d punched the door bloody.
So I am guessing that whatever Riko's problem is, it is some kind of mental disorder - I think I read somewhere it is supposed to show what PTSD is like. The thing is: I do not know much about PTSD, I don't know anyone suffering from it. I don't recognize the symptoms. If this book sets out to educate a reader like me it would help immensely if this was talked about and named somewhere either in the plot or at least in some kind of afterword. The only hint I found is the moment when Orchard puts Riko on anti-anxiety meds and suddenly Riko appears if not a different person at least a lot more "mellow".
There are so many intense moments with Riko where she really tries to act in a different way and just can't get beyond that inner blockade and so doesn't but instead beats up her allies. I do believe that her mental illness - whatever it is - is portrayed quite good and that's why I am leaving this as a 4*. But combined with the expletives and her "dick swinging" it makes for an exhausting read.
“What shall I call you?” She sized him up. Didn’t offer a hand. “Muerte.” “Death.” His lips twitched. My fists twitched too. Maybe they should meet. Again. “A pleasure.” “All yours,” she said sweetly. That’s my girl.
My favorite moment of the book was when they finally get a clue to follow
And then comes the end. It was probably good and I hated it.
So the world remains interesting, the tech fascinating, the characters off-putting or dead and the plot is just window dressing on Riko's downward-spiraling character arc.
For more context, the author has written about this book on Scalzi's The Big Idea: Nanoshock
March 14, 2024
all reviews in one place:
night mode reading
; skaitom nakties rezimu
My Opinion: Dynamic and very human characters, Riko among them, sometimes trusting her brawl over her brain means she’ll do stupid and annoying things. Other times it’s amazing how she navigates trap after a trap on sheer instinct and perception. Plot is good too, caught me completely off guard many times, and that’s not easy to do. Lots of tension, lots of shootouts, lots of scary creepy tech. If you want an all-inclusive LGBTQ+ cyberpunk story, this one’s worth a shot.
A 5 out of 5. Seriously, can I have the next one, please?
My Opinion: Dynamic and very human characters, Riko among them, sometimes trusting her brawl over her brain means she’ll do stupid and annoying things. Other times it’s amazing how she navigates trap after a trap on sheer instinct and perception. Plot is good too, caught me completely off guard many times, and that’s not easy to do. Lots of tension, lots of shootouts, lots of scary creepy tech. If you want an all-inclusive LGBTQ+ cyberpunk story, this one’s worth a shot.
A 5 out of 5. Seriously, can I have the next one, please?
January 10, 2018
After the shitshow she went through trying to find out what happened to her and her necro-converted girlfriend, Riko isn't quite sure what exactly she did that tanked her mercenary cred quite this badly.
She's got to figure it out though, or she's done for.
Nanoshock is the next book in the SINless series (first book was Necrotech), and it carries the same groin-punch dose of action peppered with all the grit and swearing you could ever ask for. Alexander delivers no-holds-barred at a barreling pace through a dark and mean future world. We get more adventures of Riko--the mercenary who will do whatever she feels like and whatever she has to, to Get Shit Done. Yes, we like Riko.
She's got to figure it out though, or she's done for.
Nanoshock is the next book in the SINless series (first book was Necrotech), and it carries the same groin-punch dose of action peppered with all the grit and swearing you could ever ask for. Alexander delivers no-holds-barred at a barreling pace through a dark and mean future world. We get more adventures of Riko--the mercenary who will do whatever she feels like and whatever she has to, to Get Shit Done. Yes, we like Riko.
November 20, 2017
The profanity and blasphemy alone are worth it. The awesome cyberpunk is the icing on top.
July 8, 2021
I’ve got to say… I struggled with this one, and I’m a little bit disappointed. Confused, even.
Which sucks, because I loved “Necrotech”, weird and wild as it was- I guess Riko’s abrasive manner, aggression, and pottymouth (which were quite refreshing and new in the previous book but slightly aggravating in this one) can kind of wear on a person. For me, around page 300… she was starting to overstay her welcome, and I started to sincerely wish for her to just… cool it on the “motherfucking cuntmunchers” and the “cunting smegheads”, take a moment to do some serious soul searching and introspection, and at least TRY to be a little kinder. Y’know, not begin an interrogation with a broken jaw for the catharsis of it, and not start at a 110% and somehow go up from there.
A real bummer, that. Because an explosive, action-filled rush was what I felt I needed- it simply goes to show though that if the action doesn’t stop, it can get kind of tedious after a while, and lose impact. The moment of sincerity while sharing shitty takeout with Indigo is the one that stands out to me as one of the most, if not THE most memorable scenes of the book- there could, should have been more of those. Moments of respite that humanize Riko, and let us know why people even like her, if most of what she does is be abrasive and tell people to go fuck themselves.
Which brings me to another thing- our heroine is routinely sliced and diced, cut through, shot, decimated, and is constantly hovering on the edge of nanoshock- which, unless it happens sporadically, interspersed with plenty of moments of badassery, can make her feel somewhat incompetent. Like, if she almost dies every 20 pages (and still doesn’t carry a recharge with her, seriously Riko, do you have a death wish???), it doesn’t really make her environment sound dangerous- it just makes it seem like she’s not nearly as good as she says she is- which makes her importance as insinuated by the ending kind of confusing.
Spoiler alert:
Either way, I found the ending somewhat lacking. Not in action, just… meaning, I guess. Answers.
It was a fun time while it lasted, and if SINless turns out to be a trilogy I’ll definitely read the ending, but… this book was markedly weaker than the previous one. Let’s hope it’s just the “middle book syndrome” that plagues most trilogies, and not a case of the second half of a duology oddly not being as good as the first, and not finishing what the first started.
Which sucks, because I loved “Necrotech”, weird and wild as it was- I guess Riko’s abrasive manner, aggression, and pottymouth (which were quite refreshing and new in the previous book but slightly aggravating in this one) can kind of wear on a person. For me, around page 300… she was starting to overstay her welcome, and I started to sincerely wish for her to just… cool it on the “motherfucking cuntmunchers” and the “cunting smegheads”, take a moment to do some serious soul searching and introspection, and at least TRY to be a little kinder. Y’know, not begin an interrogation with a broken jaw for the catharsis of it, and not start at a 110% and somehow go up from there.
A real bummer, that. Because an explosive, action-filled rush was what I felt I needed- it simply goes to show though that if the action doesn’t stop, it can get kind of tedious after a while, and lose impact. The moment of sincerity while sharing shitty takeout with Indigo is the one that stands out to me as one of the most, if not THE most memorable scenes of the book- there could, should have been more of those. Moments of respite that humanize Riko, and let us know why people even like her, if most of what she does is be abrasive and tell people to go fuck themselves.
Which brings me to another thing- our heroine is routinely sliced and diced, cut through, shot, decimated, and is constantly hovering on the edge of nanoshock- which, unless it happens sporadically, interspersed with plenty of moments of badassery, can make her feel somewhat incompetent. Like, if she almost dies every 20 pages (and still doesn’t carry a recharge with her, seriously Riko, do you have a death wish???), it doesn’t really make her environment sound dangerous- it just makes it seem like she’s not nearly as good as she says she is- which makes her importance as insinuated by the ending kind of confusing.
Spoiler alert:
Either way, I found the ending somewhat lacking. Not in action, just… meaning, I guess. Answers.
It was a fun time while it lasted, and if SINless turns out to be a trilogy I’ll definitely read the ending, but… this book was markedly weaker than the previous one. Let’s hope it’s just the “middle book syndrome” that plagues most trilogies, and not a case of the second half of a duology oddly not being as good as the first, and not finishing what the first started.
April 22, 2018
Riko’s got no clue what she did wrong or what happened to her six months ago. She’s got no clue if she actually sold out Nanji like everyone says she did. Worse, that’s killed her cred and her reputation. With leads colder than diamond steel and nowhere to turn she’s going to have to break every rule she knows to get to the bottom of this. Riko’s in a tight spot. People are after her. Feel sorry for them.
K. C. Alexander’s Nanoshock is the follow up to Necrotech, a violent profane thrill ride of a book that I enjoyed quite a bit. Does it stand up to the previous book? Yes, very much yes. Nanoshock, being a second book, doesn’t have to take its time in the beginning to set up its world. This is very much to its benefit because it lets the story hit the ground running and flow a lot more naturally.
There’s this great sort of interplay of characters in this one. Riko’s not quite back with her old team, but some of them will work with her for Indigo’s sake. A new character, Muerte, plays off of Riko and the other Saints super well. She’s brightly cheerful, nearly playful, which helps lighten up the feel of the book. Indigo is still pretty dour, but we get to see this great dance of trust and distrust and friendship between him and Riko. Even Riko’s pet detective gets built into a more dynamic character. The character work here is awesome. While there are moments where Riko’s actions are impulsive to the point of actively hurting her chances at getting anywhere, those still kind of work. Riko isn’t really working at a hundred percent and has a habit of acting in a very shoot first, let someone else do the thinking way.
I am leaving Malik Reed out of the awesome character work. He isn’t poorly written, though I’m much less inclined to give him slack on his mistakes. He’s still very much my least favorite part of the story. This is a character who is set up as very in control of his world and his situation. He expects perfection from his people and obedience, both of which are things that he should have known better than to expect from Riko. He also seems to make a point of trying to keep Riko out of the loop while she’s working for him. That leads to what can feel like forced conflict between the two. Plus, I got tired of reading about how attractive he is.
Repetition is something of a mixed bag here. More often than not, it works really well to emphasize what’s going on with Riko’s emotions. She’s angry and scared and running on fumes. So a repetition of themes and phrases works really well to keep her human and to keep her actions in context. It can also get clunky though. Certain phrases get used that feel just a little too long for what’s going on. Referring to every “Tom, Dick, and Blow” works well in the context of keeping an eye out for trouble in a club, but less so in the middle of an active fight.
The action scenes were really well done, tense and drawn out where they needed to be and then fast and hard when that fit. The tense scenes contain chunks of character work. That play of feelings and expectations really works to feed into the situation without feeling over done. The scenes that are fast are razor sharp and hit like a punch to the gut. They feel dangerous, not just for side characters but also to Riko herself.
Nanoshock is violent and profane and super fun and I want more. There’s a lot of stuff here that usually bothers me in books, but it works. Things are seeded very well and pay off in a way that’s super satisfying. Nanoshock gets a five out of five from me. If you can find it and Necrotech, read them.
I was sent a copy of Nanoshock by Angry Robot for honest review.
K. C. Alexander’s Nanoshock is the follow up to Necrotech, a violent profane thrill ride of a book that I enjoyed quite a bit. Does it stand up to the previous book? Yes, very much yes. Nanoshock, being a second book, doesn’t have to take its time in the beginning to set up its world. This is very much to its benefit because it lets the story hit the ground running and flow a lot more naturally.
There’s this great sort of interplay of characters in this one. Riko’s not quite back with her old team, but some of them will work with her for Indigo’s sake. A new character, Muerte, plays off of Riko and the other Saints super well. She’s brightly cheerful, nearly playful, which helps lighten up the feel of the book. Indigo is still pretty dour, but we get to see this great dance of trust and distrust and friendship between him and Riko. Even Riko’s pet detective gets built into a more dynamic character. The character work here is awesome. While there are moments where Riko’s actions are impulsive to the point of actively hurting her chances at getting anywhere, those still kind of work. Riko isn’t really working at a hundred percent and has a habit of acting in a very shoot first, let someone else do the thinking way.
I am leaving Malik Reed out of the awesome character work. He isn’t poorly written, though I’m much less inclined to give him slack on his mistakes. He’s still very much my least favorite part of the story. This is a character who is set up as very in control of his world and his situation. He expects perfection from his people and obedience, both of which are things that he should have known better than to expect from Riko. He also seems to make a point of trying to keep Riko out of the loop while she’s working for him. That leads to what can feel like forced conflict between the two. Plus, I got tired of reading about how attractive he is.
Repetition is something of a mixed bag here. More often than not, it works really well to emphasize what’s going on with Riko’s emotions. She’s angry and scared and running on fumes. So a repetition of themes and phrases works really well to keep her human and to keep her actions in context. It can also get clunky though. Certain phrases get used that feel just a little too long for what’s going on. Referring to every “Tom, Dick, and Blow” works well in the context of keeping an eye out for trouble in a club, but less so in the middle of an active fight.
The action scenes were really well done, tense and drawn out where they needed to be and then fast and hard when that fit. The tense scenes contain chunks of character work. That play of feelings and expectations really works to feed into the situation without feeling over done. The scenes that are fast are razor sharp and hit like a punch to the gut. They feel dangerous, not just for side characters but also to Riko herself.
Nanoshock is violent and profane and super fun and I want more. There’s a lot of stuff here that usually bothers me in books, but it works. Things are seeded very well and pay off in a way that’s super satisfying. Nanoshock gets a five out of five from me. If you can find it and Necrotech, read them.
I was sent a copy of Nanoshock by Angry Robot for honest review.
January 15, 2021
4/5
NANOSHOCK is the sequel to NECROTECH, a novel that I felt was one of the best cyberpunk novels of the new millennium. Cyberpunk hit its heyday in the Eighties and has never really return to its previous prominence, probably due to the fact we managed to make it reality around the late Nineties with the first present-day hackers movie being, well, Hackers. The SINless series is an homage to the classic Eighties cyberpunk, though, with its vulgar but unchanting heroine Riko as well as her insanely self-destructive attitude to anyone or anything that attempts to control her (or be her friend).
The premise is that Riko is still recovering from the events of the previous book. Her credit is in the toilet, she may have betrayed her fellow saints (street mercenaries) to a corporation, and her girlfriend became a kind of cyber-zombie that needed to be put down. Now she's pursuing a series of questionable leads in hopes of finding something that will reveal the truth of her situation. Aiding her in this is the corrupt corporate execute, Malik Reed, and the brother of her late girlfriend, Indigo, who still suspects her of being responsible for Nanji's death.
Nanoshock is book I have complicated feelings regarding. The book is trying much harder to be harsher, more vulgar, and more in your face than Necrotech. It opens up with Riko having sex with a nun (not a real one) in a back alley as a way to shock the audience. Riko also needlessly antagonizes everyone around her, physically assaulting and lashing out at her allies from the previous book. This is part of the story, though, as Riko was diagnosed with PTSD and her remaining paying gigs are all bound to trigger it.
I like that K.C. Alexander is willing to make her heroine not the most approachable or even likable at times. A more conventional author would play up her sexual tension with characters like Malik or Gregory but she has Riko even more antagonistic as a result. Relationships that seemed like thwy would be permanent or grow closer are permanently fractured in this volume. It isn't exactly a feel good response but this isn't exactly a feel good book. Sometimes, events break a character and the consequences aren't pretty.
The world of SINless is a fascinating one, being a Judge Dredd-esque archaology that seems both infinite as well as claustrophobic as well. There's endless numbers of horrible neighborhoods, new gangs, and murderous flamboyant mercenaries to deal with. The addition of technological zombies in the necrotech only adds to the horrifying but fascinating detail as well. Eventually, you put too much tech inside you then that tech will take over. It fits the world and makes things even more surreal and terrifying.
If I had one complaint about the book, it is the fact that the central plot to discover who did what to Riko and her team isn't advanced much. Riko goes to elaborate lengths to try and recover the tape that seemingly convicts her but comes no closer to acquiring it by the end of the book. Instead, her journey is a personal one and ends on a cliffhanger I've been hoping for a resolution to since the book came out.
In conclusion, I really enjoyed this book but it goes to darker and edgier places than the original. Not all readers will be comfortable with its harsh depiction of its characters, sexuality, and violence. However, that's part of the book's appeal. It is definitely a cyberPUNK book and all the stronger for its choices.
NANOSHOCK is the sequel to NECROTECH, a novel that I felt was one of the best cyberpunk novels of the new millennium. Cyberpunk hit its heyday in the Eighties and has never really return to its previous prominence, probably due to the fact we managed to make it reality around the late Nineties with the first present-day hackers movie being, well, Hackers. The SINless series is an homage to the classic Eighties cyberpunk, though, with its vulgar but unchanting heroine Riko as well as her insanely self-destructive attitude to anyone or anything that attempts to control her (or be her friend).
The premise is that Riko is still recovering from the events of the previous book. Her credit is in the toilet, she may have betrayed her fellow saints (street mercenaries) to a corporation, and her girlfriend became a kind of cyber-zombie that needed to be put down. Now she's pursuing a series of questionable leads in hopes of finding something that will reveal the truth of her situation. Aiding her in this is the corrupt corporate execute, Malik Reed, and the brother of her late girlfriend, Indigo, who still suspects her of being responsible for Nanji's death.
Nanoshock is book I have complicated feelings regarding. The book is trying much harder to be harsher, more vulgar, and more in your face than Necrotech. It opens up with Riko having sex with a nun (not a real one) in a back alley as a way to shock the audience. Riko also needlessly antagonizes everyone around her, physically assaulting and lashing out at her allies from the previous book. This is part of the story, though, as Riko was diagnosed with PTSD and her remaining paying gigs are all bound to trigger it.
I like that K.C. Alexander is willing to make her heroine not the most approachable or even likable at times. A more conventional author would play up her sexual tension with characters like Malik or Gregory but she has Riko even more antagonistic as a result. Relationships that seemed like thwy would be permanent or grow closer are permanently fractured in this volume. It isn't exactly a feel good response but this isn't exactly a feel good book. Sometimes, events break a character and the consequences aren't pretty.
The world of SINless is a fascinating one, being a Judge Dredd-esque archaology that seems both infinite as well as claustrophobic as well. There's endless numbers of horrible neighborhoods, new gangs, and murderous flamboyant mercenaries to deal with. The addition of technological zombies in the necrotech only adds to the horrifying but fascinating detail as well. Eventually, you put too much tech inside you then that tech will take over. It fits the world and makes things even more surreal and terrifying.
If I had one complaint about the book, it is the fact that the central plot to discover who did what to Riko and her team isn't advanced much. Riko goes to elaborate lengths to try and recover the tape that seemingly convicts her but comes no closer to acquiring it by the end of the book. Instead, her journey is a personal one and ends on a cliffhanger I've been hoping for a resolution to since the book came out.
In conclusion, I really enjoyed this book but it goes to darker and edgier places than the original. Not all readers will be comfortable with its harsh depiction of its characters, sexuality, and violence. However, that's part of the book's appeal. It is definitely a cyberPUNK book and all the stronger for its choices.
June 11, 2019
This review originally published in Looking For a Good Book. Rated 3.0 of 5
I gave a really great review to the first book in this ("SINless") series. In fact I gave a rare five out of five stars to the first book (see review here). So I am tremendously disappointed to write a review that is so significantly less than stellar.
Riko, the street-tough, rough-around-the-edges non-hero cyborg hasn't changed too much except now every street rat who wants to raise their own status figures that the easy way to do it is to take Riko down. But Riko is still tough as nails and she's got some things to prove and her good name to restore ... well, maybe not a good name, but she can't afford to lose any credibility. She takes a corporate job, expecting to get shafted, and not disappointed, but she needs the opportunity and not many others are giving it to her since the murder of her lover and companion.
There's no finesse with Riko, just in-your-face attacking, but then that's why she's hired, isn't it?
The book starts off with one of the most outrageous (and shocking?) sentences I've come across and it really does set the tone for what will be in the book (warning...devout Catholics, you may not approve). But it instantly reminded me why I liked the first book so much (the character of Riko) and I was excited to get inside this volume.
But nothing happens.
Well, not exactly nothing, of course, but nothing worthwhile.
She swears a lot and has some pretty irreverent sex and swears some more, and flexes some muscle and swears some more and has more sex while swearing.
The character really hasn't changed much from the last book. She was a curse machine then too, but she was surrounded with purpose and her mouth reflected her reactions to what was happening. Here her mouth is what is happening and that just doesn't work. It grows tiresome quickly when there's not much else to read about.
In the first book Riko was an anti-hero who had to rise above what was expected of her in order to climb out of the problems around her. Here she appears determined to remind the reader that she's not a hero and she does everything she can to stay down among the dirt, even though she says she wants to rise above it. It's kind of the opposite of that first book, which is appropriate since my reaction is pretty much the opposite as well.
Riko was a fresh (if vulgar) face in Alexander's first book in the series and I was really hooked, but this was a real let-down. Where, I wonder, will the third volume fall...?
Looking for a good book? Nanoshock by K. C. Alexander is the second book in the SINless series and the main character is every bit as rude and ruthless as she was in the first volume but here she's without purpose and the character wears thin.
I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.
I gave a really great review to the first book in this ("SINless") series. In fact I gave a rare five out of five stars to the first book (see review here). So I am tremendously disappointed to write a review that is so significantly less than stellar.
Riko, the street-tough, rough-around-the-edges non-hero cyborg hasn't changed too much except now every street rat who wants to raise their own status figures that the easy way to do it is to take Riko down. But Riko is still tough as nails and she's got some things to prove and her good name to restore ... well, maybe not a good name, but she can't afford to lose any credibility. She takes a corporate job, expecting to get shafted, and not disappointed, but she needs the opportunity and not many others are giving it to her since the murder of her lover and companion.
There's no finesse with Riko, just in-your-face attacking, but then that's why she's hired, isn't it?
The book starts off with one of the most outrageous (and shocking?) sentences I've come across and it really does set the tone for what will be in the book (warning...devout Catholics, you may not approve). But it instantly reminded me why I liked the first book so much (the character of Riko) and I was excited to get inside this volume.
But nothing happens.
Well, not exactly nothing, of course, but nothing worthwhile.
She swears a lot and has some pretty irreverent sex and swears some more, and flexes some muscle and swears some more and has more sex while swearing.
The character really hasn't changed much from the last book. She was a curse machine then too, but she was surrounded with purpose and her mouth reflected her reactions to what was happening. Here her mouth is what is happening and that just doesn't work. It grows tiresome quickly when there's not much else to read about.
In the first book Riko was an anti-hero who had to rise above what was expected of her in order to climb out of the problems around her. Here she appears determined to remind the reader that she's not a hero and she does everything she can to stay down among the dirt, even though she says she wants to rise above it. It's kind of the opposite of that first book, which is appropriate since my reaction is pretty much the opposite as well.
Riko was a fresh (if vulgar) face in Alexander's first book in the series and I was really hooked, but this was a real let-down. Where, I wonder, will the third volume fall...?
Looking for a good book? Nanoshock by K. C. Alexander is the second book in the SINless series and the main character is every bit as rude and ruthless as she was in the first volume but here she's without purpose and the character wears thin.
I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.
November 11, 2017
K.C. Alexander's "Nanoshock" is an absolutely filthy book that captures a scumbag life of a rage-filled woman kicking as much ass as she possibly can. It is glorious, and written so beautifully, it almost cancels out the vulgarity of the expletives.
I'm not saying the cursing is bad, though a little heavy even for someone with a filthy mouth. But the prose, the description, is so gorgeous, so perfectly crafted, it really makes it quite beautiful. and that's hard to do, with F-bombs and every other four letter word layered in.
The story relies heavily on knowledge of the first book, which is also a very good read. However, one thing I will definitely point out, is that the two books don't feel like one adventure, chopped in half. Nanoshock feels like an entirely different way of telling a story than Necrotech. If Necrotech were a zombie movie, Nanoshock is a Hollywood Blockbuster. If Necrotech were Dawn of the Dead, Nanoshock is John Wick. The story continues from Necrotech in a really well done way, but this isn't a carbon-copy adventure just like the first one. It's different, and is told differently. It's a really nice touch that shows Alexander's range as a writer.
The writing is funny, the story is frantic, and the violence is graphic. Riko is both an intensely likeable and hugely sympathetic character, and a massive jerk who you just want to shake by the shoulders and tell to chill out. The supporting cast changes in the blink of an eye from you liking them to hating them to liking them. Honestly, while reading this book, you can never be quite sure where you stand. Everything can change in the blink of an eye.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading Nanoshock, and hope that it sells extremely well, because I want a third one. If you like cyberpunk and that style of science fiction, Nanoshock is a book that feels like it loved the genre in the early '90s, and then grew up to be its own thing. This reminds me of Talsorian's Cyberpunk 2021, but with a 2017-written sensibility. Nanoshock isn't your '94-era Shadowrun, it's taking all those ideas and redoing them today.
As K.C. herself said, you pretty much will know whether or not you'll like this book based on the very first line of it.
I'm not saying the cursing is bad, though a little heavy even for someone with a filthy mouth. But the prose, the description, is so gorgeous, so perfectly crafted, it really makes it quite beautiful. and that's hard to do, with F-bombs and every other four letter word layered in.
The story relies heavily on knowledge of the first book, which is also a very good read. However, one thing I will definitely point out, is that the two books don't feel like one adventure, chopped in half. Nanoshock feels like an entirely different way of telling a story than Necrotech. If Necrotech were a zombie movie, Nanoshock is a Hollywood Blockbuster. If Necrotech were Dawn of the Dead, Nanoshock is John Wick. The story continues from Necrotech in a really well done way, but this isn't a carbon-copy adventure just like the first one. It's different, and is told differently. It's a really nice touch that shows Alexander's range as a writer.
The writing is funny, the story is frantic, and the violence is graphic. Riko is both an intensely likeable and hugely sympathetic character, and a massive jerk who you just want to shake by the shoulders and tell to chill out. The supporting cast changes in the blink of an eye from you liking them to hating them to liking them. Honestly, while reading this book, you can never be quite sure where you stand. Everything can change in the blink of an eye.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading Nanoshock, and hope that it sells extremely well, because I want a third one. If you like cyberpunk and that style of science fiction, Nanoshock is a book that feels like it loved the genre in the early '90s, and then grew up to be its own thing. This reminds me of Talsorian's Cyberpunk 2021, but with a 2017-written sensibility. Nanoshock isn't your '94-era Shadowrun, it's taking all those ideas and redoing them today.
As K.C. herself said, you pretty much will know whether or not you'll like this book based on the very first line of it.
July 26, 2018
Riko is back and more vulgar than ever. Her cred is almost completely destroyed and she's working for a corporation. If anyone else knew, the saints would kill her for it. She still has months of missing memories and the blame for killing her girlfriend Nanji. Now, someone has a grudge against her sells her out, causing other gangs to view her as weak and ripe for killing her to collect more cred. It's all evil corporations, no help, and violence at every turn for Riko.
Nanoshock is the sequel to Necrotech and takes things even further. The very first scene has unconventional sex and blasphemy in one memorable and graphic package. Riko narrates the story and has the most inventive disgusting language I've read. Her outward emotion is to be constantly angry and wants violence to solve everything. She's frankly pretty immature and impulsive, but the story inside is different. Her separation from her core group hurts a lot. They still speak, but they aren't really friends anymore and it crushes Riko. Her situation makes her feel emotionally and physically vulnerable, which only makes her more angry. Her inner monologue betrays the depth of her emotions. Throughout the novel, Riko experiences betrayal after betrayal and keeps fighting. Her drive to keep going is something to admire even if sometimes she makes the wrong decisions and alienates almost everyone around her.
The background of this world is expanded a bit. It started with rollbacks of environmental regulations and a small ice age that had many disbelieving global warming until it was too late. The suns rays are so toxic that no one can live outside the shields even with nanos. We find out more about Riko's background. She was born into the Good Shepherds, a deranged religious group that takes Catholicisms and makes it even crazier. Transubstantiation now means that all the men in the group are Jesus (which means their sins of rape and pedophilia are forgiven) and the women are left as servants (as usual). Lucky saved her from that and she joined a crew (that almost killed her) before she joined Indigo. Her life makes a lot more sense and some of what she knew to be true turned out to be false.
There aren't as many zombie scenes as the first book, but one is particularly spectacular. Just like in the last book, corruption can set in due to overworked nanos that leads to nanoshock. This overwhelms the system and leads to possible corruption, which is when the nanos inadvertantly kill the person and power their corpse. Metacorp experiments with weaponizing corruption and rumors that it could spread to other vectors, maybe including bandwidth. Riko experiences nanoshock multiple times as she gets her ass kicked throughout the book, but gets saved from turning each time. she is forced to move on before she truly heals or gets her tech fixed, risking corruption each time. The end scene is a wonder of zombie violence with an explosive, crazy ending.
Nanoshock is just as fun to read as Necrotech. However, there are too many unanswered questions, compounded by the fact that this a sequel. No answers are given to the mysteries of the first book including why Nanji stayed sentient after turning necro, what happened during 4 months of Riko's life, why that blackout even happened, why she has a voice in head, and on and on. The novel ends with Chapter 1 and the first lines of the first book. What's with that? Is the series continuing? This book answered no questions and created a whole slew more. So much of the book went by without a whole lot happening and it felt like many wasted opportunities. If there is another book, I will read it. However, if it's just another book of no answers and more questions, I'm done with the series.
Nanoshock is the sequel to Necrotech and takes things even further. The very first scene has unconventional sex and blasphemy in one memorable and graphic package. Riko narrates the story and has the most inventive disgusting language I've read. Her outward emotion is to be constantly angry and wants violence to solve everything. She's frankly pretty immature and impulsive, but the story inside is different. Her separation from her core group hurts a lot. They still speak, but they aren't really friends anymore and it crushes Riko. Her situation makes her feel emotionally and physically vulnerable, which only makes her more angry. Her inner monologue betrays the depth of her emotions. Throughout the novel, Riko experiences betrayal after betrayal and keeps fighting. Her drive to keep going is something to admire even if sometimes she makes the wrong decisions and alienates almost everyone around her.
The background of this world is expanded a bit. It started with rollbacks of environmental regulations and a small ice age that had many disbelieving global warming until it was too late. The suns rays are so toxic that no one can live outside the shields even with nanos. We find out more about Riko's background. She was born into the Good Shepherds, a deranged religious group that takes Catholicisms and makes it even crazier. Transubstantiation now means that all the men in the group are Jesus (which means their sins of rape and pedophilia are forgiven) and the women are left as servants (as usual). Lucky saved her from that and she joined a crew (that almost killed her) before she joined Indigo. Her life makes a lot more sense and some of what she knew to be true turned out to be false.
There aren't as many zombie scenes as the first book, but one is particularly spectacular. Just like in the last book, corruption can set in due to overworked nanos that leads to nanoshock. This overwhelms the system and leads to possible corruption, which is when the nanos inadvertantly kill the person and power their corpse. Metacorp experiments with weaponizing corruption and rumors that it could spread to other vectors, maybe including bandwidth. Riko experiences nanoshock multiple times as she gets her ass kicked throughout the book, but gets saved from turning each time. she is forced to move on before she truly heals or gets her tech fixed, risking corruption each time. The end scene is a wonder of zombie violence with an explosive, crazy ending.
Nanoshock is just as fun to read as Necrotech. However, there are too many unanswered questions, compounded by the fact that this a sequel. No answers are given to the mysteries of the first book including why Nanji stayed sentient after turning necro, what happened during 4 months of Riko's life, why that blackout even happened, why she has a voice in head, and on and on. The novel ends with Chapter 1 and the first lines of the first book. What's with that? Is the series continuing? This book answered no questions and created a whole slew more. So much of the book went by without a whole lot happening and it felt like many wasted opportunities. If there is another book, I will read it. However, if it's just another book of no answers and more questions, I'm done with the series.
November 8, 2017
Like "Nectrotech," the first of K.C. Alexander's "SINless" books, "Nanoshock" is grotesquely violent and obscene. It's also hyperkinetic, gripping, and frustrating. Riko, the book's first-person narrator, is a postapocalyptic mercenary Amazon who is deeply loyal to her friends, deadly with a gun or her bionic arm, and plagued by a very deep self-destructive streak. In "Necrotech," Riko wakes up from several months that she cannot remember and learns that she has betrayed all of her old criminal friends and may be responsible for the death of her girlfriend/partner in crime. Like the main character in a recent USA TV series, Riko's been burned and she needs to find out why. By the start of "Nanoshock," Riko has established that she is somehow connected to something new that is increasing the risk of high-tech cyborg implants taking control of their hosts, turning them into homicidal "necros." Large, secretive corporations appear to be involved, but it's not clear what's they're trying to do. Unfotunately, Riko's forward progress is suddenly going in the other direction thanks to a contract on her life put out by an anonymous person or entity with very deep pockets. Cooperating with Indigo from her old team, her companion Muerte from an even older team, and her corporate patron Malik Reed, Riko hopes to prove that she did not kill her girlfriend and to head off whatever malign experiments corporations are carrying out with necrotech ... flirting, cursing, killing or all of the above, all along the way. The result is a lot of hot action and a lot of tension, but also a lot of repetition and a frustrating lack of progress with respect to the overall story. If you enjoy sci-fi action and don't mind Riko's aggressive hypersexualization of everything, you will probably find both of the books compelling but less than completely satisfying.
May 27, 2018
A relentless gut-punch of a ride. Nanoshock starts off at eleven and then proceeds to break the dial into tiny little pieces. Riko gets pushed to the limit as she's desperate to get her cred back and find out some hint to the corporate conspiracy introduced in the first book. This time we're really sold on how far Riko has fallen, and how much of her old life she's lost. She's hanging on by her fingernails while shit just keeps getting worse.
K.C. Alexander uses language like an electrified rivet gun, punching holes in your brain with an aftertaste of tingly goodness. It might not be for everyone, but if you enjoyed the first book than you'll definitely enjoy this one. I absolutely loved it.
K.C. Alexander uses language like an electrified rivet gun, punching holes in your brain with an aftertaste of tingly goodness. It might not be for everyone, but if you enjoyed the first book than you'll definitely enjoy this one. I absolutely loved it.
February 15, 2018
Well, while it didn't end as I expected and I was annoyed at the deus ex machina keeping the protagonist alive through all sorts of careless desicions I can honestly say that the ending was better than I expected.
Look, this series isn't for everyone. It's brutal and Alexander doesn't hold back on language or sexuality. However the cyberpunk ethos is very alive under all the shock value. I'm just going to leave it at that and make this short and sweet. If you're looking for good cyberpunk and aren't even a little bit prude then you'll enjoy both books.
Look, this series isn't for everyone. It's brutal and Alexander doesn't hold back on language or sexuality. However the cyberpunk ethos is very alive under all the shock value. I'm just going to leave it at that and make this short and sweet. If you're looking for good cyberpunk and aren't even a little bit prude then you'll enjoy both books.
August 24, 2018
A continuation of her first book; and the zombies are back. They are less important in this book; with the emphasis being on who is trashing Riko's "cred". I can't recall who it was, as that wasn't given as a big revelation. And it is doubtful we'll ever find out, as the book ends with Riko's suicide. But you know sci-fi. She could wake up in a lab somewhere; cursing smeg this and cunting that. I gave this book three stars, because the characters are great; the action is good, and the plot's progression is engaging. I hope Riko lives, because I actually like her, and her world.
December 11, 2018
Mayhem
If you enjoy reading about life with the gloves definitely off (from a distance) then this is a book written from the view of a splatter artist. As in. Splatter. Artist.
With a low opinion of some of the “bright ideas” embraced by a few (fictional) corporate entities, and a close up feel for the impact on people of decisions made directed solely by immediate power gain, this is a powerful read.
Please read responsibly.
PS: might be a little naughty language here and there.
PPS: Good portrayal of buddy morals.
If you enjoy reading about life with the gloves definitely off (from a distance) then this is a book written from the view of a splatter artist. As in. Splatter. Artist.
With a low opinion of some of the “bright ideas” embraced by a few (fictional) corporate entities, and a close up feel for the impact on people of decisions made directed solely by immediate power gain, this is a powerful read.
Please read responsibly.
PS: might be a little naughty language here and there.
PPS: Good portrayal of buddy morals.
November 21, 2017
The profanity, the sweet never ending profanity. You came for the violence but we all stayed for the profanity. This is not a book for the light hearted. Violent, profane, probably considered blasphemous to some considering the very first line.
Cyberpunk that'll kick your ovaries in and steal your favourite knife on the way out. People say these books aren't like those in the old days. They're right, these books are better.
And wait till you see the ending Kace leaves us with.
Cyberpunk that'll kick your ovaries in and steal your favourite knife on the way out. People say these books aren't like those in the old days. They're right, these books are better.
And wait till you see the ending Kace leaves us with.
December 9, 2022
I hit a period where I stopped reading, but then I picked this book back up again and I loved it. Its hard-bitten main character is tough and fronting and struggling and strangely vulnerable even as she wanders around fucking everyone's day up. If you're prepared for a very gritty cyberpunk book with lots of swearing, sex, and violence, go for it. With both hands.
Really hope Alexander keeps writing more great books.
Really hope Alexander keeps writing more great books.
January 8, 2018
After the masterpiece of Necrotech, I expected a lot from Nanoshock. I was, however, sadly disappointed. It felt like the story was sort of flailing around without knowing where it was going or why. In many ways, it read like a fanfic of Necrotech, not a sequel. Even so, I will pick up the next one when it comes out.
November 12, 2018
Unique style. It tends to move very quickly, you have to put it down a take a breath. She has a unique set of values drilled into her by the streets and reaction to any encounter or stimulus come from that and keeps you on your toes. Really like the authors style and would read anything else that she’s written.
March 13, 2019
Oooof that was a shit ending. As in, nicely done but OUCH. Dammit where is the next one?!?
This one didn't feel as juiced up manic energy as the first book. Also answered fewer questions, somehow. Not as many tingly moments of anticipation. Still a fun read that grinds to dust the fragile female stereotype. Mostly. Chick still needs saving. But it's a believably human need.
This one didn't feel as juiced up manic energy as the first book. Also answered fewer questions, somehow. Not as many tingly moments of anticipation. Still a fun read that grinds to dust the fragile female stereotype. Mostly. Chick still needs saving. But it's a believably human need.
December 11, 2017
From an amazing opening line to an intense closing closing chapter I absolutely enjoyed this book. I'm sad though that this is the end. I hope Alexander continues with more novels set in this universe.
July 7, 2018
Hmm. Most of it is in a similar vein to the previous one. But then in just the last ten pages or so it takes a hard left into what-the-fuck-just-happened territory, and I'm really not sure whether the resultant cliffhanger has left me more or less interested in picking up the next one.
July 24, 2018
“Stop me if you’ve heard this one: a linker, a fixer, two splatter specialists and a corporate dickhead walk into a chopshop...”
4.5/5 - I enjoyed this book more then the first maybe because the story keeps getting more interesting, it was brutal!!
4.5/5 - I enjoyed this book more then the first maybe because the story keeps getting more interesting, it was brutal!!
March 5, 2021
Once again, a very action packed book! I'm hoping there will be another one based on the very last page, but I guess we'll have to wait and see. I loved it though and look forward to more from K.C. Alexander!
November 8, 2017
A worthy sequel. I look forward to more.
November 15, 2017
Read this book now
A terrific thrill ride of a book for anyone who loves Cyberpunk. Great razor sharp writing and bespoke vulgarity that has made me a fan for life
A terrific thrill ride of a book for anyone who loves Cyberpunk. Great razor sharp writing and bespoke vulgarity that has made me a fan for life
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