Brain Thief

by Alexander Jablokov

Bernal Haydon-Rumi, executive assistant to a funder of eccentric projects, drops by his boss's house on the way home from a business trip. By the next morning, he's been knocked out, his wealthy socialite boss Muriel has stolen a car and vanished, and the AI designed for planetary exploration that she's been funding turns out to be odder than it should be. In figuring out what's going on, Bernal has to deal with an anti-AI activist toting a handmade electronic arsenal, a local serial killer, a drug dealer with a business problem, a cryonic therapist stalked by past mistakes--and someone who specifically wants Bernal dead.

Brain Thief is a fun, literate speculative fiction adventure, sort of New England cyberpunk noir, set a year or ten from now, somewhere between the Berkshires and Boston, and includes, at no extra charge, a 30-foot-tall fiberglass cowgirl.

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction, Cyberpunk, Mystery, Science Fiction Fantasy, Suspense

384 pages, Hardcover

First published January 5, 2010

About the author

Alexander Jablokov writes science fiction for readers who won't give up literate writing or vivid characters to get the thrills they demand. He is a natural transition for non-SF readers interested in taking a stroll with a dangerous AI or a neurosurgeon/jazz musician turned detective, while still giving hardcore SF fans speculative flash, incomprehensible aliens, and kitchen appliances with insect wing cases.

From his well-regarded first novel, Carve the Sky, an interplanetary espionage novel set in a culturally complex 25th century, through the obscenely articulate dolphins with military modifications of a Deeper Sea, the hardboiled post-cyberpunk of Nimbus, the subterranean Martian repression of River of Dust, and the perverse space opera of Deepdrive, he has come to Brain Thief, a contemporary high-tech thriller with a class clown attitude.

Reviews

[Anton · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a very uneven book, at least in my experience. The first 100 pages or so are rather confusing, I kept reading simply to see where it was going. Then it suddenly picked up for a while, but eventually went back again to some really choppy narration. Some people will probably enjoy the style, but it was honestly not my cup of tea.

[Sheila · Rating 5 out of 5]

Alexander Jablokov returns to science fiction with Brain Thief, his first novel in the genre after several years. This imaginative mystery comes complete with a cast of eccentrics who in some form or fashion antagonize Bernal Haydon-Rumi, the man at the center of this strange journey and struggle for answers. When Bernal returns to his wealthy employer's home after a business excursion, simplicity unravels, and he is left with a puzzle to solve that involves his boss, a woman who spends idle time funding strange projects, and an AI device designed to explore other planets, as well as an activist, a local murderer, and a problem-riddled cryogenic specialist, among other memorable and equally complicated characters. In order to figure out what is amiss, he must stay on the trail of his employer and utilize the personal resources at his disposal: cleverness, persistence, and a strong desire to understand. What will he uncover in his search for answers, and is an executive assistant's life really supposed to be this strange? Jablokov's newest novel is compelling, bizarre and difficult to put down. It will be an ideal reading for science fiction enthusiasts and readers who enjoy creative stories that never seem to stop twisting and evolving. Brain Thief is highly recommended to readers of Jablokov's previous works as well.

[Mary · Rating 1 out of 5]

I read the first 100 or so pages, and have no idea what this book is about. And I'm not alone; apparently the story line heavily involves assorted people randomly meeting to say they also have no idea what is happening. A plot would have been helpful.

[D · Rating 4 out of 5]

The short version: Brain Thief absolutely floored me. If you think you'd like a post-modern noir that's dark and funny, packed with quirky characters and hair-raising thrills, and has some near-future science fiction flavor, it's run-do-not-walk time. Bernal Hayden-Rumi works for a wealthy eccentric who funds oddball research projects, something is going identifiably wonky with one as the novel opens, and I encourage you to let the novel spring all its other surprises on you without my interference.

More wordily:

On the fifth page of of Brain Thief there's an editing gaffe that had me staring at three short paragraphs for a good minute trying to work out what Jablokov had intended to convey. This is noteworthy because it's such an aberration. If there were any rough patches later on, I was far too caught up to notice; Brain Thief 's tightly coiled plot is like some finely machined watch in the act of exploding.

Brain Thief marks the first time I read a physical book and wished I was reading an electronic copy instead. This was partly because I spiked it with a dozen bookmarks for passages that exemplify Jablokov's prose tightrope-walking between evoking classic noir and sleek sci-fi flavor ("He wore a black suit jacket, which Bernal pretended to himself he could identify as Armani," "an old gray-water recovery unity with dangling filters made of nylon stockings stood next to a high-end rotating composter that smelled of rotting meat", "the warbling bleert of an old dial-up modem", "heavy batteries . . . everything in the modern world had become small and light, except the very heart of their power, which still had a Victorian mass", "a warm day, the first day when the warmth seemed sincere rather than a smile pasted on a lurking winter" -- Jablokov's dialog crackles, too, although it's harder to excerpt without running afoul of spoilers). But it was also because I kept needing to flip back to review previous scenes as new twists evolved my interpretation of events (Brain Thief rewards close and careful reading).

I'm not entirely clear on how eligibility for the major SF awards works, so maybe Brain Thief can still garner at least a (richly deserved, in my opinion, because there's some serious thoughtfood under the thrillride) nomination for best novel. But I think it may not. Brain Thief is packaged as science fiction, but if you absolutely had to choose, it's more a mystery novel with science fiction elements than a science fiction novel with mystery elements. Perhaps that will keep it from being seriously considered as an award candidate in either genre. Which leads me to a thought about all the calories fans and critics (myself included) put into micro-classification: genre identification is helpful if it leads you to something you enjoy, but it's harmful if it excludes something you might enjoy.

Brain Thief reminded me of Rian Johnson's terrific film Brick in how it incorporated the traditional elements of noir fiction into non-traditional noir setting, bringing a startling freshness to well-worn genre tropes.

Brain Thief is also mostly set where our kittens hail from -- between Boston and The Berkshires -- and has some slyly mutated takes on some New England institutions which endeared it to me even more.

[Kevin Phyland · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bernal's boss, the enigmatic and wealthy Muriel has gone missing and he starts a search for her that leads to a strange conspiracy of silence about an Al-operated space probe called Hesketh. His detective skills get him nearly killed a couple of times as he impinges on a serial killer who decapitates his victims for unknown reasons as the heads are not normally found. His investigation leads him to a shocking conclusion that the Al may be deliberately taking the heads to use as bio-brains to increase its intelligence. This unlikely hypothesis seems to be the main chance until a number of logical flaws become evident and his search leads in a different and far more sinister direction. Are they linked? And what really happened to Muriel? A detective story from Alexander Jablokov which leads the reader on a merry chase and digs around a barrow full of red herrings before reaching a satisfying conclusion. The cover blurb mentions cyberpunk but that's a bit of a stretch.

[Emma · Rating 2 out of 5]

The storyline was so disjointed that I had trouble keeping up with what was happening. It jumps from one thing to something completely different in a way that does not make sense. This was as confusing as Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen. That was confusing because of the language but this was confusing because of the order the information was presented in.

[Mori · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is one of those books that was completely a cover buy, and one that sat on my shelf for years.

Unfortunately this wasn't one of those books that you finally get around to reading and you're like 'oh man, I can't believe I waited this long'. While the opening few chapters were engaging and really got me intrigued, the rest of the book was downhill from there.

My biggest gripe with this book, and it might just be a personal thing, but a lot of the science side and the science jargon went completely over my head and I found myself either asking my partner what he thought or just googling various words so I could try and keep track of what was happening.

All of the characters are unique, and I think that was a fault in this book. They all seemed to be wrapped up in this story, but also wrapped up in a million other things that it was hard to keep track of and hard to differentiate between the various characters.

You never get to meet any of the main players, the ones you keep reading about from others second hand views, and honestly those characters seemed to be the most interesting ones of the bunch.

While this wasn't the worst book I've read, I'm not entirely sure I'd recommend it to anyone else to read. Which is unfortunate.

[Melissa Hayden · Rating 4 out of 5]

The mystery starts right away when Bernal is just coming home from a business trip stopping by to see his boss. He gets the feeling something's not right. You start to see, as well, something is askew. Chasing his boss as she runs away and steals a car to get away. What is going on? Muriel, Bernals boss, leaves hints and messages to help steer him on the right path to help him with the mystery of Hesketh. Hesketh is an artificial intelligence that is on a sample run through the hillsides before it is actually sent into space.

I have to say I understood what was going on at the beginning of the book. Then there were a lot of strange things mentioned in which I got confused on. There was talk of Hesketh, Hess Corp - who worked on Hesketh before Madeline and Muriel took on the project with Muriels money, and Long Voyage - a cryobank for people wanting to wake up in the future. The confusion was not that I didn't completely understand what I was reading but mostly that I didn't believe what I was reading. I couldn't figure out if I was reading and comprehending it properly. (This being part of the mystery stuff.) I started to tally all the information I was getting separately in my head then piecing it together to see where the book was going. I was just a little ahead of the author, as just as I was doing this he then started to do it in the book. At around 150 pages into the book Bernal started to piece the puzzle together as well. Which when I hit this point I was so proud of myself as I was coming right up at the same lines as the main character. Hurray for me to understand and put it together! Then there was new information added nicely from this point to include in solving the mystery.

The best part of the book that kept me going was wondering who was leaving the messages and who was dead or alive, who was the serial killer, and what was going on with Hesketh (if it really worked). In the end I got the answers I was looking for. The mystery element was what kept me going in the book.

The characters unfold nicely as the book goes. There are a few characters you really don't truly meet and follow through but they feel as they are main characters by the way they are talked about, described, and messages passed on. I liked this angle as I really felt I got to know these characters and they really came through. In the end I really enjoyed most of the characters.

There were just a few minor unfavored points: There were a few spots that when things were brought up or thought, it almost felt like it didn't really flow or blend with what was going on. Almost like the information was needed and had to be told somewhere, but there were only a small few of these. Then there was the main character Bernal. I felt like I really didn't get to know him as well as the other characters. I mean I did get to know him but for some reason I didn't feel the connection as much with him as all the other characters. I liked him but that was all. He did do a great job of solving the mystery at hand and sticking to his guns on his ideas.

This has been a wonderful mystery with the science fiction element added in. Many of the characters have parallel characteristics which could point to them as the possible killer behind all of this. But there is one that fits all the pieces very well. Can you figure it out?

[Madeline · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brain Thief by Alexander Jablokov is about a man named Bernal, who has a strong relationship with his employer Muriel Inglis. They both work (although more Muriel than Bernal) in the business of AI ten years in the future. When Bernal notices that Muriel had been acting strange he tries desperately to follow her strangely cryptic clues and in doing so is forced to undergo an even stranger mission of figuring out the secrets to the mysterious AI “Hesketh” and a network of serial killers taking heads off of bodies. Bernal has to met with some interest characters and be put in dangerous situations.
Overall I thought Brain Thief by Alexander Jablokov was a fairly good book but I did not like the use of words that were made up by the author and had little to no explanation at all and if they did they were very confusing such as the invention of tooning “Something about it...Personality building?” (Page 41, Brain Thief) “You get up one day and you don’t know yourself.” (Page 41, Brain Thief) or the SQUID “Looked like a superconducting quantum interference device” (Page 21, Brain Thief) and the AI “Hesketh” was never really explained but mentioned numerous times and I have nothing to prove that because the characters in the book never said anything on “Hesketh” just that it was an AI and expected people to know exactly what that meant. The character development seemed sloppy at best, the one description Alexander Jablokov gave of the main character Bernal was short and didn’t say much at all although the author did kind of make up for that by adding in little things about bernal like “Bernal had an innate sense of privacy.” (Page 32, Brain Thief) or “Every time a light went on in someone’s eyes or two seemingly unrelated incentives came into alignment, Bernal felt joy.” (Page 13, Brain Thief).
I would give Brain Thief by Alexander Jablokov a 4 out of 5 stars because I really liked the story’s plot and how it was portrayed but some of the things that happened were just nonsense and didn’t really do anything for the story but that rarely happened. The story was great but very long, I would go back to reading and think ‘what is happening here?’ because I would forget what I read due to the length. A book I would compare this to would be Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones, although Brain Thief uses science and futuristic setting and Howl’s Moving Castle uses magic and alternate universal settings both main characters have a similar sense of stubbornness and understandable fear and the objective of the character’s in the story is clear, Sophie has to cure her spell and Bernal has to find Muriel and Hesketh.

[Jason Pettus · Rating 2 out of 5]

(Reprinted from the Chicago Center for Literature and Photography [cclapcenter.com:]. I am the original author of this essay, as well as the owner of CCLaP; it is not being reprinted illegally.)

At first glance, the "trippy" "cyberpunk" novel Brain Thief by Alexander Jablokov looks like something that'd be right up my alley, to the point that it's one of the few titles I've ever bothered to put on reserve at my local library, instead of my usual habit of choosing books based on whatever random titles happen to be there on the day of my visit. But alas, this novel is neither trippy nor cyberpunk, but rather a sorta ham-fisted gonzo comedy that shares exactly enough surface-level elements with trippy cyberpunk to justify some lazy marketer slapping the words onto the dust jacket, a book that supposedly concerns the day-after-tomorrow high-tech industry centered around Boston and an artificially intelligent entity that has gone rogue, but whose entire first half (which is as far as I read) mostly consists of zany chase scenes that for some unknown reason are set in locations that feel more like rural California in 1956. Of course, details like these have been forgiven in other bizarro novels I've reviewed here, but Brain Thief also happens to be egregiously guilty of the most common crime among all genre fiction in general, of ignoring character development in their service of an overly convoluted plot; and so not only does this book mostly consist of zany chase scenes when it's been advertised as a brainy thriller, but they are chase scenes set among disposable cartoon characters, completely failing to generate any interest among the reader as to what their fates might be, and instead forcing the reader to judge the book solely by how clever it is (which unfortunately is "not very"). I mean, not every book out there has to be Proust, but for God's sake, I want an artist to at least make an effort at getting us to feel like we're following the fate of a real human being, and not just some cardboard chess piece that emerged whole-cloth from their mind's eye; and this of course is the big problem among CGI-obsessed Hollywood these days too, and why such big-budget spectacles like Avatar still end up feeling flat and listless no matter how inventive the special effects. This book is the textual version of that, and it comes recommended to only the most hardcore fans of bizarro and gonzo fiction out there.

Out of 10: 5.7

[Hollowspine · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Sci-fi murder mystery with elements of hard science and soft bodies. A serial killer is on the loose, but are they acting on human emotion or cold mechanical logic? Bernal Hayden-Rumi (half-Japanese geek love) is out to solve the issue, meeting a cast of mainly ladies who mostly aide him on his way.

The book was alright, it had some humorous moments and some interesting thoughts, but wasn't something I'd rave about. I might mention this book to non-serious sci-fi readers or mystery readers, but wouldn't approach anyone who reads a lot of hard sci-fi with this. They would find too many flaws and not gain enough enjoyment from this casual novel. There were a multitude of red herrings throughout the book as well, really giving Bernal the run around.

Other than that as a woman, I found Bernal an okay narrator for the story. He didn't seem too full of himself and did form different kinds of relationships with the many ladies in the book. However, Jablokov didn't shy away from presenting Bernal with many situations where he could sexually objectify them. However, having tortured myself by reading, in its entirety, Cryptonomicon, that Bernal is no Lawrence Water-whatever-his-name-was, which is very very good, that man would be the only person I would seriously hope was hit by a bus.

I didn't really understand the coke fueled sex-scene in the novel either. I'd say that the relationships were the weakest point of the novel. It seemed that Bernal was basically always evaluating the women of the story to see if they would be 'his type.' Rather odd when he's supposedly searching for his dead boss and the serial killer/ mars rover that killed her). He has a beer with one minor character's extremely minor sister and then asked her out, seeming to think a lot about her as an ideal candidate...then *Spoiler* has sex with a serial killer. Go figure.

[Book Calendar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Alexander Jablokov Brain Thief

Bernal Hayden Rumi works for an eccentric millionaire. He troubleshoots projects like an attempt to reseed the great plains of the United States with mammoths. One day his employer disappears and he ends up on a chase through wild and strange circumstances. The author is quite original in his approach and his subjects.




This novel is the landscape of fringe science, stolen crogenically frozen heads, black market scientific equipment, planetary exploration robots, and animal experiments gone wrong wind through this story. Alexander Jablokov philosophically challenges scientific experiments on animals and the idea that the singularity when robots become smarter than humans is a good thing.




Bernal gets to experience the worst aspects of human behavior while he seeks his employer; a serial killer, kidnapping, drugs, murder, thievery, and violent irrational philosophy.




The story is an intriguing, fast read without a happy ending. It is a mix of speculative fiction and mystery. The dialogue is crisp, often surprises, and takes unexpected turns. Many of the characters are more than a little deranged. The science is on the edge of the possible. This was a very entertaining read. The writing is quite high quality. There is nothing quite like it.

[Clay Kallam · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m not exactly sure why Alexander Jablokov decided “Brain Thief” (SciFi, $24.99, 382 pages) needed to be categorized as science fiction, because it’s basically an action thriller that didn’t need any of the marginally advanced science to make the intricate plot keep rolling.

And plot is what “Brain Thief” is all about. It’s one of those books in which the protagonist, just an ordinary fellow, is tossed into a confusing situation that he really doesn’t belong in. In this case, Bernal Haydon-Rumi gets a cryptic message from his eccentric, wealthy boss, tries to follow up, and spends the next 380 pages trying to figure out exactly what is going on.

Clues are parceled out piecemeal, and since one of Jablokov’s themes is that conspiracies are much less complete than conspiracy theorists like to admit, some of the events are random rather than orchestrated by the bad guys. As for the “science” part of the “science fiction,” it only comes into play peripherally, as “Brain Thief” is clearly contemporary in setting, and the focus is on unraveling the mystery, not on the out-of-the-ordinary elements.

So those who are expecting science fiction should be wary of “Brain Thief,” but those who like a fast-moving mystery with plenty of moving parts will be entertained, if not quite enthralled, by Jablokov’s debut.

[Mike · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a decent book, but it was vaguely unsatisfying while reading it. Nothing that made me want to toss the book aside, but there was something about the evolution of the plot and characters that just felt, if not wrong, then incomplete.

It's an action-mystery plot thrown under the science fiction umbrella because of the premise. No that the basis of the science is that far out, after all we do have "corpsicles" today. (Who can forget the scandalous treatment of Ted William's remains.)

I was amused by the metro-Boston/Massachusetts locale, but wasn't aware that the author and plot were set here until I began reading. As I wrote above, it is a decent book and for a first novel perhaps better than average. It's semi-serious with some deliberate whimsy, but the tone is somber to macabre. Not a beach book by design. Pick it up and judge for yourself.

[Sarah Sammis · Rating 3 out of 5]

I learned about Brain Thief by Alexander Jablokov in an issue of Fantasy and Science Fiction. I tend to add books mentioned in author introductions to my wishlist.

The book begins with the disappearance of a funder of odd ball scientific projects. This happens after she knocks out her executive assistant and steals a car. So Bernal decides he should find her himself as no one else understands her as well as he does.

As Bernal does all the narration, the book's scope is limited to what he is able to discover. It gives this book a solid mystery feel in a speculative fiction setting.

Jablokov writes with a densely packed turn of phrase, similar to China Miéville. Fans of Miéville's longer works will enjoy Brain Thief.

[This Is Not The Michael You're Looking For · Rating 2 out of 5]

Brain Thief is just a little too random for my taste. It's a near-future humorous thriller with science fiction elements, where every other character waxes on about philosophy and/or conspiracy. It simply doesn't work very well. The humor never exceeds light chuckles and often falls flat. The characters are, for the most part, really not that interesting, including the main character who has the least color of anyone in the story. The beginning of the book is overly confusing and jumps around as if main pieces are simply missing from the text. While the plot eventually gels together toward the end, the path to get there was not necessarily particularly well designed. Overall, it simply doesn't work.

[Ryan Mishap · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another Kaspar the Friendly Co-worker find, I would have put this off longer and maybe it would sit on the shelf counting dust motes but I was craving a mystery book. This being the closest relation and having just re-read yet another Connelly, I picked it up while I am couch-bound due to a sprained ankle.

Like most of the genre works being produced these days, it is far too long. Still, this is an enjoyable, slightly science fiction take on the noir-style mystery. He tries too hard to create quirky characters and the women in the tale follow the outdated norms of the noir genre too closely.

That said, the narrative keeps one engaged, the inventiveness is often fun, and two or three heads are better than one.

[Wyndie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am wavering between two and three stars. The story was a fast paced sci-fi mystery with an moderatly enjoyable plot. However I found Jablokov's writing style to be overworked. The novel seemed like it was 75% dialogue, 15% narrative, and 10% stage directions.

The novel was packed with eccentric characters delivering quirky dialogue. The chapters were mostly compiled of short scenes where Bernal meets up with a chatty secondary character, they have a conversation, maybe someone gets hit or chased, Bernal finds a clue, and then he runs off to the next location where the same exact series of events occur.

[Elliott · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an odd book - essentially a mystery/chase story with some science fictional/horror elements thrown in to make it more interesting. The main character is summoned by his employer, an entrepreneur who has been investing in a research project for a robotic vehicle for exploring other worlds. He gets to her house and finds her gone, and chases her next door, and the madcap story takes off from there. His characters were quirky and fun, although I found the story line hard to follow from time to time. A satire which takes on noir detective stories and science fiction at the same time, with some success.

[Amber · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book, but man! It was a weird one. I think that's what kept me reading, actually. I was never sure what the next page would have in store for me. AI with multiple personalities, a philosophizing waiter at a diner that draws customers to return despite the food, a drug dealer called the Easter Bunny chumming the water with free drugs, and the troubles of building the perfect beheading device. All of that is in there, but that doesn't even scratch the surface. It's weird, all right, but it'll keep you reading.

[kvon · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've liked previous Jablokov, but this was a bit of a slog, especially in the middle. I put it down for a while, then jumped forward, and had trouble remembering the quirky characters he was meeting. Most of the sfnal stuff is happening off screen; the mystery and unusual characterizations hold center stage. There's an AI running around, and a serial killer, and a poor schlub who is trying to find out what the heck is going on. We'll see how much I remember over the next year. It was cool to have a book set nearby in space and time.

[Joseph · Rating 3 out of 5]

I understand why this book would be described as science fiction but I think it can only be considered so in the sense that Frankenstein could also be considered science fiction. The main focus is on the main character's attempt to figure out what happened to his employer. As such, the book is really more mystery fiction with some psychological horror, the science serving only to establish the background upon which the rest of the story is built.

It didn't grab my attention like some other books but ultimately it's a good story and I don't think you'll be sorry you picked it up.

[Stephen Graham · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's been some time since I've read any Jablokov, but this seems rather different than my memory of his novels. Set in the indeterminate near future, like some of Jablokov's previous novels, there is an attempt to escape from Earth. The difference is that it is not our viewpoint characters who are struggling but what might be the villain. Most of the novel is set as a mystery novel yet it doesn't quite fit that. Ultimately it doesn't gel.

[Jim · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lighter and quirkier than some of his previous novels, Alexander Jablokov, with his Brain Thief, creates a murder mystery that is equal parts Charles Stross, William Gibson, Neal Stephenson, and Caleb Carr. Jablokov's A Deeper Sea still remains my favorite of his novels, however Brian Thief does have that certain cynicism that seems to resonate with me.

Try it - you'll like it.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Most mind-blowing is how much legit science is in this book. AI robots that work off of human brains, what?!?! Great unique story line and interesting characters and setting. Very little explanation of the setting is given, and things are just off enough from reality to throw the reader, which is also fun.

[April · Rating 1 out of 5]

I am not sure why, but I found this tale of a man following up his beloved employer's disappearance, which leads to brain transference technology and evil AIs, hard to get through. For me, it was hard to follow, and the characters weren't sympathetic enough that I cared about them. I felt that the tone of bizarre Douglas Adams type imagery didn't quite come off.

[Neesi · Rating 2 out of 5]

I couldn't get into this book. It's an interesting concept. Very cool future where perhaps human consciousness can remain after the body dies due to tech advances. Or is our protagonist merely overly imaginative? I think other sci-fi reader friends might enjoy this work-- extra props to Alexander Jablokov, who is a local from Cambridge.

[Lee Thames · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ok, if the book has a HERF gun and it gets used it's worth 1/2 star. So, I give this 3-1/2 stars.

Good plot and I enjoyed the eclectic characters but the story lurched from chapter to chapter at times making the narrative uneven.

As some previous reviewers have stated this is more of mystery than cyber-punk. Not a lot of hard science or technology (see "The Martian").

[Michael · Rating 1 out of 5]

I consider myself a patient reader in that I will give a book some time to develop before I give up on it. I read 120 pages of this book, didn't know what was going on, didn't care about any of the characters, and I quit.

[Ron Henry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quirky but interesting book. Reminded me as much of a non-series John Barnes novel (self-effacing anti-hero; quirky borderline conspiracy theory background) as any of Jablokov's earlier books. Good stuff.