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Artificial Reality Division #2
Dervish is Digital
Detective Lieutenant Doré Konstantin is up against it.
Konstantin is Chief Officer in charge of TechnoCrime, Artificial Reality Division. It sounds better than it is - in fact, the AR Division consists of three people and a case load of nearly impossible to solve crimes.
Now, as if handling her heavy case load almost single-handed weren't bad enough, she's got a stalker to deal with.
A woman named Susannah Ell claims that she is being stalked by her ex-husband, Hasting Dervish. It seems implausible at first - Dervish is an extraordinarily rich and powerful man, who should have better things to do. But as Konstantin starts to look into it, she discovers that it's not quite so impossible to Dervish has traded places with an Artificial Intelligence, and is busy committing crimes no one has ever thought of before.
Konstantin is Chief Officer in charge of TechnoCrime, Artificial Reality Division. It sounds better than it is - in fact, the AR Division consists of three people and a case load of nearly impossible to solve crimes.
Now, as if handling her heavy case load almost single-handed weren't bad enough, she's got a stalker to deal with.
A woman named Susannah Ell claims that she is being stalked by her ex-husband, Hasting Dervish. It seems implausible at first - Dervish is an extraordinarily rich and powerful man, who should have better things to do. But as Konstantin starts to look into it, she discovers that it's not quite so impossible to Dervish has traded places with an Artificial Intelligence, and is busy committing crimes no one has ever thought of before.
240 pages, Paperback
First published July 20, 2001
2 people are currently reading
245 people want to read
About the author
Pat Cadigan
263 books437 followersPat Cadigan is an American-born science fiction author, who broke through as a major writer as part of the cyberpunk movement. Her early novels and stories all shared a common theme, exploring the relationship between the human mind and technology.
Her first novel, Mindplayers, introduced what became a common theme to all her works. Her stories blurred the line between reality and perception by making the human mind a real and explorable place. Her second novel, Synners, expanded upon the same theme, and featured a future where direct access to the mind via technology was in fact possible.
She has won a number of awards, including the prestigious Arthur C. Clarke Award twice,in 1992, and 1995 for her novels Synners and Fools.
She currently lives in London, England with her family.
Her first novel, Mindplayers, introduced what became a common theme to all her works. Her stories blurred the line between reality and perception by making the human mind a real and explorable place. Her second novel, Synners, expanded upon the same theme, and featured a future where direct access to the mind via technology was in fact possible.
She has won a number of awards, including the prestigious Arthur C. Clarke Award twice,in 1992, and 1995 for her novels Synners and Fools.
She currently lives in London, England with her family.
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
July 13, 2020
I love Pat Cadigan's writing. This book has that delightful writing, but, almost 20 years after it was written, falls a bit flat for me. I'm sure I would have loved it when it was newer. In today's world, virtual reality (AR in the book) has never gotten near the immersion quality in the book. I love virtual reality, and hope we get more of it, but it never seems to catch on enough to approach going mainstream.
In this book, detective Konstantin ventures into an area of virtual world that includes mostly a casino, with tough, jaded regulars and the occasional tourist mark. She's chasing down reports of virtual brainwashing that may carry over into the physical world, and a specific complaint from a woman who says her ex has gone totally digital. There's also the matter of arms dealers that she is chasing down in the AR. The police force has not caught up with the need for enough digital manpower (though they are better about that now than what I think I recall in the previous book), so she's battling that as well.
The action is wild and somewhat hallucinatory. I could not always follow what was going on, but some of those confusing parts were also some of my favorites. The conclusion is good, though I think there were some loose ends, or characters/places that could have been explored further. It looks like Cadigan was planning on more Detective Konstantin books - there's one later book in the series listed, with synopsis, but it doesn't look like it was ever published.
In this book, detective Konstantin ventures into an area of virtual world that includes mostly a casino, with tough, jaded regulars and the occasional tourist mark. She's chasing down reports of virtual brainwashing that may carry over into the physical world, and a specific complaint from a woman who says her ex has gone totally digital. There's also the matter of arms dealers that she is chasing down in the AR. The police force has not caught up with the need for enough digital manpower (though they are better about that now than what I think I recall in the previous book), so she's battling that as well.
The action is wild and somewhat hallucinatory. I could not always follow what was going on, but some of those confusing parts were also some of my favorites. The conclusion is good, though I think there were some loose ends, or characters/places that could have been explored further. It looks like Cadigan was planning on more Detective Konstantin books - there's one later book in the series listed, with synopsis, but it doesn't look like it was ever published.
June 9, 2010
Having learned that Pat Cadigan is considered an important cyberpunk author, I felt compelled to read at least one of her books. I came into the story cold, not having read any of the other books starring the main character Konstantin. The book starts out interesting enough, with a bit of style and flair but I found the style wore on me after only a little while. Something about the way the character spoke bothered me, as if the author tried to be too cute with her dialog, causing the character's words to sound forced and unnatural.
Most of the novel takes place in AR, or artificial reality, Cadigan's term for cyberspace. As a result, much of what is rendered is surreal and hard to follow. The author seems to view AR as both less than and more than real, and neither the author or the main character seems to have any idea why someone would use AR. Cadigan seems unfocused on this point, as if there were thousands of somewhat intriguing concepts on the use of virtual reality that she wanted to write on, but couldn't choose any to focus on. This lends the book a meandering feeling, stumbling in confusion from one concept to the next without any real clear story to tell about any of them. The ending is abrupt, something a lot of cyberpunk authors seem to struggle with, but this even more so. The book ends with something of a whimper, and the reader is left feeling as if there were a lot of words read without any real payoff. There is a vague attempt to tie the beginning into the main conflict, but it never seems to have any real cohesion or urgency.
Most of the novel takes place in AR, or artificial reality, Cadigan's term for cyberspace. As a result, much of what is rendered is surreal and hard to follow. The author seems to view AR as both less than and more than real, and neither the author or the main character seems to have any idea why someone would use AR. Cadigan seems unfocused on this point, as if there were thousands of somewhat intriguing concepts on the use of virtual reality that she wanted to write on, but couldn't choose any to focus on. This lends the book a meandering feeling, stumbling in confusion from one concept to the next without any real clear story to tell about any of them. The ending is abrupt, something a lot of cyberpunk authors seem to struggle with, but this even more so. The book ends with something of a whimper, and the reader is left feeling as if there were a lot of words read without any real payoff. There is a vague attempt to tie the beginning into the main conflict, but it never seems to have any real cohesion or urgency.
February 20, 2023
For over 15 years now I have been an active 'resident' of the virtual world, Second Life and I was interested to see how this book dealt with the concept of virtual reality, being published just a few years before SL hit the metaverse. It describes a very different system from that which I am used to. It appears that to log in it's necessary to don some kind of suit and head apparatus and the participants enter as themselves, rather than by way of an avatar. It's necessary to go to a special store to change appearance, gender, or become an animal. All this can be done in sl very quickly and there are many creators making animal avatars and tinies and dinkies (miniature humans). Comparisons are odious, I'm told, so I really should comment on the actual book. First of all, congratulations to the author in telling her story in 230 pages. However, I came away from the book wondering what it was all about and what was the outcome. As head of the Technocrime, Artificial Reality Division, Konstantine is instructed to investigate the alleged stalking of a fashion designer by her ex partner. What Police Force she is a member of is never made clear. She crosses swords with an operative of the 'East/West Police' who is investigating something or the other. Most of the action takes place in the Hong Kong 'mound' and in and around a casino there. It's probably me, but it was often difficult to know whether the action was taking place in VR or the real world. Quite what the author meant by Dervish going digital is, to this reader who has a digital self, is unclear. 3* is entirely subjective, given by a rather bemused reader.
June 21, 2017
This will be an unusually disorganized "review", since I took some notes, then witlessly returned the book before writing it up. So you'll be getting what was truly memorable...
This one involves one Hastings Dervish, who is stalking his ex in cyberspace, and running Lt. Konstantin of the AR Police around in circles in the bowels of the casinos of digital Hong Kong. It's an sfnal police procedural, and a nice one.
Very crisp writing. Lots of lovely one-line zingers -- I'd quote you some, if I still had the book... "He morphs, he torques, he crawls on his belly like a reptile..." -- his ex, re the elusive Dervish, from a scribbled note to myself.
The ending is one of those where the book just stops, which actually works pretty well here. And the book is blessedly short. Recommended.
This one involves one Hastings Dervish, who is stalking his ex in cyberspace, and running Lt. Konstantin of the AR Police around in circles in the bowels of the casinos of digital Hong Kong. It's an sfnal police procedural, and a nice one.
Very crisp writing. Lots of lovely one-line zingers -- I'd quote you some, if I still had the book... "He morphs, he torques, he crawls on his belly like a reptile..." -- his ex, re the elusive Dervish, from a scribbled note to myself.
The ending is one of those where the book just stops, which actually works pretty well here. And the book is blessedly short. Recommended.
June 25, 2023
It's much more cohesive than the first book including explaining the ending of the first book as well. It did leave some things up to be interpreted especially since it ended with dervish is dead not digital but how was he in AR. I did quite enjoy the back and forth of the characters, but I felt Konstantin didn't need to bring her ex back up in this book. It overall was a fun perspective of what detective work might look like in AR, but not completely realistic. Overall enjoyable, less confusing, but still with loose ends.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 18, 2019
Wow, what a ride!
Not sure I understood everything, but couldn't put it down.
I feel like Pat Cadigan is a time traveler from some distant future who is trying to tell us what she has seen in a language that we can understand. But her future is so removed from our reality.....
This has renewed my admiration for "Cyberpunk" and those that plumb its depths.
Not sure I understood everything, but couldn't put it down.
I feel like Pat Cadigan is a time traveler from some distant future who is trying to tell us what she has seen in a language that we can understand. But her future is so removed from our reality.....
This has renewed my admiration for "Cyberpunk" and those that plumb its depths.
September 25, 2023
I found this too confusing to really be able to enjoy it.
February 24, 2024
There's something about the 90'/early 00' science fiction that was really stylish. A fun and mind-boggling read from one of the important voices in that time period. Her oneliners are amazing.
March 2, 2017
Interesting ideas, but the protagonist is too much of a blank slate.
June 25, 2011
In Pat Cadigan's previous novel, Tea from an Empty Cup, she introduced readers to Doré Konstantin, a homicide detective tracking down a murder leading to AR (Artificial Reality). In Dervish is Digital, Cadigan returns to the world of AR, where everything is a lie and must be accepted as such. Konstantin, too, is back, heading up the TechnoCrime division, a job that is more like purgatory than actual hell, but nevertheless not her life's dream.
If Tea was cyberpunk mixed with Eastern mysticism, one must sum up Dervish as cyberpunk with a healthy dose of Lewis Carroll. This is not so much a mystery novel as a trip through the looking glass. As Konstantin chases her elusive white rabbit, the reader is not asked to understand what is going on, but to hang on and enjoy the ride. Unfortunately, the ride has little dimension to it, feeling flat and unimaginative.
While I immensely enjoy Cadigan's writing, this book left me cold. The story did not have the grit that I have come to expect in Cadigan's worlds. (Maybe because I recently finished her excellent collection of short stories, Patterns.) This novel felt like an unfinished story in many ways. It is as if the characters and plot had been put into place, but without the scenery. Sure, there are weird moments aplenty in Dervish, but it is all the same kind of glitter that we saw in Tea. There is nothing here that suggests this story is taking us someplace new. If anything, the AR world becomes as monotonous to the reader as it has become to Konstantin.
While Konstantin makes repeated metaphors of carnival rides, the book is anything but. A strange trip, to be sure, but never real. The story seems forced, and the situation seems hollow. Even the end of the novel leaves the reader feeling cheated somehow.
If this is a reflection of Cadigan's own feelings about cyberpunk, perhaps she should move on to something that excites her before she (and the reader) dies of ennui. Pick up Synners again for a truly great cyberpunk story.
If Tea was cyberpunk mixed with Eastern mysticism, one must sum up Dervish as cyberpunk with a healthy dose of Lewis Carroll. This is not so much a mystery novel as a trip through the looking glass. As Konstantin chases her elusive white rabbit, the reader is not asked to understand what is going on, but to hang on and enjoy the ride. Unfortunately, the ride has little dimension to it, feeling flat and unimaginative.
While I immensely enjoy Cadigan's writing, this book left me cold. The story did not have the grit that I have come to expect in Cadigan's worlds. (Maybe because I recently finished her excellent collection of short stories, Patterns.) This novel felt like an unfinished story in many ways. It is as if the characters and plot had been put into place, but without the scenery. Sure, there are weird moments aplenty in Dervish, but it is all the same kind of glitter that we saw in Tea. There is nothing here that suggests this story is taking us someplace new. If anything, the AR world becomes as monotonous to the reader as it has become to Konstantin.
While Konstantin makes repeated metaphors of carnival rides, the book is anything but. A strange trip, to be sure, but never real. The story seems forced, and the situation seems hollow. Even the end of the novel leaves the reader feeling cheated somehow.
If this is a reflection of Cadigan's own feelings about cyberpunk, perhaps she should move on to something that excites her before she (and the reader) dies of ennui. Pick up Synners again for a truly great cyberpunk story.
January 17, 2012
Once again Pat Cadigan shows why she is one of our finest science fiction writers in this elegant Chandleresque cyberpunk thriller. Lieutenant Dore Konstantin from "Tea From An Empty Cup" returns to help Susannah Ell, who insists she's being stalked by her ex-husband, Hastings Dervish. At first it seems like a rather implausible accusation since Dervish is one of the world's richest men. Yet Konstantin finds herself soon in a wild, rollercoaster ride through AR (Artificial Reality) contending not only with Dervish, but also with Goku, a Japanese policeman, looking for juvenile sexual AR deviants in Hong Kong. Those yearning for an exciting cyberpunk thriller will not be disappointed with Cadigan's latest novel.
(Reposted from my 2001 Amazon review)
(Reposted from my 2001 Amazon review)
July 11, 2009
Another novel centered on the detective Dore Konstantin introduced to us in the "Tea From An Empty Cup". I did not enjoy this one as much. The action takes place in virtual reality, so it relies on your own imagination to follow Cadigan's description of it. Otherwise, it is just a detective novel. If you dream of taking the Second Life concept to its logical extreme, this may be of interest. It does not however come close to the Metaverse in Neil Stephenson's Snow Crash. Take the Dervish on a bus trip or flight to help pass time. I don't think I'd finished reading this book otherwise.
March 27, 2016
Even though a major amount of this novel's time is spent in virtual reality, its written in an old school, hardboiled, slow-moving manner. The main problem to me is that the leading character just isn't "hardboiled". She's essentially a good guy with no character flaws. That just didn't fit in my opinion.
May 25, 2010
Quick, mostly entertaining read. However, it suffers from an ending that can't measure up to the build up that leads to it. I may try another Cadigan/Konstantin book, but I won't rush out and buy her catalog.
October 25, 2015
I read this one back in 2002, after I had read the first one, "Tea from an Empty Cup", back in 2001 (on September the 11th, no less). I'm still waiting for the last novel in the sequence, "Reality Was a Friend of Mine".
January 8, 2010
Confusing and, unfortunately, pretty banal for a cyberpunk novel. I think I'm done with Cadigan -- this is two books out of three that I just didn't like at all.
May 27, 2018
Dervish wasn't as satisfying as other Cadigan novels but it is always a pleasure to fall into her hard boiled prose.
Want to read
September 10, 2010cyberpunkish
*note to self. Copy from A.
*note to self. Copy from A.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews