Neuromancer by William Gibson

This novel made me fall back in love with science fiction.  Gritty future noir set amidst AI, evil multinationals, and organized crime.  The novel glitters with beautifully written passages, amalgamating techspeak with Japanese, Haitian creole, and back-alley slang.  Sure, it’s been criticized as “surface and gloss,” but what surface, what gloss!  When most speculative fiction writers — including some Grandmasters who will go unnamed — became prolific typists with good ideas, Gibson took a well-worn idea (hard-boiled crime fiction), gave it a spin, and produced a spectacular gem. To top it off, Gibson wrote it on a typewriter — how … Continue reading Neuromancer by William Gibson

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Flood by Andrew Vachss

Reads like a cold bullet out of Hell. Taut, razor sharp prose; tough ferocious heroes and even more ferocious villains. Imagine the bastard stepchild of Jim Thompson and Mickey Spillane fighting the good fight on the edge of the socioeconomic abyss. Yet above the bleakness, violence, and viciousness aimed at the weak and defenseless, there’s a glimmer of hope. Burke, the hero of these novels, offers that hope, especially when the law can’t or won’t help those who need it the most. Continue reading Flood by Andrew Vachss

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