(Warning! This review may contain spoilers)
This is the fifth book from the extremely talented and extremely creative mind of Matthew Cox which I have had the pleasure to read. Once again he has succeeded in writing a fast paced, action packed, joy ride through a dystopian future with a set of intriguing, well developed and thoroughly entertaining characters.
It is my understanding that this was actually the first book written by Mr. Cox, yet released subsequent to his Division Zero series. This story as well as the Division series takes place in the 25th century many years after the Corporate Wars succeeded in devastating much of the earth. The primary setting is within West City which has been built over the ruins of nearly the entire west coast cities from Seattle to Los Angeles. It is a future replete with hover cars, Omni-Soy manufactured food, holographic Vidphones, Adbots, cyborgs, plasti-steel materials, androids, mutants, medical stimpacks, nanobots, sensory and physically enhancing implants, living dolls and access to an artificial world via cyberspace decks that humans can directly link into with their minds. As a reader you get all the elements of the Blade Runner and the Matrix all woven into one enjoyable package.
The primary character Nina Duchenne a debutante daughter of a wealthy family joined West City's para-military police force against her parents wishes. Following a brutal encounter on a mission as a Division 1 officer, during which her partner was killed and she suffered severe physical injuries, she was unknowingly turned into a living doll. Though her augmented brain and spiritual soul remained intact the process not only provided another four inches in height but also enhanced her abilities rendering her nearly indestructible. As a result she was elevated to an officer in Division 9 with the power of acting as judge, jury and executioner yet causing her to question her carnality. She crosses paths with Joey Dillon, a subcontracted hacker, during a failed covert op meant to capture two foreign nationals believed to have entered into West City to conduct a clandestine mission. Joey was coincidentally at the location conducting some espionage of his own as a subcontracted corporate spy hired to extract data files.
Each go about conducting their affairs until Nina's investigation leads her to Joey's dwelling in a withering part of town. Joey, in spite of his opportunistic crassness can be humorous, charming and attractive and having such assets succeeds in gaining Nina's trust after she had bounced him off several walls. They eventually join forces to combat the Artificial Intelligence that had engaged and unleashed the mercenaries on a mission conceived to create havoc and the demise of civilization. It concludes in an epic battle in which Joey must fight the AI in cyberspace while Nina defends his prostrate body against powerful cyborgs controlled by the two nefarious and nebulous mercenaries.
The book is rather lengthy and could well have been broken into at least two separate novels. At times it seems disjointed as the story branches into ancillary adventures involving several of the minor characters. However, Matthew manages to skillfully weave these tales back into context causing this reader to realize he had just read several books within the confines of one cover. I recommend that you don't pass this bargain up.
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Epic space opera themes but with emotion.
Reviewed in Australia on July 21, 2019
