Review: Well-written and taut cyberpunk m/m thriller
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 03 24, 2013
3.5 stars - A well-written sci-fi/cyberpunk novella that is very tautly told, but for me, never fully engaged me with the characters or the conflict.What I liked: I appreciate that Haimowitz and Voinov throw you in the pool with no warning. It's a style of storytelling that I like since it usually means over-exposition is kept at a minimum, and the authors are doing the favor of handing the reins to the readers to figure things out and keep up with the narrative.You're very much thrown into the action immediately when we meet Cyke collapsed at a bus stop, his heavily cyber-altered body suffering from some unknown attack. Along comes medic Bear, who is intrigued by his mysterious patient, but lets him go when Cyke refuses medical services. And so begins the story of two men who end up being very drawn to each other, and the corporate espionage case that threatens to tear them apart.The writing is very taut, and there is no padding or wasted words in this 100 page/27,000+ word story. There are also a lot of neat ideas slipped in to build this futuristic world that Cyke and Bear live in, from nanobots that fix you from the inside out to Cyke's amazing prosthetic gloves, who at times seemed to have their own mind, and would quickly alter themselves for whatever purpose was needed. (Reminded me a little of the metal-bending T-1000 from Terminator 2 and how he would just change his arm to be a gleaming metal spike.) I also appreciated the authors' use of short chapters, and time shifts to help keep the pacing tight.What was harder for me: When I start over-focusing on craft, it usually means that I'm not getting swept into the story, and that was my main issue with this. It's very well-written, but I never felt really connected (or "jacked-in") to the characters. Of the two characters, Cyke was definitely the richer of the two, with his stubborn resilience to push through whatever pain is inflicted on his body (followed by the mental digs of his former drill sergeant yelling at him whenever he took a breath, like a bullying Greek chorus), but neither MC really engaged me fully, and I found myself pushing to finish this story. I came out respecting the authors' ability to write, but missed having a deeper story experience, and ultimately felt unsatisfied, and ready to move on to something else.This is the first book I've read by Haimowitz and the second by Voinov (after the co-authored contemporary romance novella Country Mouse, which was fine, but a little forgettable.) Although this one didn't really work for me, I'll look to try something else by them to get a better understanding of their style.Your mileage may vary though, and what didn't work for me may not bother you at all. If you like sci-fi mm, especially in the cyberpunk variety, this story may be up your alley.As a heads-up, this novella continues Samhaim's practice of ending early on the e-file. The story ends at 83% and is followed by excerpts for other books. That always throws me, since I'm never expecting the end that early.