Synopsis:

A collection of eight stories, Digital Extremities shines a spotlight on ordinary people in a callous yet hopeful future. Set across small towns and remote islands, where neon flickers against old buildings and oaks, this collection paints a unique view of a traditionally cyberpunk setting.

In 2089, a woman miscarries and seeks a way to find peace amidst overwhelming grief. Years later, a young man must find a way to pay rent outside of his job at the glassblowing studio. A pair of students, excited to go to college, install new hardware that promises to improve their cognitive functions. A private investigator searches for a missing child who has a reputation for embarking on risky adventures. Each tale is shaped by love, loss, and perseverance, weaving a vision of life outside of the megacities.

Review:

Digital Extremities is a delightful and interesting collection of stories from the future. Bassett gives us small snippets of people’s lives and how they go about navigating the world and maneuvering through dilemmas.

Stylistically, this book kept reminding me of World War Z. Each story was set in the same world, around the same time, featuring the same technology. This made it easy to carry over information and continue picturing a world where people modified themselves with enhancements and shiny chrome.

The stories typically focused on one person and ranged from a major dilemma to a slice of their life. I enjoyed familiarizing myself with each character and getting to know the world around them. The best part was probably what was unspoken. While characters faced decisions or hardships, I often found thought-provoking questions nagging at me about what else could go wrong with the current technology or what would happen if they had made a different decision. This did not make the stories feel lacking, just opened up my mind to more possibilities.

While Bassett does a wonderful job digging in with tension, he has mastered the slower, quieter moments: playful banter, reminiscing about times past, and ruminating over a hobby.

I listened to this one on audio, and I found the narrators to be excellent. No bias at all. With a wide cast of characters from all over the world, the accents were impeccable, and the differentiation was excellent.

Digital Extremities offers a glimpse into a world we may know someday, which brings excitement over technological advancements to assist in helping the elderly or finding a lost child. It also quietly lays out the ways in which this tech could fail us.

If you enjoy cyberpunk adventures, short sci-fi stories, and tales that say more with fewer words, this one is for you.

Synopsis:

Digital Extremities –

A collection of eight stories, Digital Extremities shines a spotlight on ordinary people in a callous yet hopeful future. Set across small towns and remote islands, where neon flickers against old buildings and oaks, this collection paints a unique view of a traditionally cyberpunk setting.

In 2089, a woman miscarries and seeks a way to find peace amidst overwhelming grief. Years later, a young man must find a way to pay rent outside of his job at the glassblowing studio. A pair of students, excited to go to college, install new hardware that promises to improve their cognitive functions. A private investigator searches for a missing child who has a reputation for embarking on risky adventures. Each tale is shaped by love, loss, and perseverance, weaving a vision of life outside of the megacities.

Animus Paradox –

There’s a thief on the loose. The Tigres excel at tipping the scales in their favor, be it through bribes, politics, or blood. They unofficially run Viterbo, Italy—and somebody stole from them.

Private investigators David and Mafalda De Campo have been hired to help find the thief. They’re in it for the money, but the Tigres just want to make a statement.

Meanwhile, the Heredes have returned: ruthless idealists and revolutionaries. It’s not clear what they’re up to, but they keep getting in the way.

The De Campos will need to decide how far they’re willing to go for this job and the Tigres. Viterbo may soon become a battlefield, and one wrong move could set it aflame.

Review:

With both Digital Extremities and Animus Paradox, Adam Bassett has put out some fascinating and intriguing futuristic and mostly dystopian cyberpunk works. I found myself really enjoying both of them and was glad I read Digital Extremities before I started on Animus Paradox. 

Recently I was offered a few audiobook codes for Adam Bassett’s two works by the author himself. In exchange for an honest review, I took him up on it. In the process, I got to try out the Spotify audiobook player, so I’ll drop a few thoughts about that as well later on. 

Let’s start with his short story collection, Digital Extremities. 

In D.E., we’re treated to eight tales of the future where the distinctions between human and computer are blurred, if not eliminated completely. Short stories can be a great playground for authors — letting them play around with an interesting idea or two without committing to an entire novel. Bassett really got creative with these eight stories, and they have incredible range. I’ll highlight a few…

Alone / Together is the first story Bassett showcases and for good reason. It’s a gut punch, especially if you’ve ever loved someone so much you’d do anything for them. It’s a whole lot of melancholy wrapped up in a little over a half-hour of reading time. There was almost a Gift of the Magi quality to it, but with sadness and regret acting in place of love and sacrifice. 

The middle stories of the collection are absolutely worthy as well, ranging from sacrificing the past to move on with your future and the effect that integrating technology more into our lives and bodies will have. I also appreciated Bassett setting stories all over the world from America to Norway to Italy, where the last story is set — Fireworks Above the Badlands. 

When I was finished with Digital Extremities, I found myself really invested in the final story in the collection — and more so with the characters. And Bassett must’ve felt the same way, because the second book I’m reviewing — Animus Paradox — takes off immediately following the events in Fireworks Above the Badlands. 

The main character is David De Campo, who along with his wife Mafalda, run a private investigation firm in Italy over 100 years into the future. I found myself vibing with David in the first story as he works to track down a lost child, risking his life in the process. The way Bassett sets up the character as former U.S. Army with all the mods and implants they might need for battle, but with most of them disabled after he left the service, left me wanting more and Bassett sure delivered in Animus Paradox. This story is more of an Italian mob war that David and Mafalda find themselves drawn into with more than a few cyberpunk twists. 

I enjoyed A.P. and its continuation of the cyberpunk themes and tropes, but I struggle to vibe with the futuristic noir detective stories sometimes. But the characters are solid – A+. I think he could keep taking David and Mafalda to America and beyond in future cyberpunk books and I would be in. At the end of the day, I think I liked Digital Extremities a little more than Animus Paradox, but I would definitely recommend both. 

As for the audiobook experience, Adam Bassett got a couple of great narrators — Joe James and Aven Shore for D.E. and just Joe James for the A.P. production. Both have great voice and inflection, especially for the type of stories Bassett is telling. 

And for the Spotify experience? Well, it wasn’t perfect. I know they are trying to carve a little space for themselves in the audiobook space, but they still have a little room to grow. First, I like to bump up my listening speed, but Spotify doesn’t offer more than the tenths place — what I mean is you can listen at 1.2x speed and 1.3x speed, but you can’t listen at 1.25. There were also a few times where the player just stopped. Right in the middle of a chapter. Stopped. And in the end, I had to restart my app to get the audio to keep playing. Some audio glitch. Overall, it went fine, but there were a few small issues that Spotify needs to address. 

But, back to Adam Bassett’s first two works — check them out, especially if you like a few different looks at a future that looks a lot different than our present. 

Thank you to Adam Bassett for providing this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

Something to chew over

Synopsis

In a cyberpunk future, an alarming disease strikes, dissolving the bones of those with cybernetic enhancements. Petya, a refugee, sells himself to a company experimenting with a potential cure and instead finds himself with a strange new implant… and a vampiric hunger for teeth.

Petya only wanted a short trial with easy money, and now he’s at the mercy of a company hell-bent on market control, even if it means turning him into their personal pharmaceutical assassin.

They’re out for political power, and Petya is out for an escape and teeth.

Review

Kaden Love is no stranger to eye-catching SFF ideas; his debut epic fantasy series Paladins of the Harvest, now two books in, features an intriguing organ transplant magic system. But his latest, Toothsucker, a fast-paced cyberpunk tale set in a future dystopia, takes to this to the next level, more full of wild concepts than Elon Musk’s ketamine diary. But in a pleasing sign of Kaden’s evolution as a writer, all these ideas simply serve to amaze rather than confuse and blend into a convincing cyberpunk hellscape, and among all the utterly wild neon-soaked brainstorming he still finds time to create a strong character-driven story with some very topical themes.

The story takes place in the Republic of Capital, the name of which suggests Love’s first cool idea: that political parties have been replaced by corporate entities who vie for the presidency from different sectors: entertainment, pharma, tech, etc. This is a society transformed by the discovery of the physical form of light (cool idea number two) and its districts go from one end of the spectrum (red, orange, yellow, the dangerous areas) to the middle (blue, green) and to the violent and indigo sectors, where the rich and influential live. Our protagonists are a bunch of young, lost souls who’ve been given a new hope under the tutelage of a suspicious scientist/power-broker aiming to attain power for (maybe?) good in this dystopia, and given a set of cool super powers to use on missions. The only downside? (cool idea number three coming at you): To sustain these new powers they must constantly snack on a diet of teeth, ripped right out of their victims’ mouths. Vampires, but for calcium rather than iron.

What’s so impressive about this cyberpunk tale is that these wild ideas are so effective, not falling into the trap of being chaotic but rather uniting to build a vivid world. The corporate-sector-as-government idea is cleverly done, framing the central plot around a tech virus that eats away at the bones and Big Pharma’s cure for it that various parties are scrabbling to get to first. It makes for a cool mission structure as well as we see the entertainment sector, complete with cybernetic dolphins (which are as wildly fun as they sound) and the SocStans, which are blue collar workers who became powerful once AI took all the white collar jobs, a very cool thought experiment. The ordering of the country by the spectrum of light is also endlessly fascinating; Love using the color schemes that so define the cyberpunk genre as integral world building. This is a well-thought out idea, complete with one of the most disturbing and horrific red light districts you’ll ever see.

Then of course there’s the tooth-eating. Love doesn’t skimp on this; so many scenes are frankly taken from the horror genre as unwitting victims have their jaws ripped off as our characters greedily snack on the molars (the best teeth, of course). The writing here is vivid and wickedly gruesome—there are some scenes you’ll take to your dreams I fear. And there’s so many more ideas as well, my favorites including edible tabs that provoke feelings such as nostalgia and social media adoration (would save a lot of time, sign me up).

But Love also supports this creative feast with some excellent characterization of the central protagonist, Petya, an immigrant with a complex past who’s desperate to do good even as he’s been forced to follow a mysterious stranger’s agenda and the horrific tooth-eating requirements that come with it. Some readers may struggle to empathize with him I suspect given that the victims of his violent addiction are frequently innocent, but I actually quite enjoyed the wild discordance between his self-conscious narrative and the utter moral depravity of his acts. This is the nature of addiction after all; and Love makes his self-loathing clear, a loathing that only abates when he meets Naoma, a singer beloved of the elites who appears contemptuous at first but has more going on. Their burgeoning relationship adds a compelling character arc to the second half.

Love also uses Petya’s narrative to explore meaty themes of immigration and the treatment of immigrants, which is a welcome through-line here; as well as the examination of corporate influence which is so central to a good cyberpunk story and spins out into a thrilling, twisty conspiracy thriller by the end.

Overall, I was so impressed by Love’s evolution here; this is a strong calling card for an exciting talent and a must-read for cyberpunk fans or just fans of wildly original worldbuilding. Tooth-eating vampires, a corporatist society run along the spectrum of light, and augmented dolphins; it should be mad, but it’s cyberpunk gold. Love’s neon tooth fairy hasn’t let us down.

Synopsis

Kye Verex is trapped.

Due to a fluke of genetics, the decisions of the galaxy’s elite, and a lack of finances, he’s stuck on his polluted and noxious home world indefinitely. And it’s slowly killing him.

Then his more fortunate sister returns one day, bringing the promise of salvation. Kelsey has always hoped to find the means to pull him out of his desperate cycle of survival, but it has taken years. Now, she has a plan, one that will cure his genetic condition and clear him for interstellar travel.

The catch?

He has to sign over his very existence – and a portion of his humanity – to Zylar Inc., the galaxy’s most prominent and notorious corporation, in exchange for the necessary treatment. Is his cure worth the cost?

Quick Review

A story of resilience and a rejection of some of the worst traits of humanity, Wraith and the Revolution is a surprisingly hopeful stand-alone novel, told with sincerity.

Full Review

Thanks to A.J. Calvin for providing me with a digital advanced reader copy of Wraith and the Revolution.

Calvin’s first foray into sci-fi is rife with brilliant ideas and fun characters, but it also contains some odd pacing. I enjoyed my time with this book—and it sticks the landing with a really satisfying epilogue—but I can’t help but shake that it could have been a tighter experience.

The story begins on Earth, which has become a desolate and irradiated waste. Kye’s sister has already escaped it, but his genetics prevent space travel. It’s a neat wrinkle, and the goal during this portion of the story is focused on getting Kye off-planet. His sister is eventually able to get him into a program with a massive corporation who can facilitate his escape. All he has to do is sign on the dotted line.

It takes a while, but this eventually brings us to a section where Kye is brought into the corporation, Zylar. We get to see him become accustomed to what lies outside of Earth and meet his new team. It’s a fun segment, but at times is a bit repetitive as Kye seems to struggle to understand all of the details of his agreement and his new life. Which, to be fair, is what I’d expect. However, we still haven’t hit the meat of the story yet. Calvin is still setting things up, and as a result this entire section becomes a kind of “training montage.”

We don’t hit the real story behind Wraith and the Revolution until over one third of the way through the book. To avoid spoilers, I’ll refrain from saying exactly what happens, but suffice it to say that the goals and stakes of this story take a dramatic turn toward the titular revolution.

I enjoyed each of these sections, but it’s clear that Calvin was rushing to reach that pivotal moment which leads into the revolution. I can understand why they didn’t want to let any of these important parts of Kye’s background go, but as a result I has some trouble getting invested in this first third of the book—even in some of the most important characters around Kye.

Things settle down at this point in the story. We’re still moving along quickly, but it’s no longer so jarring. It’s also in these latter two thirds of the book that a theme begins to emerge: having to both physically and emotionally rebuild oneself after different forms of trauma. Kye’s physical rebuilding comes after all of the damage caused to him on Earth, and his emotional rebuilding comes after he is taken prisoner later in the book. Calvin treats both kinds of trauma with the utmost sincerity, and uses the cyberpunk genre to talk about these things in an interesting way.

There are also themes of seeking out nature, and rejecting the way people are wont to urbanize or industrialize over it. This can come a little heavy-handed at times, but it too has a similar sincerity behind the message. It is also reinforced by the sci-fi genre, and a species of plant-based aliens that become increasingly present in Wraith and the Revolution, the Botanaari. They were a surprisingly delightful addition to this book—but to explain that would be to give away too much.

As we come to a close on Wraith and the Revolution, I am of two minds. On one hand, I didn’t love the final act’s antagonist. They are mentioned early in the book, but go away for so long that I completely forgot who they were. I’m not sure if they ever had a single line of dialogue? As a result, the final fight just felt a bit hollow, no matter how fun some of the action was. 

On the other hand, Calvin’s epilogue contains a long-promised moment, and wraps up the story in a really lovely ceremony. In contrast to the final fight that Kye endures, the epilogue feels incredibly important and ties together some of the book’s most common themes.

I recommend Wraith and the Revolution. There were times when I struggled with parts of it, but ultimately when I reflect upon the story at large I can’t help but think about what a fun adventure it was—not to mention all the little moments and decisions Calvin made to set this world and these characters apart. Kye’s resilience, the Botanaari’s culture, and some genuinely fun characters really elevated this book for me.

Synopsis:

MODIFICATIONS COME AT A PRICE.

Detective Sol Harkones is tangled in the wires of a deadly conspiracy involving defective body modifications causing permanent brain damage. A suspect is known, but something more dangerous may be lurking in the shadows.

A city plagued by waste.

Violence fills the streets.

Oblivion is within reach.

Falling Into Oblivion is the electrifying first book in the Tendrils of Chrome cyberpunk sci-fi series. If you’re a fan of William Gibson’s Neuromancer, HBO’s True Detective, or Philip K. Dick’s Blade Runner, you will love Aaron M. Payne’s rapid-fire saga

Review:

Falling Into Oblivion starts in the midst of an action-packed chase scene amid Nox City. The layout of this futuristic city plagued by toxic air is described in an exciting way and delivers a first glimpse into our main character.

Sol is a detective for the Nox City Police Department. He isn’t made out to be some incredible, unrelatable superhero but an average guy. He has a family, bills, debt, and he just wants to get the job done so that he can return to his family. Except at every turn throughout his day, something delays him.

Falling Into Oblivion takes us down a twisting and turning path as Sol investigates a series of deaths. Each time he gains some insight, something sends him a few steps backward. This story takes us into the depths of a sinful nightclub, a crime scene with seemingly reluctant victims, a swampland, and an insidious warehouse.

The futuristic aspects of this book were enjoyable and understandable without being complicated or requiring explanation. Payne uses imagery and context rather than info dumps to portray things like weaponry, armor, and electronics.

One of the aspects I found so unique about this book was the idea of modifications. A person could have something installed within them to alter themselves. This could range from internal changes, such as stronger organs and fortified bones, to modifications to appearance. Some characters even had weapons or high-tech gear installed.

One of my favorite themes of this book was Sol’s resistance to the modifications, along with a world that would rather live virtually than enjoy what the real world has to offer. There are many similarities in our own society—the measures people take to become someone else and the time people spend on a fictional online persona.

Sol’s ultimate goal is to close this case so he can read his daughter Zinny a bedtime story and not worry his wife Raena. His debts are piling up and the sooner he solves the murders, the sooner he can be paid. Except what I loved about Sol was that he chose the right thing over the easy thing. He never let his personal desires get in the way of being righteous and doing what was best for the citizens of Nox City.

Payne paints an exciting and curious city, offers explosive action, and a mystery that kept me turning the pages long after my bedtime. If you’re a fan of crime thrillers set in a cyberpunk world, this one is for you.

Synopsis

Cybernetic addiction plagues the populace of Cyber City, a neon metropolis of grime and crime. The government promises a tech-free ‘Utopia’ for the Virgins, a small community rejecting body modification technology. But before the invitation goes public, the Virgins begin to disappear.

Xia, a lawbreaking freelancer with a haunting past, is the first to notice the strange vanishings. As she puts the pieces together, she reveals a sinister someone is kidnapping Virgins and using their bodies to escape to the promised Utopia. Teaming up with Mai, a Virgin prostitute, Xia’s mission shifts from simple protection as a means for money into an impossible helping the Virgins escape the city.

This mission puts them at odds against both the mysterious Virgin body snatchers and Cyber City’s government—two threats that could end in fates worse than death. As the unlikely duo embark on the impossible, they discover secrets more shocking than the plasma dome that traps the city within.

Quick Review

Neon Noir is a classic cyberpunk novel and a great starting point for anyone interested in the genre. It’s got all the hallmark body modifications and AI chips, but the story is really about solving a mystery, and Xia’s relationships.

Full Review

Neon Noir is a story about a rumor and a job. We hear the rumor over drinks at a bar. Then, people in the Virgin community—unmodified people in a city full of cybernetically enhanced citizens—start going missing. This is where the job begins. Xia begins selling devices that help to hide Virgins among the crowd. 

As these things tend to do, the rumors are worse than expected, and the job escalates in scale and risk.

In many ways, this book reads like a Mission Impossible or Mistborn story with a cyberpunk skin. In many ways, this makes Neon Noir one of the more accessible cyberpunk books that I’ve read. Even if you’re new to sci-fi or cyberpunk, you shouldn’t have any trouble picking up Neon Noir because at its core the book isn’t about any cutting-edge tech or AI overlord. There’s a bit of that, sure, but the author seems mostly concerned with the mission and the relationships Xia has with her allies.

Xia starts out a loner, confiding only in her bartender friend Dames at times, but even their relationship is a distant one. As things become more complicated, Xia begins to spend more time with Mai, a young woman who is emotionally Xia’s polar opposite, and a part of the Virgin community. Then, as the stakes escalate, Xia seeks help in a way that’s ultimately reminiscent of an Ocean’s Eleven team-building exercise. It takes a while to come together, and it takes some time for trust to build among all of her allies, but by the end of the story we’re treated to that final mission.

That middle part of Neon Noir was such a fun read. Voss gives the characters plenty of time to play off one another, build that trust they need, all the while slowly unraveling the mystery at the heart of the missing people. Some of my favorite scenes involve Xia talking with somebody over a drink, both of them trying to learn more about the other and piece together what’s really going on in the city.

The ending didn’t quite hold up as well, in my opinion, but only because I wanted more of it. The pacing in those final chapters felt a bit too fast for me, and I wish we got a little more time to see Xia and her crew work. Similarly, Xia’s relationship with the Dames resolves a bit abruptly here. Without getting too deeply into spoilers, I’ll just say that it also felt a bit rushed. 

There’s also a theme of Xia having trouble with any romantic feelings, which persists across the whole book. I’m not quite sure how to interpret that. Is Xia asexual, aromantic, or simply emotionally closed off? It feels like we get close to an answer a few times, especially as Xia’s relationship with Dames becomes strained, but ultimately nothing happens. Perhaps that’s something Voss is saving for later in the series.

I recommend Neon Noir. There’s a few scenes I wish were longer, and a few details I wish were more strongly realized, but mostly I had a ton of fun with this book. Voss wrote a fantastic debut, and does an amazing job of bringing readers in whether they’re fans of cyberpunk stories or brand-new to the genre. There’s some promising ideas here, from the city’s secrets to the little team that Xia has assembled. I’m excited to see how Voss carries them forward.

That said, I should take a moment to acknowledge the several formatting issues present in the paperback version of Neon Noir. While reading I frequently noticed punctuation in the wrong place, inconsistently style quotation marks, and issues that sometimes placed periods on their own line. None of this made the story worse, but it could at times be a bit distracting.

I spoke with Voss about this and it seems to be an issue mainly with the paperback version. So, if you’re bothered by small formatting errors like this, I’d recommend picking up the eBook. According to the author, that version didn’t encounter the same issues that led to these problems.

Synopsis

The Starship Atlantis takes you on an unforgettable journey through the extraordinary. From alien civilizations and rogue AI to desperate missions on the brink of collapse, these stories will transport you across the stars into the heart of the unknown.

This anthology features six never-before-published novellas and short stories, plus two exclusive bonus tales.

Explore epic adventures crafted by eight USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestselling authors, whose works have captivated readers and sold over ten million copies worldwide.

Stories:
The Return by Joshua Dalzelle
Locust Twilight by Steven Konkoly
Hope Springs by Lindsay Buroker
Glass Lanterns by Anthony J. Melchiorri
Redwoods by Nathan Hystad
Starborn by Jasper T. Scott
Helpful Machines by Bobby Adair
Knight’s Gambit by Samuel Peralta

Review

Writer’s Note: Samuel Peralta, who wrote the forward and the concluding story for this short story collection, previously curated a number of sci-fi/fantasy anthologies, of which I have appeared in five of them with short stories of my own. 

Short story anthologies and collections are fantastic books for those unsure of what exactly they are looking for or wanting to read. By reading a shorter length work, you can find new authors that you vibe with and may even discover something you’d never find otherwise. 

Tales from the Starship Atlantis is a new collection from a collective of sci-fi and fantasy authors who call themselves Discover Sci-Fi. They had a previous collection of stories assembled in 2019 entitled Tales from the Starship DIscovery and plan to release another volume this fall, Tales from the Starship Endeavor.

With all these starships, all the stories are space-based sci-fi fare, right? You’d be wrong there. It definitely starts that way with The Return by Joshua Dalzelle, but there are a blend of Earth-based sci-fi stories as well from about half of the authors. 

My favorite of the bunch was Starborn by Jasper T. Scott. While the story has a definite space-based tone to it, most of it takes place on a planet with mysterious origins. Before long, the reader is clued in to the fact that the story is flipped from how it’s normally presented in books and stories, and the planet isn’t all it’s first presented as. And then, for fun, there are some subtle (and not so subtle) allusions to some current geo-political situations and figures that add a slightly humorous (and maybe troubling) twist to everything. 

And I know I’m biased, but I have always loved the stories that Samuel Peralta has put out. His output over the years hasn’t been huge like other authors (Peralta devotes more time to other pursuits like curating works and putting books and works of art in space – see https://www.lunarcodex.com/ for more info), but what he does write is always fascinating and thought-provoking. He has a point of view on his short stories that isn’t something you see from most authors. 

If there is a downside to the collection, a few of the stories feel incomplete. Like they are just a sample of much larger works. Which, given the nature of the Discovery Sci-Fi group, is definitely a good chance with some of the authors and their other works they want readers to find and read. 

I’d recommend checking out Tales from the Starship Atlantis. Eight fun sci-fi stories and each one has its own flavor and personality. 

Animus Paradox by Adam Bassett recently released in ebook format but starting today, it will be available in paperback as well. So a secondary HAPPY PUB DAY to the author today!

Synopsis

There’s a thief on the loose. The Tigres excel at tipping the scales in their favor, be it through bribes, politics, or blood. They unofficially run Viterbo, Italy—and somebody stole from them.

Private investigators David and Mafalda De Campo have been hired to help find the thief. They’re in it for the money, but the Tigres just want to make a statement.

Meanwhile, the Heredes have returned: ruthless idealists and revolutionaries. It’s not clear what they’re up to, but they keep getting in the way.

The De Campos will need to decide how far they’re willing to go for this job and the Tigres. Viterbo may soon become a battlefield, and one wrong move could set it aflame.

Review

Animus Paradox is the continuation of a short story that appeared at the end of Digital Extremeties, Adam Bassett’s short story collection that I read a few months prior to this. [Is this a good place to mention that I love these titles?!] Some of those stories have really stuck around in my brain, which means a lot considering that usually doesn’t happen even with some of my favorite books (my ADHD brain quickly moves on to other things). I was very happy to accept a review copy of this one!

While knowledge of the short story it builds on is not necessarily needed to enjoy this one, I am still glad that I read the short story collection first because I enjoyed the references to several of them, mainly in terms of world-building. That was the one area where I was glad to have prior knowledge since that was something that stood out to me during that first book. It was the reason I wanted more stories from Adam Bassett in the first place and he really delivered with this action-packed adventure.

It was awesome how the beginning of the book immediately put me right back into the familiar setting. What originally appeared to be a simple search for a missing thief quickly turned into a much more complicated venture for our private investigator duo. I really enjoyed how solving this case played on both of their strengths and that the ending felt true to their characters as I’ve gotten to know them. While I personally like to have a bit more emotional development on page, I do think that the pace of this story worked well for its length and will be a really fun read for those that gravitate to more action-packed stories than personal introspection.

This book has shown me just how interconnected people’s lives can be, even spread out across the globe (again referencing the short story collection, I’m sorry) and how fun it can be to spot those little details. Bassett has created a story that is really fun on its own but also builds superbly on his prior work. I hate to repeat myself, but I do hope we get even more stories set in this cool future-Earth!

Synopsis

BLADE RUNNER, TRUE DETECTIVE and DISTRICT 9 meld with the weird worlds of JEFF VANDERMEER and CHINA MIÉVILLE in Adrian M. Gibson’s fungalpunk noir debut.

TWO YEARS AFTER a devastating defeat in the decade-long Spore War, the island nation of Hoppon and its capital city of Neo Kinoko are occupied by invading Coprinian forces. Its Fungal citizens are in dire straits, wracked by food shortages, poverty and an influx of war refugees. Even worse, the corrupt occupiers exploit their power, pushing the native populace toward the brink of civil unrest.

As a winter storm looms over the metropolis, NKPD Homicide Detective Henrietta Hofmann begrudgingly partners up with mushroom-headed patrol officer Koji Nameko to investigate the mysterious murders and disappearances of Fungal and half-breed children. Their investigation drags them deep into the seedy underbelly of a war-torn city, one brimming with colonizers, criminal gangs, racial division and moral decay. 

In order to solve the case and unravel the truth, Hofmann must challenge her past and embrace Fungal ways. What she and Nameko uncover in the midst of this frigid  wasteland will chill them to the core, but will they make it through the storm alive?

Quick Review

Mushroom Blues has been racking up awards and praise—and for good reason. Gibson’s fungalpunk detective noir is a stunning read, elevated by Imogen Church’s performance in the audiobook.

Full Review

I hadn’t planned on writing a full review of Adrian M. Gibson’s Mushroom Blues. Anyone who frequents this blog has likely already heard about it, but having listened to the audiobook—which was released after the other reviews here—I feel I can probably add something to the conversation. Let’s begin there. 

The audiobook, narrated by Imogen Church, is phenomenal. Imogen throws everything into the performance, really showing off her vocal range and acting skills. Some of the narration comes alongside sound effects such as the crackle of a radio, or the echo of a megaphone. These moments are frequent enough to help immerse a listener, but not so frequent to be distracting. Each chapter is also introduced with a snippet of music, adding to the atmosphere of Neo Kinoko. 

Honestly, I worry that the Mushroom Blues audiobook may have spoiled other audiobooks for me—it’s just that good.

So, that’s what you can expect from the audiobook. But how’s the actual story? Mushroom Blues revolves around a brutal mystery. Fungals—the city’s native mushroom-people—are discovering their children washing up ashore, murdered. Detectives Hofmann and Nameko (the sole fungal on working with the police) are tasked with finding out who’s doing it and stopping them.

Beneath it all there is a story about colonial oppression, racism, and reckoning with one’s past. The most visible of these threads is the humans’ terrible treatment of the fungals. Unfortunately, at the start, our hero is no different. Henrietta Hofmann is not particularly likeable. As A.J. Calvin commented in her review, Hofmann is initially a part of the problem facing the fungals in this book. She is overtly racist, disgusted by them, and an all-around difficult person to be near—let alone be in her perspective throughout the whole story. 

At first, I thought this might be enough to make me put down the book, but I kept going and discovered the real journey Hofmann was on: one of growth and change. I can’t say more without spoiling major events of the story, but suffice it to say that if you’re struggling with Hofmann as I was, try to stick it out a bit longer. There’s an interesting discussion to be had about unlikable narrators, but looking back on Mushroom Blues I’m not sure the story would have paid off as well in the end without Hofmann’s initially off-putting attitudes. And it absolutely paid off.

I mentioned how the audiobook adds to the atmosphere of Neo Kinoko, but Gibson’s writing is already brilliant. He describes the city as a post-war wreck, slowly recovering both because of and in spite of the occupying humans’ efforts. As Andy Peloquin mentioned in his review, every part of the city blends modern architecture with fungi. The fungal language is inspired by Japanese, as is their culture, but it all still unique enough to be the fungals’. Their religion, traditions, and families feel steeped in generations of history. There are even similarities to cyberpunk stories, with a “fungal net” that acts like a kind of biological “cyberspace” for the fungal people. It’s a weird blend of ideas and genres, but it works.

I recommend Mushroom Blues. Gibson wrote an incredible debut, and Church absolutely nailed the audiobook version. If you enjoy crime thrillers, mysteries, and unique worlds, this one deserves a place in your library.

Synopsis:

There’s a thief on the loose. The Tigres excel at tipping the scales in their favor, be it through bribes, politics, or blood. They unofficially run Viterbo, Italy—and somebody stole from them.

Private investigators David and Mafalda De Campo have been hired to help find the thief. They’re in it for the money, but the Tigres just want to make a statement.

Meanwhile, the Heredes have returned: ruthless idealists and revolutionaries. It’s not clear what they’re up to, but they keep getting in the way.

The De Campos will need to decide how far they’re willing to go for this job and the Tigres. Viterbo may soon become a battlefield, and one wrong move could set it aflame.

Review:

Animus Paradox is a noir cyberpunk story to a T. You’ve got your former military private investigators doing a job well above their pay grade, modded body parts galore, bodies aplenty, warring gangs, computer hacking viruses by someone called the Spider (in Italian no less). You want robotics and blood, you got it!

This is a fun little story Bassett has cooked up. A near future Italy where body mods are normal and blood let in the streets is commonplace. David and Maf[alda] De Campo (aka the private eyes) team up with a pair of Tigres gang members, Gennoveffa and Jun’ichi, as they search for a missing surgeon. Lies and twists pit them against another gang (The Heredes) led by the fully-modded out Ayane. Bullets and katanas everywhere. Deaths, the whole shebang.

From what I understand, since I’m awful at life and didn’t read the first Digital Extremities series of stories, this novella is a pseudo-sequel to one of those. Mainly a follow-up of David De Campo. Again, can’t speak to that story, but here, David is your quintessential jaded law-abiding private citizen who happens to be completely modded out due to his past in the military. Sure the vast majority of his mods are dormant due to playing nice with the rules, but they exist, and that makes David quite a compelling POV. Throughout this story, he straddles the line of playing by the rules and overstepping them. And when he finally teeters to one way, it goes balls to the wall. His wife, Maf, isn’t a POV, but I do wish she was. She was probably my fave character of the story, even though we spend very little time with her. I don’t know, she just struck me as that can-do, take no chances/prisoners vibe. She was just awesome, especially in the climax. Of the two Tigres we spend time with, Jun’ichi is our secondary POV, and he’s the quiet assassin type big bruiser. Hyper focused, his goal is singular throughout the story, especially after things occur with his partner, Gennoveffa. Ayane was a really neat antagonist, and her being completely modded out, yeah, wouldn’t want to mess with her.

The biggest draw of this world is the world. So, I’m Italian (northeastern up by old Bavaria) but I also took multiple semesters of Italian in college and my degree is in Classical Archaeology, mainly focused on Ancient Rome, so needless to say, I love me some Italy. This story taking place in neo-Italy is a boon for a reader like me. But then throw in the cyberpunk aspect, the noir aspect, and then top it off with the Mafia-esque gang (I cannot confirm, nor deny that my family is connected…), I’m hooked. This world is just simply cool as shit (forgive the language). The sci-fi aspects are not too far forward that they don’t make sense, but still future enough that it’s cool. Like who wouldn’t want some body mods to make us badass? You got your R2D2-esque earbuds that can plug into things, your entire torso made of stupid strong material, your computer hacking skills to kill, you know, all the good stuff.

The prose is very solid and so is the pace. Sure there are moments where the ‘action’ is downplayed, but this is a noir/procedural type story, so our heroes need to spend some time watching stuff in the hopes that something occurs (at least our cast takes some showers, too, not just stinky noir people). Jun’ichi helps offset this because of his impatience. The action is super strong, especially when shit hits the collective fan. If I did have any moments of ‘this is neat but not necessary’, it was when David gets his mods turned back on and he and Jun’ichi have a masculinity test with a sword fight. It was well done and showed off David’s skill, but not needed in my unasked for opinion as it was placed between a very tense moment of Maf/Gennoveffa and the climax.

Animus Paradox is my first taste of Bassett’s writing and it won’t be the last! Certainly enjoyed this story and I hope we get more De Campo cases! Will definitely be reading the Digital Extremities shorts soon.

*I received an ARC of this story I’m exchange for an honest review.