castledoom.com

[JuntaJoe]

How that for a new take on the www. acronym?

It's an internet thriller novel with a twist.

It's placed in the near future after the "Global InfoWar". An odd sort of world war with terrorist bombers and hackers trying to crack the hegemony of the nation state concept. Well, the nations won by slapping down society and imposing rigid laws and massive surveillance to restrict personal freedoms. It's a Big Brother type world where everyone is monitored closely, especially web usage.

And in this setting is a cop who gets assigned a unique murder case. It's really more of a detective novel than a thriller. Very well done and a fast read. Even with all of this internet backdrop, the murder case is not overshadowed by fantastic flights through cyberspace as so many computer novels suffer. No goofy stories on minds flying the web ether and battling evil polygons. No, this story has that old 50's detective story grit in a near future world. Detective story fans and nerds alike will love this.

Whole Wide World by Paul McAuley (ISBN: 0-765-34027-5)

[JuntaJoe]

Ok, I've found a new genre to love.

The post-apocalypse techno-thriller.

Detective stories of the future.

Strange, I can't seem to find their aisle at the bookstore. :lol:

I've been waiting for my usual mix of authors to release their latest into paper when I realized that I had skipped an entire series by one of my favorite authors.

I've raved about Peter Hamilton's stuff, but never read his first series.

It's about the adventures of private detective Greg Mandel, a former military soldier with an experimental brain gland installed that gives him super empathy. He's a walking lie detector.

His detective stuff isn't as special as the resultant adventures on an Earth in the near future.

But considering I loved the movie Blade Runner a long time ago, I guess I'm not surprised I love this niche genre.

You should definitely look into Whole Wide World and Peter Hamilton's Mindstar Rising, Quantum Murder, and Nanoflower.