Argh I hate that sometimes I can't just buy things because of 'EU VAT laws'. I'm a citizen of the planet earth! LET ME BUY STUFF! That sentence doesn't make any sense but I feel better now.

The job has gone completely wrong. Tasked with breaking a prominent mobster's son out of the computer system he had no business being in, they knew the job would be risky. But Rhye wasn't prepared for them to shoot Rack before they were even close to being finished. Her only option now is to hook up to the interface and get the kid out herself. And maybe try to save Rack in the process. He's in there somewhere, after all.
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The summary above is brief, but with this being a novelette, I don't want to give away everything. In a future where people can connect directly into computer systems, leaving their bodies to explore new worlds, there are new frontiers on all accounts. And although Rhye is a loner, she's found somewhat of a kindred spirit in Rack. The last think she wants is to face the thought of not seeing him again.

The writing here is masterful. Through Rhye going in and trying to finish the job, readers learn so much about these characters. We get just enough hint of backstory to find out why they're a team. But the way events unfold, we learn so much about what makes both individuals tick. The story is driven just as much by the characters as it is the action. And that's something I really loved about it.

I hadn't pulled this one up until it was named a Hugo finalist. And I'm so glad that it's on that list. It's not only a great example of great science fiction writing, but it demonstrates masterful use of the novelette length and format.

And it's free! Check it out! ( )

It''s not bad, but it's mainly just sweary. Now, the swearing is really really cuntingly imaginative, which is wonderful, but there isn't really much else going for it. Like Takeshi Kovacs but with much more swears. Not very impressed once I got over my love of sweary things.
Fuckity bye. ( )

I've only just discovered Brooke thanks to people at Goodreads and I can tell you that I'm super thrilled and not merely because it's filled with tons of f-bombs. :) Her characters are not only gritty but realistically hard-bitten and delightfully crass and full of shit. It's a delight!

Seriously, though, this story is much more than meets the eye, from uploaded consciousnesses into meat shells, a cool cyberspace adventure, mobsters, hitmen, and even a travel to the underworld to bring her love back from the dead, pure Hades style, going all Orpheus and Euridice on us.

Did I say I loved this? Then again, I'm a total absolute sucker for retellings of Greek legends in a hardcore, take-no-prisoners, cyberpunk mindspace gore-strewn nightmare of computation. :)

Bravo! :)

The end may be a bitch, but then, so was the original. ( )

I enjoyed "And you shall know her by the trail of dead" and the novella "In the house of Aryaman, a lonely signal burns" very much. "And the winners will be swept out to sea" was pretty good too. I didn't really care for the rest. ( )