Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for providing me the opportunity to read this eARC. I loved this novel due to the futuristic theme but more importantly how the characters kept dropping pop culture references that were from the past but also hit some of my favorite memories as a teenager and young adult. It was almost as if the author wrote this novel for me. Highly recommended.

Unfortunately this book didn’t work for me at all. I’ve tried reading it a handful of times over the years and simply cannot get into it. There’s something about the narrative flow that feels disjointed and the descriptions of the world/tech/society make no sense. This is a DNF for me

Real Rating: 4.5* of five, rounded down for its self-limiting audience appeal

The first paragraph reads:
<blockquote>He steps off the plane and into a shimmering world. They've hidden the airport beneath a thick coat of dazzle. A parade of razor-thin screens, angled atrium glass, and staccato mirror work. Everything scrolls, winks, and blinks, but softly, like Sunset Strip on mute.</blockquote>
I knew from the off that I was in for one of Those Reads, the ones I bore people with by shoving it in their faces despite innumerable social cues...sighs, eyerolls, signs scrawled in orange crayon on a Big Chief tablet reading "GO AWAY"...that they would greatly prefer I not.

A book with chapter titles like "The Double Tap of Holy Exclamations" and "Residual Goat Shit" and "Shut Your Mouth When You Talk to Me" simply must be read. A book that weaves Dune references throughout its text for the Fremen to follow. A book that centers empathy, that commercially rewards empathy, that perverts empathy into a product that enables empaths to resist and rebel and still get paid...that is, this is, a book that demands your eyeblinks. Demands, and rewards. Lion Zorn, he's just this guy, you know? About like Zaphod Beeblebrox was.
<blockquote>The early researchers described em-tracking as a hardware upgrade for the nervous system, maybe the result of a genetic shift, possibly a fast adaptation, Studies revealed an assortment of cognitive improvements: acute perceptual sensitivity, rapid data acquisition, high speed pattern recognition. The biggest change was in future prediction. Normally, the human brain is a selfish prognosticator, built to trace an individual’s path into the future. The em-tracker’s brain offers a wider oracle, capable of following a whole culture’s path into the future.</blockquote>
Ripsnort through our world (almost) with Lion and see what things really look like when you drink the Water of Life. There's nothing specifically tech-SFnal about the world Lion roams, but the psychopharmacology is waaay trippy. Lion and his ladyfriend Penelope are always on the move because Lion's empathy skills are so useful...he can spot the newest tendrils of a social movement, he can pinpoint who's coming up with what and when and why that's a thing...Lion is, in other words, a bloody nightmare of a gifted and talented drug user. It's Sietch Tabr that expands him, and honestly I think I'd prefer the reality where he's shrunk back inside his skull. I'm already angry about surveillance capitalism.
<blockquote>“Buckminster Fuller said don’t try to change human behavior. It’s s a waste of time. Evolution doesn’t mess around; the patterns are too deep. Fuller said go after the tools. Better tools lead to better people. Arctic doesn’t develop products. We may cultivate them, occasionally, in our own particular way, but our business is change. Significant change.”</blockquote>
Only Lion's subversive....
<blockquote>Lion was the one who pointed out that naming hotels after Millennial values—the Truth, the Purpose, the Community—now that his generation had reached the age where the luxury of billboard ethics had been derailed by the verities of life, might be lucrative. "Aspirational nostalgia," he dubbed it.</blockquote>
Okay, cyberpunk, one expects that. But there's an AI involved in this picture that, well, it's AI so it's got to be bad. But somehow this isn't dystopian. There's a lot of interesting animal-rights activism information and action...there's a little bit of information about how pharmaceutical companies pharmaceut. There's a little bit about Penelope and her life; there's not a lot more about Lion. The characters are the weakest links in the story. They exist, they are differentiatable, they aren't very compelling. I found that, the longer I spent with them, the less that mattered to me. I don't know exactly what that says about the read or this reader. I'm not at all sure I want to find out.
<blockquote>Lots of people believe consciousness is a fundamental property of the universe, like space and time. If that's the case, then it is turtles all the way down. We'll have this debate about our microbiome. About rocks and atoms and quarks. Until we have Gaia consciousness, there will always be an us-them divide, always a next frontier for empathy.</blockquote>
So find space on your Kindle, or order a used tree-book, but get this story inside you.
<blockquote>“Shifting culture requires a confluence of inciting incidents. Something directional that leads to a tribal fracturing and reknitting. Often shows up in language first. In music. Fashion. It can feel a little like hope.” He points at the images. “This doesn’t feel like hope.”</blockquote>
Oddly enough I felt more hope after the read than I did going in to it. I think you might, too.

Because I received an e-arc copy of Steven Kotler's second book in the series (The Devil's Dictionary), I wanted to make sure to start reading where the story begins.

"Last Tango in Cyberspace" is smart. As in, I can tell that the author is a very intelligent person. In a lot of ways, this is what I imagine a good sci-fi to be: foreboding hints of a future that could happen, use of technology in a way that isn't quite where we are at now, references to the past that the audience either has a general knowledge of, or can relate to.

There were parts of the story that I enjoyed, and I appreciate that the main character is an action hero that relies on his empathetic skills rather than muscle power. If I didn't already have the second book ready to read, I doubt that I would continue the series. It wasn't my 'type' of book, but I do think that there is a lot for sci-fi readers to enjoy.

This is a detective story with a twist. Sure, there's a mystery to solve, something to recover, an identity to discover and plenty of searching on a global basis. There's also a degree of espionage, secrets and backstabbing. But the real difference here is emotion - the protagonist is an "empathy tracker" who looks beyond the material clues. It makes the read very trippy at times, so it doesn't feel like a typical detective mystery. It's a nice change of pace.

Last Tango in Cyberspace by Steven Kotler
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I may have an unpopular opinion about this book, considering the things I've heard about it, but DAMN this was FINE.

Bear with me a moment and I'll explain.

I identified with it in a big way.

I felt like I was reliving all my experiences as a psychologist, reliving my extensive reading experience, be it non-fiction, mind-related, philological, new-classic literature, or a little heads-up on a little concept known as EMPATHY. And then there was the whole focus and glorious boost of Dune as a piece of culture, of a modern mythology/meme, and I fell in love with the book. Indeed, since I've read Dune over fifteen times and if I'm in a tight spot I even repeat the Fear Mantra to myself in RL, I was seriously in the text.

But when it comes to the novel itself, I was most impressed with how smart it was. This cyberpunk mystery features an investigator who uses empathy to get to where he needs to be rather than muscle or straight hacking. It's something of a flip on the head for normal noir tales and cyberpunk in specific.

Let me say this straight: it's brimming with great, serious ideas about who we are, culturally, biologically, sociologically, and technologically. The core mystery was always fascinating (at least to me, since I AM a psychology freak,) and very satisfying, all the way up to and including the massive blowout we know is coming -- a blowout that will utterly f**k-up humanity good. Drugs? Yes, but not your average cyberpunk drug story. This is pretty wicked.

So why isn't this book getting more love?

Hell if I know.

It's one of the better cyberpunks, period, sending a message that hasn't been butchered to hell and seriously needs a good polish and display. Empathy, people. I'm both impressed with the choice and the execution of the idea.

I mean, it's not like there's an awful lot of it these days. I, for one, would LOVE to see a comeback.

What a great novel. Book 1 of a series (check out The Devil's Dictionary, coming soon!!)

It's 2025 and Lion Zorn is a empathy tracker. Using his empathy abilities he is able to predict trends
which makes him quite valuable. He is hired on by a large pharmaceutical company and his work leads him to a murder.
This is a cyberpunk thriller that includes multiple explorations on technology, philosophy and the future in general.
If you like cyberpunk, brilliant treatise on technology and our future or just want an interesting take on a murder mystery, then #TheLastTangoinCyberspace is for you!
#StMartinsPublisher #NetGalley #Netgalleyreads

Book received for free through NetGalley

I’m so glad I came across this book as it was fantastic. It had me in its grub within a chapter or two and wouldn’t let me go. I love the characters, the story, and all the random factoids sprinkled throughout. Already can’t wait to crack open the next one and blow my mind.

Review of eBook

Empathy tracker Judah Zorn . . . better known as Lion . . . is the first of his kind. His ability to see upcoming trends and cultural shifts make him an asset for companies such as Arctic Pharmaceuticals. Despite his ability to identify future actions, Lion says his job is to say “yes” or “no.”

When Sir Richard, the head of Arctic Pharmaceuticals, learns of a new drug that might be helpful in dealing with autism, he hires Lion to find the cult leader about to release Sietch Tabr to the market. But there’s another side to the drug . . . it also increases empathy toward other people as well as toward animals.

What will happen when a hunter takes the drug? And what is Sir Richard’s true motive for finding the drug?

=========

The blending of cultures makes for compelling world-building . . . a near-future world filled with futuristic technology. And Lion’s empathy and connection with ecosystems, plants, and animals makes him an intriguing character. The idea of a strong empathetic nature acts as a highlight for the narrative. Additionally, Lion’s quiet, somewhat introverted nature makes him an appealing protagonist.

There are a few disconnects in the telling of the tale, including all the vegan inculcation. Then, there are the bizarre bar codes on the necks of several characters and the author’s annoying predilection for describing a wide variety of marijuana . . . none contributed significantly to the overall narrative.

Nevertheless, the thought-provoking story holds the reader’s interest [and may spark interest in a re-reading of Frank Herbert’s “Dune”].

Recommended.

I received a free copy of this eBook from St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley
#LastTangoinCyberspace #NetGalley

I have made it my mission in 2021 to not be afraid to DNF a book that doesn’t hold my interest, providing that I’ve given it a fair chance. Previously if I gave up on a book I’d still keep it on my Goodreads ‘Currently Reading’ list to look at me and make me feel guilty every time I logged in. As multiple lockdowns have meant I am much more up to date on my reading list, I have gone back to try and clear the ones I have left behind. In some instances I have actually found they aren’t bad stories, I was just perhaps not in the right mind frame to enjoy them when I first picked them up. With Last Tango in Cyberspace I stopped last time after 25% and so this time I went back to the beginning and tried again, and I must sadly admit defeat once again at 50%.

I love a good sci-fi but I feel that world building is so important to telling the story. With Last Tango I constantly felt like I had been dropped halfway into a story that was never explained. I had to double check this was not part of a series but it is a standalone. Bearing in mind I am halfway through the book, I still have no idea of the following key principles of the story:

• What is an em-tracker? This is the main character Lion’s job. It’s never fully explained and he never really uses it for us to get a good idea of it. It seems to just be a superpower that makes him feel slightly sick if he touches leather or sees a dead animal.

• Why is Lion called an em-tracker of the ‘Rod of Correction’? A character calls him this about 40% of the way into the book and then several references are made to it later on. Is it a training principle? An event? A society? We have no idea.

• What is the question to which Lion answers ‘Yes/No’? The majority of Lion’s job is answering Yes or No to big corporations and they pay him lots of money for it. At no point is the actual question that he is answering revealed.

• What is the Rilkean? A group of people with barcodes on their necks and a love of answering questions but that is all we are told about them. Are they a faction of society? A gang? A cult? Who knows!

• When is this book set? I managed to find a hint of this when a character reveals it’s been 200 years since women were given the vote so I assume it’s roughly 100 years in the future. There’s a few very standard futuristic elements such as autonomous cars, screens woven into clothing and cars ‘seeing empathy’. However, I think author Steven Kotler needs to have a better imagination as there’s still references to things like ‘Skype’ which is pretty obsolete even now, 2 years after publication. There’s also Uber, Tinder and Xbox 360s mentioned as well as references to Apocalypse Now and Dune all of which felt very jarring to the futuristic narrative.

There are however, a few things that I did understand. The plot itself and where it was going seemed quite simple, it was just such a shame that we were missing all of the world building around it. I also know every intimate detail of how Lion’s hotel coffee machine works.

Lion himself is an awful main character, he takes a lot of drugs and everything seems to revolve around this. He also got an unexpected parcel at one point which was delivered to his hotel room. He came into the room, saw the parcel then went straight to sleep without opening it. We then got an agonising over-share of the famous coffee machine and his shower routine and a few calls before he even bothered to see what was in it – who does that???

Overall, as you may have gathered this book was not for me! There needs to be a lot better world building and quite frankly some better imagination employed by the author followed by a ruthless edit for this to even begin to make sense. Thank you to NetGalley and St Martin’s Press for the chance to read the ARC in exchange for a *very* honest review.

An interesting cyberpunk-esque story of the near-future.
LAST TANGO IN CYBERSPACE was an interesting read. It's another novel about (unchecked) corporate greed and control in the future, a mainstay of the (sub-)genre. Kotler's use of empathy as a "tool" is (to me) original and well-constructed. The novel is well-written, and kept me engaged throughout, although the plot's momentum felt a bit uneven to me.
I'm certainly interested in reading more by the author.

tw: drug use (a lot), death, decapitation (graphic description)

Normally I wouldn’t request a book like this. This book leans very heavily on science fiction and technology. But two things made me request it. One is that the publisher is St Martin’s Press. They have yet to steer me wrong and I haven’t read a book published by them less than 3 (three) stars. Two was the cover. This cover was so damn beautiful, that I knew I had to read it. Boy, am I glad I did read it. It has become one of my favorite books.

This book was different and I mean that in a good way. I didn’t know what I was going to get when I started but it wasn’t that. It was very unusual. It was written unusually. Everything about it was so different and I enjoyed the heck out of it. Honestly, this book would make a great movie. The world reminded me of the movie version of OASIS from Ready Player One.

The world was incredibly different and unlike anything I’ve ever read about. Basically, it blended a ton of different cultures, fads, stereotypes, labels, etc into a unique blend that left me fascinated and wanting more. I would love to get a book of just the world and how it came to be. The world included fun technology that I enjoyed reading about. As you can tell, it was the worldbuilding that really sold me on this book.

The way the book was written was what hooked me in. It was written as if someone was following Lion (the MC) around, recording his daily life and feelings. Normally, that would be boring as hell to read but it wasn’t with this book. There was so much shorthand, that it just worked.

The MC, Lion, was a cool character. He was an empath (which basically means he was incredibly sensitive to feelings of others) and essentially tracks people down. It was fascinating to see how he thought. Although, at times, it was hard to get to know him. He didn’t deal much with feelings unless it was about animals. He loved animals so much that he was willing to get arrested and lose his job over them and it was heartwarming to see that.

Overall, this was a super cool book. The cover was breathtaking. The world was unique. The writing was spot on. Everything about this book screams awesome. St Martin’s Press has done it again! Be sure to check it out today!

Thank you publisher and netgalley for the early copy!

I could not connect with the writing style/plot and decided to put it down.

Thank you netgalley for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I had some difficultly getting through this novel. it's very slow in the beginning with lots of internal dialogue and descriptions. I lost the sense of what this novel was about as we followed Lyon in his day to day. It was creative in the sense that you felt you were in a futuristic setting but are left floating without an anchor to pull you back to the heart of the story.

DNF at 14% and it was a struggle to get that far. A scifi mystery sounded great but this feels like old school scifi, very dark and wordy.
Is the main character a PETA stoner? So much drug use. Do you have to be high to enjoy this story?
I’m sure this author’s method of storytelling will appeal to some but I’m not one of them. Everything, I mean everything had to be described. The word salad did nothing for me. I didn’t care about any of the characters.
ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Steven Kotler channels his best William Gibson, in the new sci-fi thriller “Last Tango in Cyberspace”, which plot centers on corporate greed, drugs and eco-terrorism. Unfortunately, Kotler does not completely pull it off. One problem is the meandering plot. Marketed as a thriller, one could wish for more action. Instead, Kotler overindulges in a veritable smorgasbord of near future predictions. From a deep dive into marijuana variants that only Seth Rogan could understand to bar code branded people to vegan people who are eating grown cultured beef, the novel is full of ideas about the future. And some are interesting. There is a deep dive into animal rights and why people should be more protective. But Kotler tries too hard to fit some of them in. And Kotler also seems to have a fascination with “Dune”, the Frank Herbert, magnum opus, which will play a significant role in the story. Even the title is cited several times in the text, as if the author is trying to convince the reader that the novel is about cyberspace, when in reality it’s mostly about drugs and the cyberspace connection is merely a loose tie-in.

Judah “Lion” Zorn is an “empathy tracker”, who is able to discern emerging trends in society. Sir Richard, who runs Artic Pharmaceuticals has hired him to track down the leader of a cult, who may have information about a new drug about to hit the market. The drug helps with autism, so Artic’s motives may be good. The problem is that the new drug increases the empathy that people feel for others, including animals. So a noted hunter, who may have taken the drug, is found dead, his head mounted like the other prey he killed on the wall of his trophy room. And there may be cross interests at work. Jenka, who works for Arctic is in charge of “special creatives” is involved. His assistant Penelope, is also a player, who will become more important to Zorn as the story progresses. The Cult leader will be met on the way but missed but then found again. Arctic Pharmaceuticals motives will, in the best cyberpunk tradition, to be grey at best.

I found the novel to be a slow slog. It does pick up in the second half, but there is still too much meandering around. There are many sharp science fiction speculative ideas in the story, but digging out the nuggets is not worth the time to discover them. Kotler can hold your interest, but there is better fare out there.

I wanted to enjoy this a lot more than I did. I felt like this book was a complete run-on sentence and didn't engage me as a reader at all.

I'm finding it very hard to write this review. I feel like I'm not the intended audience (despite wanting to be) and as such I'm not the best person to be reviewing this.

The language in Last Tango on Cyberspace is full of jargon and scientific language which can make the whole storytelling feel somewhat aloof and distant. If you are a long term sci-fi reader and fan with a good knowledge of subcultures within that fan base I feel like you would LOVE this book. I'm only dabbling in sci-fi because I do like elements of it but I feel many references and this particular writing style is wasted on me.

The short sentences and impersonal writing style made it difficult for me to connect with the characters. I am a big emotional reader and like to connect with characters to get full enjoyment. Again, I feel like this is actually a plot device and intended by the author to really showcase the society this story is set in. For those who can appreciate it that yet again it's great writing that's well thought out.

The world building is good and well paced. You are drip fed information constantly so as not to be overwhelmed. The jargon may complicate this for some readers.

I think this book has HUGE potential. I don't want to rate it badly despite dnf-ing it myself. It is well thought out, well written with some great world building and fun references for lovers of the genre, unfortunately with my limited sci-fi reading this just doesn't work for me.

I really wanted to like this book for a lot of different reasons, but unfortunately I couldn't. This book has amazing cover art. It's so beautiful that I almost wish it had been saved for a better one. Also, it's very rare that I don't like a science fiction story. Also the idea of an empathy tracker is intriguing. This book had all the makings to be so good, but the actual story was not.

I am usually a fan of short chapters because it gives me somewhere good to stop when other responsibilities call. However, I don't like chapters of any length that don't get you further in the book. I want chapters that each add something to the plot. In this book, a lot of the chapters could be easily removed from the book without taking anything away from the plot. I easily reached chapter five in under twenty minutes, yet I had learned nothing that the synopsis hasn't already told me. The content of these short chapters hold a lot of unnecessary information too.

This is not an easy book to read. In the above paragraph I explained how fast I was able to go through chapters, yet I was taking my time. While the author clearly has a wonderful vocabulary with a good knowledge of other languages, most readers don't. It takes some time to really process. However, the reader I am did enjoy some references to the origins of words.

This book doesn't explain where it's going before they get there. It sounds like an intriguing little writing tactic, but it's not. I spent a lot of this book trying to figure out what was going on. Maybe this was because the author spent to much time working on filling this book with vegan propaganda. If you are vegan, know that I truly think the world of that cause. It's an admirable cause. However, it really had no place in a science fiction book about an empathy tracker. In fact, paired with all the drug use I'm not sure this book advertises well for veganism although that's what it feels like it's trying to do.

In short, this was not the book for me.

I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for this honest review.

While I went in expecting a cyberpunk, this is definitely more on the thriller end of the spectrum and almost anti-cyberpunk. It’s set in the near future, so while some things are strange, most are familiar. The author also notes that most of the things referenced in the book are things that are either possible now or likely to be possible in the near future. The best I can explain is that it’s a scifi thriller by way of Dune, animal rights activism, and a ridiculous amount of drugs.

“Plus, you find futures for other people, that’s the job?”
“Yeah.”
“But they’ve always been other people’s futures.”
“Uh-huh.”
“This time,” says Lorenzo, “the animals, the empathy. This time you found a future that includes you.”


Lion’s an interesting character. He’s an em-tracker, which means he has expanded empathy to understand not only others feelings and future actions but that of entire subcultures. He’s generally employed by companies to figure out if certain trends have a future – basically, his job is to say either yes or no. When he’s employed by Arctic, a somewhat secretive company led by your typical quirky-but-hip billionaire, he expects it to be just like any other job, but the introduction of a murdered big game hunter makes things personal, and Lion’s left wondering exactly how deep this goes.

“Rilke used empathy as a virus-scan for truth, his way to live the questions. Lion lives bigger questions. His empathy isn’t individual; it’s cultural. He can feel how cultures collide and blend, the Darwinian mash of memes, the winners and losers and what truths remain. He’s like a lie detector for potential futures. An emotional prediction engine for how the we fractures, the us becomes them, and then back together again. And a useful skill for a certain type of company.”


While cyberpunk usually deals with the virtual, this is more focused on reality – Lion’s somehow simultaneously obsessed with digging through surface layers to find what’s real and mind altering substances. I liked the exploration of empathy and how it relates to subcultures, and found the wordbuilding fascinating, if a bit confusing at times, since it seemed very close to the present but with bits tweaked. I’m a big fan of Dune, so I liked how themes from that were introduced into the story, but I wonder if a non-familiar reader would find that confusing. I was also intrigued by how Lion seems to view em-tracking as almost an off-shoot of autism. Lion gets overwhelmed by certain sensory stimuli and basically shuts down – at points, he refers to programming himself with habit loops.

“A couple of years after Wundt’s invention, philosopher Theodor Lipps wonders why art affects us so strongly. Comes to see the act of viewing art as an act of co-creation. An artist has a primal emotion that becomes an original insight that births a work of art. Viewers tap that source code via viewing, as if the feeling that led to the original insight gets broadcast, and people with the right kind of radio can detect the signal. Tune the frequency correctly and the experience is shared experience, transmitted through an object and across time.”


While I found the premise and ideas behind the story fascinating, the execution itself was more mixed for me. I’m not a fan of the choppy thriller writing style, chockfull of sentence fragments. There’s also a weird mix of excruciating detail (what size coffee he makes every morning) and complete memory lapses (drug induced or em-tracing induced, not even Lion knows which) where chunks of time will pass and then abruptly we’re somewhere else. The combination was a bit jarring and occasionally confusing for me. Additionally, all the female characters are sex symbols, there to be explained at with chunks of info dumping, or as deus ex machina when Lion gets in too far over his head. There’s a bit of a romance, and it was eyerollingly bad from my female point of view. To be fair, though, most of the characters aren’t particularly well fleshed out, though I got a kick out of Lorenzo, Lion’s best friend who communicates with him in Apocalypse Now quotes and plays drums in a fusion band, and Shiz, the rapper who loves Banksy and Dr. Seuss.

Overall, this read was not really my thing, but it was enjoyable in a weird way. I’ve added a few of Mr. Kotler’s nonfiction works to my TBR as I think they’d be fascinating. If you’re looking for a thriller that’s an exploration of empathy, societal change, and animal rights, and don’t mind a boatload of drug use, you’ll probably enjoy this book!

I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.