I received and read this as an Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) in 2021. It was a quick-paced read. I enjoyed this sci-fi thriller. I was unaware it was a series; this was book number two. The character descriptions were exciting, and learning how they all fit together was new. It felt like I entered another world that I was trying to understand. It was a good sci-fi thriller. I liked the imagery and character changes in this sci-fi book. I recommend reading it after book one in the series.

<i>Hey man, open up, it’s Dave.</i>
<i>No man, Dave’s not here.</i>

This story continues the adventures of our lovable pot smokin’ ganja man Lion and his crew from the Last Tango in Cyberspace. It skillfully and economically backfills Lion’s background; he one hep cat keepin it down low keepin it chilly with his totally irie ganja.

I love that you can read these books in any order, and each book contains its own story with a rising action, conflict, and conclusion. I hope that the author is thinking up more Lion stories for us, because his ideas are interesting and this story is even more compelling.

What is so compelling? The themes are topical, and I give the author kudos for using examples of real science and real world examples of issues facing humanity. Science fiction and science fact. This is the kind of science fiction I think is crazy good as it tackles important ideas. I think the story telling here is better, the descriptions are better, and the ideas are um…..possible.

This is science fiction about today’s issues, environment, marketing, sustainability, competition.

In here, Lion investigates a drug called Evolution, which has amazing effects on users’ perception of time, the planet, its inhabitants, and evolution. But no, it’s about predicting the future. Hmm no its about evolution. Hmm no it’s about brain mapping. Hmm D: it’s all of the above.

It’s trippy and weird and fun even though I don’t connect dot the same way the author does.

Since I’ve read both of Lion’s stories, I can’t help comparing them to understand the author’s jam. Both books spin out loads of esoteric names and concepts, assuming everyone else is on board and up-to-speed. I had to pause and look up most of the terms.

I have to comment that the text format is waaaay easier to follow and digest than the audiobook is, and some scenes are so cinematic I could visualize parts of this as a glossy high production movie. But other parts having to do with neurotransmitters are awesome concepts but well, just not that photogenic. Considering the content and the idea of being on the cutting edge, I can imagine this book presented as a hypertext app with links to news articles, photos, music, video snippets. It would be especially useful with the author’s penchant for esoteric knowledge. A set of hyperlinked paths diverging and converging everywhere.

One day a while back when was poking around the Apple App Store, I saw a cool pay hypertext app that was implemented in this fashion, and it’s particularly cool that it pertained to Alice in Wonderland, which hmm, is also kinda trippy. But of course, I couldn’t find it again so I could cite it properly here.

Thank you NetGalley for providing an ARC in exchange for my feedback. My apologies for being two years late.

When some exotic animals appear in a game preserve, Lion Zorn investigates. There are lots of fun things happening in this book - the world itself with human/animal empathy is probably my favorite of them. But we get mystery, psychology, noir, chase scenes, polar bears and bunnies. I also enjoyed the references to famous people of the past and present, and the action scenes.

I generally do not like reading fiction where there is a clear agenda, especially one where I am, at some level, in disagreement with. I read fiction to be entertained, and Kotler manages to do just that. Not only does he entertain, he does so in a way where the underlying agenda isn't annoyingly grating, something many other fiction writers could learn from. He gives characters you want to root for and care about, and a thrilling plot that strives to stay a step ahead of the reader. I've enjoyed both of his Lion Zorn books, and look forward to more in the future.

Okay, same drill:
<blockquote>"People," says Ramen, like they're some kind of disease.

He jabs the air with his chopsticks, pointing at something behind Lion's left shoulder.

Ramen is ancient, Asian, and given to blaring Billy Idol out of cheap speakers duct-taped to the top of his decrepit food cart. He wears an old chef's coat over a dirty t-shirt, the sleeves pushed back, revealing arms flecked with burns and scars. Still, there's truth in his advertising. Ramen makes ramen. "Best in London," according to the sign, even if you have to sit in the cold rain, under a cheap plastic awning, on the rotting edge of Chinatown, to enjoy it.

Rotting—that is definitely the right word.</blockquote>
There's a reason, not an instantly obvious one, to begin this book in exactly this way at precisely that spot. I think a lot of y'all might not find that an easy sell...it means Author Kotler's work repays close attention. I hasten to add that it isn't *required* to understand what's going on. It's a lot like the easter eggs in y'all's video games, or the post-credits scene in those Marvel movies. Laugh along, or howl until it hurts if you're in on the joke.

The WhistlePig? The snow snake? No, explaining isn't necessary now. You just need to see the words, parse them, slot their shapes into a spot in your brain. Just take it easy, read one chapter at a time, and always be prepared to go with the flow.

Unlike the Humans-First scumbags, who are serious major buzz-kill nasties after shutting down the entire existence of Sietch Tabr, the huge empathy uptake of humanity, and the inevitable knock-on effect of people and animals coming to realize we're all one big Gaia. And their (I think) creation, the anti-Sietch Tabr, EVO. It harshes everyone's buzz and it is brutal about it.

But this book, second Lion's Story, gets more in its own way by making a bit too little effort to connect me to more of the cast than even the first one, light on character attachment, did. People are labeled, not named, and the ability to invest in them as more than handy props is limited. So I took a half-star off the rating because I really want to be swept up in the reasons the story's being told. That doesn't happen for me unless I can invest in the characters...positively or negatively.

That is the big gritch. The smaller ones are really not important to me, so definitely not likely to be to you...I'm pretty sure anyone who's read Last Tango in Cyberspace will be eager to get to this one, and I won't say don't. I will say adjust your speed to match the bumps...if technospeak is not for you, these stories aren't either. But, and this is important, taking the story in slowly is a very successful reading strategy with Author Kotler's books. It allows you to marinate his ideas in your head without being bombarded with too much verbiage. Try the stories. This storyverse feels predictive to me, and I suspect we'll be back in Lion's head willy-nilly as the years fly by.

This title was already archived on Netgalley when I got approved so I couldn't download and read it so therefore I will not be able to review it. The email got lost in my inbox.

Super hard for me to rate The Devil's Dictionary as this is a book 2 in the series (which I didn't know) and reading this one left me so confused. I never got my feet under me and so I really didn't enjoy the story. However, had I started on Book 1, I have a feeling that the world building is probably pretty cool and the concept seems really intriguing.

I definitely think this one should be branded with the series info on the cover and a Book 2 listing as well because if I had picked this up in a bookstore and didn't realize it was Book 2, I would have been really upset.

Thank you to #NetGalley and #StMartinsPress for the opportunity to read this book. Opinions expressed are my own.

Published on St. Martin's Press on April 19, 2022

While The Devil’s Dictionary borrows its title from Ambrose Bierce’s 1906 collection of satirical definitions, Steven Kotler’s book is a smart, energetic, and entertaining work of science fiction. The title refers to a scheme to “create life from scratch.” The scheme is the glue that binds the components of a richly imagined story.

Lion Zorn first appeared in Last Tango in Cyberspace. Zorn is an em-tracker. Riffing on ideas that William Gibson popularized, Kotler’s version of empathy tracking is a genetic evolution that enhances the ability to recognize patterns, to feel how cultures clash and blend. Apart from having enhanced empathy for every living part of the environment, em-trackers are “cultural prediction engines,” giving them the ability to sort through trends and make smart guesses about the future.

A pharmaceutical product called Sietch Tabr enhances empathy in a similar way for people who aren’t born with the genetic mutation. It also alters pheromones, making predators sense the drug user as a friend. Developed as a cure for autism, Sietch Tabr (a name that winks at Dune) became a popular street drug because of its psychoactive properties. Lion became famous — a hero to some and reviled by others — when he wrote an article extolling the benefits of “empathy for all.” The article sparked a social movement but sent Lion into hiding after the Splinter, a schism that divides humans who value empathy and those who don’t. The “us against them” theme, like the environmental destruction theme, represents Kotler’s attempt to give the novel allegorical relevance to humanity’s present.

Sir Richard became wealthy marketing Sietch Tabr. He took advantage of his wealth and the sudden spread of empathy to create the Pacific Rim mega-linkage, a long corridor that serves as an environmental refuge, giving animals and plants the chance to roam, countering restrictions imposed by humans. The selfish class — those who reject empathy — have spawned a Humans First movement that opposes attempts to elevate the status of non-human life. It doesn’t bother them that humanity’s insatiable hunger has multiplied the extinction rate of plant and animal life since humans arrived on the scene. In fact, they think human dominion over animals is God’s design. Whether God wanted us to wipe out species by the thousands is a question they forget to ask.

Against that background, Zorn comes out of hiding to search for friends who have disappeared after telling Zorn about a new drug called evo that makes users “trip evolution.” He discovers what might be a plot to hunt down em-trackers and a larger plot to build an AI that, using the genomes of all the animals in the world, can combine genetic data to build life from scratch.

The story sends Zorn on a quest that really can’t be summarized. It involves men who seduce Chinese virgins, deflower them, and encourage them to commit suicide. It involves a tattooed colony of people who developed empathic relationships with bats and occupied the Space Needle. It involves a poly-tribe that grew out of a hacker collective with a shared interest in ecology. It involves flying tree snakes and mechanical polar bears.

Zorn’s supporting cast is not particularly memorable, but Zorn is sufficiently anguished to give his characterization some depth. The story is filled with action, providing a nice balance against the complex plot. Internal plot summaries help the reader hold the plot in memory without slowing its development. While the novel doesn’t feel entirely fresh, Steven Kotler’s ability to weave together familiar science fiction themes and to create a rich background make The Devil’s Dictionary an engaging read.

RECOMMENDED

"The Devil's Dictionary" is Steven Kotler's second in the series following Lion Zorn, an empathy tracker that is out to solve a mystery involving missing acquaintances amidst a politico-eco-revolution that has some of its origins from book one. There is A LOT going on in this book, and I mean that in both a good way and a bad way.

In a good way: Kotler is able to weave many different aspects of 'sci-fi' that are relevant to life today: it may be a book about the future, but the extinction of animals and ruin of nature, the science and tech to 'fix' things--- if this book was written 20 years ago, this might have felt like an improbable future. Now it feels a bit too unsettling.

There are a quite a few big questions that are good take-aways from this book that would be fun to discuss in a book club.

But then in a not-so-good way: It is very easy to get lost in this book. Lots of characters and side stories, lots of switching of sides... and while most of it comes together, I didn't always enjoy 'traveling' with Lion.

There is a lot to learn from this book- I rated the first book "Last Tango in Cyberspace" as a three-star book, and I would give this one a 3.5 if half stars were possible. I doubt I'd continue on with Lion Zorn's story, but I do recommend this book to sci-fi genre lovers who enjoy futuristic, brainy (as in actual neurology) stories.

A good follow-up to Last Tango in Cyberspace, with not only Lion, but also Penelope, Jenka, Sir Richard and others returning. The storytelling this time around isn't quite as trippy, but there's still more of an emotional quality to it than in typical novels of this genre.

I've been picking up a lot of authors that I've never read before, so why not keep the trend going? The Devil's Dictionary, written by Steven Kotler, is the first I've read by this author – though I can already tell that I enjoy his style.

Many experts have theorized that humanity will fracture sometime in the future. That is exactly what is happening here, as the world struggles to adjust to new abilities and talents. Lion Zorn is what some would call an emotional soothsayer. He can detect things that no other being can.

His gifts, and the need to understand, pulls Lion Zorn into a culture like no other. Trapped in this battle, he will travel to America, hoping to find a way to save the rest of his species before it is too late.

I'll admit it: I have a weak spot for science fiction/dystopia that leaves room for empaths and the like. It adds a human element that many stories can overlook (not always, mind you). So I was excited to pick up The Devil's Dictionary.

In this instance, empathy is the story's focal point, the world. All of it. Or maybe I should be saying it's the lack of empathy that's a focal point? What I'm trying to say is that people have turned pretty rotten, forcing one empath to step up and try and do something about it. Like I said, interesting premise.

There's a lot that happens in this book, throwing the main character from one place to the next. Honestly, there were times when it got a bit busy (there were lots of adventures, including robots and wild creatures).

Part of the problem here is that I made a huge mistake: I didn't realize this was a sequel until it was too late. By then, I was invested, and my stubborn butt wasn't turning around. I'm sure I missed some critical worldbuilding details there. So, don't be like me – read Last Tango first. I think you'll appreciate Lion Zorn's character more that way.

This one is a full-throttle roller coaster ride of conspiracies, secrets, and one man trying to stop very bad people from doing very bad things. It also contains a plot that constantly made me pause and think about the motivations and situations behind the story.
It's a little bit all over the place when it comes to pacing, but it's like Kotler is giving readers a chance to take a deep breath before dropping us into increasingly intense situations. And it's not just that the things happening sound like things that could easily happen in today's world dressed up in science fiction costumes and are therefore all the more unnerving, it's that they're written in such a way that even the more out-there situations sound like things that could potentially really happen.
I also really appreciate that Kotler trusts the reader's intelliegence and lets us do some of the work to figure out the world and the people in it without having to spell everything out. Lion Zorn is a complicated character living in a crazy, divided world that feels as strange as it does familiar. And that's a big part of why it was possible to dive into the character and the story he was telling, you have to figure out the character and understand him a little at a time as the story progresses. I liked that.

Very happy thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the pulse-pounding read!

This is a near future sci-fi book that takes place in the USA. The dialogue was initially hard to follow and it took a while to become interesting. It is more political than I care for, hard core environmentalists versus those who are the opposite. Saying too much would give too much away.

I received a free copy of this book to review through NetGalley.

The Devil's Dictionary by Steven Kotler
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I admit I feel quite connected with this book, as with the previous one, because it's rife with all the cool SF nostalgia things that I loved while growing up. Dune references, or specifically the massive empathy drug named Sietch Tabr that got released into the wild, messing up humanity in the previous book, is just one of many cool little references.

Devil's Dictionary, not only the Ambrose Bierce kind, but a nifty embedded story in this novel, in its own right, became a different kind of awesome for me.

Psychology, genetic engineering, hacking, and mystery. All of it is in here in a rather different kind of worldbuilding setup than I usually see in any modern SF. It's similar enough to entice the mainstream but honestly, I love how off the beaten path it gets, or how wild the really wild stuff is.

In this case, it's the habitat. :)

I really enjoyed this and I'll be totally into reading more like this.

I've enjoyed Kotler's nonfiction books over the years, but his fiction books give him the freedom to explore the "what if" ideas that arise from those nonfiction books. In the Devil's Dictionary, Lion Zorn of the Last Tango in Cyberspace continues his journey and probes empathy, genetic engineering, and alternative environmental futures while dodging the likes of robotic polar bears bent upon his demise.
The dystopian future world provides a character in itself and is the pole that the plot revolves around. The characters are a bit steampunk and the plot zips along while inviting thoughts about issues critical to our time. There is a focus on exploring empathy which is interesting to me as I prefer sympathy and the perspective gave me food for thought. I'm also a student of flow and as with most of Kotler's writing, flow is significant throughout.
I received an advance copy to review and enjoyed it enough that I also purchased a copy for my library.

I wanted to enjoy this. I liked the concept. But there characters fell flat for me and where was the plot? I didn’t have a good time.

Book received for free through NetGalley

Absolutely incredible. Amazing characters, believable future/present, scary and completely understandable. So exciting and hard to put down.

What's it about (in a nutshell):
Lion Zorn is back, after quite a few years, and he is embroiled in a new case - that of missing people: two fellow em-trackers and his on-again, off-again significant other, Penelope. The Devil's Dictionary is a fast-paced sci-fi crime thriller that takes the reader on a futuristic ride of unbelievable proportions.

What I Enjoyed:
I loved that the issues I had with book 1 of this series (Last Tango in Cyberspace) did not exist in book 2. The story gave me a reading experience that lived up to the premise's potential. The unfamiliar concepts are explained thoroughly and in a manner that I can understand. The writing is clear and concise, and the plot stays tightly focused, keeping the pace as quick as I expect from a thriller.

I both loved and was horrified at the genetic manipulation experiments on animals to make them more deadly and others to turn carnivores into herbivores. I found the ideas behind both changes fascinating, and the results added to the thrills in profound ways. The mega-linkage areas that I would equate with biospheres (incorrectly or correctly – that was my takeaway). In a technologically-driven world, natural areas are a nice change of pace until someone decides to add those genetically altered animals to it. But, not to worry, Lion Zorn is on the case.

I also loved that some of the characters from the first book are brought back in this story. This adds to the familiarity and development of those characters, giving a little more insight into what makes them tick. The continuity also worked to help me to be pulled into this world. That being said, I would say that you probably need to read book 1, The Last Tango in Cyberspace, before reading this book. As a crime thriller, the story can stand alone. Still, the SciFi aspects require both books to fully understand the characters, dynamics, and futuristic elements that are the base of this series.

Characters:
Lion Zorn is the main character and 1st person narrator of this dark and gritty tale. He is every inch an introvert and has found that though he quit his job as an investigative journalist, he can not leave his innate need to find answers. This gets him in loads of trouble, but you must admire his excellent investigative skills.

Penelope, Lion's on-again-off-again significant other, is feisty and fiery and everything that I find fun in a character. I love her ability to get to the truth and take care of herself in a fight. She adds interest and flair to the story for me.

What I Wish:
I wish that the first book had been as easy to read as this book is.

To Read or Not to Read:
If you love a complex mystery and futuristic predictions, The Devil's Dictionary is a story that will keep you on the edge of your seat and then push you off when you least expect it.

Kotler depicts a near-future world which is mostly recognizable, but with one major difference. Humanity has divided itself into two camps: people with enhanced empathy abilities (they can read emotional states in humans, and bond with animals) called em-trackers; and a Humanity First movement that is opposed to any changes in empathy. Lion Zorn, the first known em-tracker, is also a journalist. He inadvertently created the em-tracker motto "Empathy For All," which makes him a hero to some and a hated villain to others.

Lion has a routine em-tracking job go wrong. After being tortured he discovers that em-trackers have started to go missing. Seeking two lost friends, he follows a lead to a reclusive em-tracker living in an empath settlement. When a group of protesters violently attack, Lion must make a sudden escape, and heads for his next clue. This leads him to the world’s first mega-linkage, a continent-wide national park advertised as the best way to stave off environmental collapse. He is there because a friend apparently disappeared there, but in the process he encounters deadly mutated animals. Someone is trying to "improve" animal species, not just conserve them.

Caught up in a war between two mega rich entrepreneurs with conflicting ideas about the future of humanity, Lion and his unlikely allies (a colorful collection of characters, for sure) may have to fight for humanity's very survival. The action and intrigue ramp up all the way through to the dramatic climax, with a few mysteries left over for the closing section.

Thanks to NetGalley for an advanced reader's copy.

This book has an amazing concept and solid world building. Problem is, there is also A LOT of world, a lot of characters, and a lot of twists and turns. So although I enjoyed this story overall, I felt at times that it took some effort to keep everything straight, and that kept me from fully enjoying the read.

Also, not that it matters, but I think the title and cover don't do this book any favors. The title makes it sound like a supernatural story, when it is very firmly planted in Sci-Fi, and the wolf image just makes no damn sense. (Shouldn't that be a different animal--like say one many species that appear throughout the book, particularly in the final 1/4?)

On the plus side though, I thought the idea of em-trackers and the evolution of drugs to create empathetic connections across humanity AND other species to be brilliant. (I enjoyed that I read this book after Blake Crouch's latest which ends by wondering if such a future could be possible.) And I thought the concept of the Splinter made sense, as well as the amalgamation of different languages and cultures. I would have dug even more exploration of that world.

The characters were all well developed, even thought there were so damn many of them. Lion was a decent hero, but he didn't hold a candle to more colorful characters like Jenka (who I loooooved) and Barry the "almost rabbi." I felt like the book really picked up steam in its final 1/3 when Lion and his gang of heroes were off to fight the "Big Bad." That was the point at which the cast of characters and the focus of the story narrows and it was easier to become absorbed in the plot.

Sometimes I want to say to a book, "stop dancing around and let me love you"--like the author is throwing everything at the wall, and it's annoying me because I already dig the premise, characters, and basic plot and would be more than happy to go along for the ride based on those factors alone. No bells and whistles needed. I'm sold.

I think that was part of my problem with this book and its killer snakes, fish with camera eyes, suicidal Chinese girls, and robot carnivores. While those elements were undoubtedly interesting, at times they made the plot seem a little messy and didn't necessarily feel in service to the word-building or the plot. The made the book memorable, at the expense of making it feel cohesive.

But that's just my two cents. Thanks to the author and NetGalley for granting me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.