Sci-fi is one of my beloved genres of books. Simply escaping into a world so vastly different from ours, but could hypothetically be our future — or at least components. What was lacking for me in this love child of John wick and Ready Player One was that juicy world building.

Although the concept of this story is very intriguing the main character was falling flat for me. They felt to be one note, which made moments of anger less impactful on the tone of the story. I didn’t feel like I was going through the hills and valleys of development with this character and thus was losing interest.

All that being said this wasn’t the book for me, but many others will love this story, especially if you like face get to the point paced books and would be worth checking out!

Thank you NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest thoughts and feelings 📖

2,5 stars rounded up.
The year is 2113. This is the aftermath of a Sino-Nippon war.
Ex-soldier is our protagonist and the story is told from his POV.
I must say that I did not expect to enjoy the prose - I had neutral expectations (no expectations due to not being familiar with the author’s work), and 80% of the prose worked for me. I enjoyed how Baird set the mood and the description about being like Bladerunner and Neuromancer are very truthful and honest descriptions. The mood and the Hendrix’s POV are indeed as such.
4 star for that.
2,5 stars for the concept, plot and characterisation.
I feel like if this were longer hence the world building and characterisation were more fleshed out and layered, this could have easily been a 5 star read for me. I will follow Baird’s future work.

I should start by saying that I love cyberpunk (not just the videogame but the genre), I also love noir fiction and gritty fiction. So the fact that Baird combined all these with a touch of sci-fi was always going to be a win for me. I loved the idea of the jaded Bounty Hunter Hendrix. You also get a bit of a western too (a sci-fi western if that’s a thing!).
One thing to note is that is the gritty, dark and at times a bit depressing but that’s what makes it a hit (for me anyway). The story is dark, the world that the characters live in is worse and it all makes for one hell of an action packed novella.
I got a lot of Blade Runner vibes but this was most definitely it’s own tale. I really hope that we see more of Hendrix and more from Baird because I could not put this one down and will be getting a physical copy asap. If you love cyberpunk and noir this is for you.

*Thank you to NetGalley and Brigids Gate Press, LLC for providing me this book in exchangeforan honest review*

Undeveloped characters with no depth, bare minimum world building and an unbearable MC is the recipe for disaster. This book, was not my cup of tea. The only thing I loved about this book was the cover.

A beautiful mix of cyberpunk Sci Fi and gritty humanity.
Dropped into the futuristic streets of NeuTokyo, a dark and gritty landscape; this almost lawless world is the playground of gangsters, robbers and the morally-devoid scum of society. The rich description and complex world building instantly have us snared, smelling, seeing and tasting the futuristic, yet sordid city, as we try to stand tall, walking with Hendrix; a seasoned bounty hunter. A broken man, who straddles the line between despair and retribution. Once a soldier, a father and a whole person, but now a broken shell, his body the scared map of his downfall, and mind the shards of his former self. It takes a fearless man, or one that has given up caring, to walk the darkest alleys and to stand in the face of the blood-spattered violent underworld, in this city. But Hendrix is that man and has been for as long as he can remember. It’s his job to keep the sewer rats in check, culling to the request of his employers, and it’s a job he has become very good at, perhaps even too good…

The depth of emotional connection and character development, balanced the cyberpunk sci fi action with tangible realism, making this tale feel very human and investing us in Hendrix’s character; driving us to follow him to the very depths of his journey down a rabbit hole…

Like the glossy neon that paints the seedy city, the juxtaposition of hi-tech against human emotion, reminded me that no matter how great our technology becomes, it doesn’t necessarily change human nature.

This is one of those tales that’s streets haunt the mind and that’s message and narrative stirs the heart long after closing that last page.

I suffered so you don't have to. There was so much potential in this book - the synopsis sounded so good, and it intrigued me so much.

It felt like a self-insert into a John Wick-styled with a neon Tokyo setting. There's an overuse of 'quoting feelings' and 'trying to emphasize a point' when it's not needed. The trigger warnings are located at the back of the book as well; so if you want to read, please look at the triggers in the back before reading.

Personally, I would not recommend this novella. It felt too rough to recommend to anyone. The concept is fascinating, just not well executed.

Really wanted to love this one based on the synopsis, but it wasn't for me. There's some futuristic aspects that have potential, even if they aren't original, but no world building around that, so I never found myself caring about any of the characters. The profanity and violence was used as a tool to shape the main character rather than the plot and it just fell flat because I had no idea what the author was trying to shape that bounty hunter character into. Took me a long time to finish for a short book, because I just couldn't connect with any aspect of the writing.

This was an okay read for me. The world and story was interesting and right up my alley. Of course with it being about a bounty hunter there is plenty of action, profanity & violence which I enjoyed throughout the book. There are warnings about this before you read the book so if any of that is not something you enjoy I would not recommend reading.

I wish it was a little bit longer but if there are more books in this universe I will be sure to check them out.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

Although I feel bad giving this a 1 star rating, this book was very hard to sit through. Even though the content warnings listed Profanity… it was wildly unnecessary to the main character “The Reverend”. It made him look completely incompetent rather than the unhinged bounty hunter I believe the author was going for. On each page there were at least 2-3 F-bombs and on one page I was taken back by “dropping the kids off at the pool”. I think there are many better ways to make the main character look edgy and get his personality across without hurling that much profanity. I curse a lot myself, but I was shocked by the quantity of language. Although minor, animal cruelty should be listed as a trigger warning because of what is listed about the pit bull at one point. Again minor, but should be noted.

The stakes did feel high and the idea of SIN:THETICA is cool for sure, but nothing about this future tech felt original. It felt as though a bunch of futuristic capabilities that we have seen before have been mashed together to make this novel.

There were also noted tone changes between characters as though depending on their intelligence would depend on how they presented themselves.

My biggest complaint however: there was very limited world building. If this book was longer, a bit more refined, and a gave me a bit more to invest into the characters I honestly could’ve given it 3-4 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced copy.

The Sino-Nippon war is over. It is 2113 and Japan is crushed under the might of Chinese-Allied Forces. A former Coalition Corps soldier, US Marine Balaam Hendrix is now a feared bounty hunter known as ‘The Reverend’. In the sprawl of NeuTokyo, on this lawless frontier, he must track down the rogue employee of a notorious crime lord. But, there’s a twist. His target has found protection inside a virtual reality construct and Hendrix must go cyber-side to corner his quarry. The glowing neon signs for are everywhere, and promise escape from a dystopian reality. But will it prove the means by which this hunter snares his prey, or will it be the trap he simply can’t survive?Perfect for fans of Bladerunner and Neuromancer!

This was such a cool read. I love A;t- history, especially with a scifi twist like this one. There is plenty of action and shoot em up, while not being overly goofy or unrealistic. The premise says perfect for fans of BladeRunner and Neuromancer and I would have to agree, there is plenty to like here is you want a fun science fiction pallet cleanser!