"The Fortunate Fall" is the debut novel by Cameron Reed, who originally wrote under the pseudonym Raphael Carter. It is a sciece fiction/ speculative fiction novel. This was first published in 1996 and just republished this August 2024 by Dreamscape Media in this audiobook version narrated by Frankie Corzo.

This story is dystopian, confusing, bleak, horrifying, nightmarish, and potentially predictive. If this wasn't for review, I would have DNFd it. But I kept going. I read and reread it.

The main character, Maya, is a "camera". With special equipment in her brain, she can broadcast whatever she sees to the public. She has a screener who helps keep out viruses and does research, and who says she loves Maya.

This book is set in approximately 2600. Maya uncovers a Russian genocide far in the past (but still far in our future). Part of this genocide included animals.

I honestly didn't understand this book very well, despite having a pretty good grasp of computer technology.

Characters - 4/5
Writing - 3/5
Plot - 2/5
Pacing - 3/5
Unputdownability - 2/5
Enjoyment - 1/5
Narration - 4/5
Cover - 3/5
Overall - 22/8 = 2 6/8 rounded up to 3 stars

Thank you to Netgalley, Dreamscape Media, Dreamscape Lore, and Cameron Reed for providing this audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

The Fortunate Fall by Cameron Reed was originally published back in 1996 and it's incredible to witness just how far the publishing industry has progressed since! What was once a ground-breaking book, now fits in nicely with it's contemporary queer counterparts, never feeling outdated by topic or language.

This book was either slightly too sci-fi-y for me or my brain was functioning too literally to have a full understanding of the plot - but there is absolutely no denying just how beautifully it is written! Jo Walton's Introduction mentions that once readers finish The Fortunate Fall, there's a pull or desire for them to circle back and start the novel all over again; I can certainly see that the more times this novel is read (and re-read), the more readers would gain and understand from the nuanced metaphors.

The audiobook narration by Frankie Corzo was really well done! Voices used by Corzo represented the characters and their feelings well. My only complaint was an instance when a robot voice was mentioned within the narrative, and I wished Corzo's voice reflected that a bit more.

Thank you NetGalley, Tor Publishing Group, Tor Books, Dreamscape Media and Dreamscape Lore for the complimentary copies to read and review.

Maya is a reporter. She is also a camera. When she sets her eyes on something it is broadcast to the world. You've seen this before you say? Well this was written in 1996. The Future is Now. Thanks so much to NetGalley for this magnificent ARC/Audiobook. Get it whilst it's hot. Again.

(Content warnings: graphic for genocide, violence, murder, death, blood, homophobia, medical trauma; moderate for animal death & cruelty, mass executions, torture; minor for body horror, cannibalism)

Oh, I am SO glad this book got to be republished!

Full admittance - I have already read this book a couple of years ago, after managing to snatch a used copy. I loved it then, and I love it now; it's quite unlike anything else I've read. It’s a dark, intense, haunting book (if somewhat dense and undeniably demanding) about the place where noble ideals and brutal reality meet, about human nature, about how far you’re willing to go for your principles, or for love, or for survival, about the erosion of privacy by technology, and about a whale. It is some of the best cyberpunk has to offer - in fact, as someone who's generally not a fan of cyberpunk books, this is the one I fully and wholeheartedly recommend.

The audiobook is incredible too, with the narrator being a perfect match for the bleak tone of the novel, although I suspect some will find the complex and rarely explained worldbuilding to be difficult to follow in audio form.

I appreciate that Tor keeps republishing out-of-print books under the Tor Essentials.

This is one where I really liked the premise. Published back in 1996, I love that the author really predicted the vloggers of today.

The story was fairly well paced with some exciting intrigue and action. I think it holds up so well in comparison to the new releases. It was an enjoyable easy read that plays with some timely concepts.

Regardless, I am always grateful for the opportunity to read a released title that would otherwise be unavailable to me. I will have to look up more by this author.

Disclaimer I received a copy of this book from the publisher.

In the dystopian wired world of The Fortunate Fall reporters are living cameras that project not just the news, but also their emotions and have to manage the feelings and reactions of their audience. Maya Andreyeva is an investigative reporter covering the history of genocide in Russia. As she researchers the 1930s Ukraine starvation and Soviet purges she uncovers the story of a more recent massacre and works to learn and share what she can. This near future Russia is very technological advanced and a hard surveillance society. There are thought and moral police.

Andreyeva has the knowledge of humanity available at her thoughts, but doesn’t work alone. She has a partner to help with research and the production of the news stories. She also has lost a decade of her memories and experiences that could hide many things. Such as imprisonment, or marriage a different kind of locked existence.

It’s a nice blend of future technology with a noir like mystery to drive the narrative. Andreyeva seeks to learn the truth of her country and in turn discovers her lost past and must choose between herself and the future… again.

Recommended to readers of science fiction, cyberpunk or dystopian mysteries.

I have mixed feelings about this book, I enjoyed very much the narration, Frankie Corzo, did a terrific job, but I was lost during part of the story, more because the story was developing very slowly only about at 80% or 90% of the story, things started to make sense.

In other hand I did like the technology that was explored in this book, and world building was interesting, in this world people are all connected and they can feel and transmit feelings and sensations both ways.. just imagine you could watch a program and make the person in the other end feel what you feel, or even look to where you want them to look.. that's the job of our main character Maya, she tells the story and she needs the help of someone that acts as a camera to show and transmit her feelings through this kind of web. People live sedated happy on their lives anxious to have a thrill with this experience…

its interesting, maybe a bit more hard core in science fiction that I am used to, but its not bad, just different, I like enjoy the narration more than I liked the story, but the experience of the audiobook was mostly positive and I will recommend it if you like dystopian societies that heavily control their people, and it is also heavy in technology.

Thank you Netgalley and Dreamscape Media | Dreamscape Lore, for the free AAC, and this is my honest opinion.

It actually took me a very long time to really get into the book - I was probably only really invested at 90%. (Until then, I also didn’t understand the love story/feelings at all and was unfortunately more annoyed than excited)
I actually like books where I don’t understand why exactly I’m engaging with THESE characters and THIS story, but somehow I wasn’t hooked here. Everything dragged on a lot and I didn’t warm up to the characters.

Unfortunately, finding the concept of a story cool is not enough to praise the book.
I thought Reed created a very successful vision of the future and the ‚humans are cameras‘ thing was incredibly intriguing. Unfortunately, the characters remained largely flat for me and only gained depth towards the end.

The last 10 per cent of the book were really good and my jaw dropped. A lot of things suddenly made sense and I was really, really thrilled.
However, I can’t give the book a better rating because I was about to stop several times and the spark just didn’t ignite. Unfortunately, the story wasn’t balanced enough for me.


The English audiobook:
I love the way Frankie Corzo reads. It’s just incredibly soothing and gives the story something mysterious and magical.
The sound quality is once again superb and you can follow Corzo very well.

This is a soon-to-be re-issued classic Sci-Fi novel that was way ahead of its time in 1996. I had not read it then but am very glad to have done so now, especially with another novel soon to be released by this author. It imagines a future where some people are "reporters" who livestream their experiences to an online audience in virtual reality (and this was written nearly 30 years ago!). It's also not an American- or European-centric story. Much of the central action takes place in Russia with Egypt and Africa playing large roles. There is a government coverup, a forbidden love angle, animal sentience, hologram presence, and more that seem all too relevant right now. It's a sweeping story that may have tried to do too much, but it all comes together in the end. I cannot wait to see what the author does next, and I'm glad I don't have to wait 30 years to find out!
#TheFortunateFall will be available Aug. 13th, 2024, in print and audiobook.
My thanks to the author, Dreamscape Media, and #NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to the audiobook in exchange for an honest review.