O'Brien's work is sometimes painful to read, disgustingly gross in both our future and his descriptions of his protagonists. This dystopian ecological post-apocalyptic cyberpunk speculative thriller rolls the reader through a spectrum of all-too-understandable future issues. At the heart of the novel is the lost love from a pair of disreputable survivors of the wars and disasters that have rendered life predatory and frightening.

What an insane, magnificent book. When I learned Cory O'Brien wrote for Monster Prom, I just said "Of course he did." Not that the tone of this book and that game are at all similar, but the quickness and cleverness of the writing, the nature of the sci fi, it tracks.

My biggest complaint about this book is that at times, due to the mechanics of the world, the book becomes a bit of a challenging, confusing read. I was along for the ride, but I am not sure how many people will be incredibly on board.

I do think that this will be a hit or miss book for people. You will either absolutely buy in (like I do) or you will find this a bit challenging. It's a bold fiction debut, and one I'm proud to have read.

Can't wait to read more from Cory O'Brien.

This was fun. It is a novel full of ideas that have seen the light of day in other sci-fi novels, which are here packaged and woven together in new and novel ways with lovely writing.

Take as a starter that memories can be extracted and stored as data outside our actual brains. This isn’t new, but when those memories become things that can be bought, sold, and “remembered” by others - and “forgotten” by those who originally had the experiential memory - this idea can become the foundation of a complete economic system. And, once that’s in place, there are always bad people who want to exploit that system as criminals for their own profit. And to make the world complete, there are bound to be good guys - whether police or private persons - who try to hold the bad guys to account.

And there you have the framework for a great, and pretty intricate whodunnit. If there’s one downside that makes me take a star away from a full five star review, it’s that the story is so intricate I actually lost track a little bit as the final ends were being tied up. There were just enough characters and novel circumstances that were wildly crazy that I had to work hard to put all the pieces together. Maybe I should give the author credit for making me do that, but as it is, I feel a little unsatisfied.

That is balanced, however, by some language, and imagination are terrific. Example: “ The bacon-fat smell of Tijuana dogs competed for airspace with the sweet stink of weed, the French-fry scent of biodiesel, and the methane belch of a local meat factory as my driver wove through foot traffic with deranged confidence.” or, “ When you pile up as many memories as I’ve got, it becomes impossible to really know yourself. Am I the things I remember? Am I the way I feel about those memories now? Or, like the sidewalk under the sea, am I the things I don’t remember? The things I’ve chosen to forget?” The latter penetrates to the heart of the ideas examined in the novel.

There are other fun mechanisms, such as the ability of an appropriate enabled person to directly see out of the eyes of devices being used as tools, and the graceful way that such a person slips in and out of thinking they are that device. And more. I don’t want to spoil the book by giving away all the secrets.

If you’re tired of the usual ways that some sci-fi ideas around human extension into technology is used, try this book out. You’ll be satisfied.

I had the opportunity to read an advance review copy of the book, and give my review without obligation or bias.

This was a complicated and interesting read. It wasn't always enjoyable—I'd have preferred less grime and goo and gore (though I can't deny it all fit the story world). I'd have to reread the book to fully follow/comprehend the plot, and I didn't like it enough to bother rereading. That said, I was never tempted to put it down and not pick it up again.

The ending was a bit too dark for my taste, but again, it made sense within the world of the story. Overall, if you're looking for a well-written, twisty story that's pretty much bleak from start to finish, I don't think you'll go wrong with this.

My thanks to the publisher/NetGalley for an advance copy of this book.

This was a great debut novel and had that concept that I wanted from a blend of noir and cyberpunk. I was engaged with the world and how everything worked with that story. The characters worked in this underwater world and had that scifi element that was promised. Cory O'Brien wrote this well and glad I got to get to this world.