It took the War on Terror and the pear of 2020 to remind us the world was a scary place with violent chaos on one side along with the politicians as well as corporates willing to take advantage of it. Even so, I wrote my first cyberpunk novel (Agent G: Infiltrator) with the cultured assassin of the super-rich rather than the penniless hacker on the ground.
In a way, Necrotech is a throwback to the original cyberpunk novels of Case and Molly. Riko is a Runner and professional thief who wakes up in a laboratory one day with months missing of her life. The rude, irreverent, and crude heroine doesn't make it out of the laboratory without some serious damage. Not only does she find her reputation in tatters, all of her old allies having abandoned her, and missing time but she's also lost her girlfriend to whoever was experimenting on her.
Riko can't conclusively prove she didn't sell out her girlfriend as while that's not something she would normally do, their relationship had also fallen apart. Instead, she soon finds herself surrounded by men who want to use her and manipulate her. The secrets of the laboratory she escaped from have a substantial credit amount and everyone wants her to guide them back to find out its secrets--government quarantine or not.
The future described within is a true cyberpunk one with society on the verge of collapse. The government still exists but corporations have disproportionate power, organized crime is utterly vicious, and the police are corrupt as hell. Riko is a product of the streets and feels authentically punk in a way which very few authors are able to claim. K.C. Alexander has a masterfully sharp wit and is able to describe things in ways that pop off the page with every verb and adjective. It's not just a slum but a slum of bare electrical cables, oppressive humidity, mutant cockroaches, and sweaty teenagers trying to look tough with their chrome enhancements as well as cheap bootleg t-shirts.
I love Riko's complicated and fascinating relationships with the characters around her. Bisexual representation in fiction is rare enough but she's a character who is active in her sexuality as well as unapologetic. Love is not in the cards for her and that's okay. I will say I think the book was a bit sexless despite large amounts of innuendo. I could have used a bit more Riko getting to act on those urges. What can I say.
The action is great in the book but I mostly appreciated the hard edged negotiations and characterizations of the book's first half. The second half of the book is mostly action and a heist story with a team of dangerous hackers as well as mercs hitting the laboratory. That part felt a bit too long and didn't have enough interaction but it still worked. There's a lot of humanity our heroine despite her nasty tough side and we can see how much the death of her girlfriend has affected her even as she's someone who is comfortable with loss as part of her work.
In conclusion, this is a great novel for fans of cyberpunk and I immediately picked up the sequel. It's a truly punk novel which has a character who embodies the "give no ****s" attitude of the movement and serves as one of its iconic characters almost immediately out of the gate. I hope the author writes many more installments. The heroine is crass, vulgar, and a breath of fresh air to all those "cyberpunk" heroes who completely lack edge. The majority of them are really noir heroes and it's nice to have one that actually feels like a rebel. This is a fantastic book and I think those who like take no prisoners fiction will love it.
