This stylish, extremely well-written novel should be regarded as one of the finest examples of contemporary science fiction, and deserves the 'whole wide world' as its potential audience. Meanwhile he is beset with fear over his girlfriend's safety when she becomes yet another pawn in the killer's bloody intellectual chess game with him. His odyssey will take him to illicit porn dealers and computer hackers involved in a conspiracy to blackmail the deceased girl's uncle through the streets of London, and finally, to the distant data haven of Havana, Cuba and a climatic encounter with the man responsible for the girl's death. This robotic technology has greatly reduced crime at the expense of personal liberty and privacy. However, until now, these subjects have not been presented in such a forceful, mesmerizing tale.Ī fortyish detective in the London police department becomes involved in a murder investigation of a young college student, whose uncle is the inventor of the surveillance technology ADESS.

It is a thoughtful, often disturbing, look at surveillance and privacy these are themes not normally found in much science fiction, with cyberpunk frequently taking the lead in these issues. This is more than a film noirish detective novel akin to the best from the likes of Raymond Chandler combined with elements of cyberpunk from William Gibson and his fellow 'mirrorshades' cyberpunk fiction scribes. Raymond Chandler meets William Gibson in one of the finest science fiction novels of recent years, courtesy of acclaimed British science fiction author Paul McAuley.

Stylish, Gripping Near Future Crime Cyberpunk Fiction

Fairyland by Paul McAuley