“I envision thousands, maybe millions in this city strapping a headset on, logging in to their profiles, and slumping back into their chairs, effectively making them warm, breathing meat sacks”
I received an ARC from the author in exchange for an an open and honest review.
What do you get if you mash up Blade Runner, Dresden Files, Alita: Battle Angel, and a good old dose of Gibbonesque cyberpunk?
You get the high octane, action-packed, man-just-wants-to-get-home, detective story, Falling into Oblivion by Aaron M. Payne. For a debut novel, this story delivers on pace and theme with clarity and confidence.
Detective Sol Harkones is given a case where it appears that some standard body modifications, or modies as they are colloquially called, seems to have caused permanent brain damage in a young man. As Detective Harkones probes deeper into the case he peels back the layers to discover something much bigger and insidious than first appears. A conspiracy that has far reaching tendrils into the echelons of power and society.
The first thing to notice when reading Payne’s debut novel is that he wears his influences on his sleeve, but in a good way. Clearly inspired by the worlds of William Gibson, the master of cyberpunk, and the humour and pace of the Dresden Files, Payne manages to inject his own voice and vision so that it elevates the story above a derivative piece of work.
Nox City, the location our story is based in, is brought to life with immediate vibrance. The neon lights, the rain, the garbage infested streets, the poverty below and the rich above, the criminal underworld and corrupt corporations; Payne is brilliant at enveloping us in the stench of Nox City; the tone and atmosphere informs the storytelling very effectively.
The book is relatively short at 242 pages and thus, the worldbuilding isn’t too deep, but it doesn’t need to be. There is enough to be immersed in the world and since this is a book one of a series, there will be more worldbuilding to come, more environments, peoples and culture to discover in future books.
And that brings me to pacing, which is relentless, high-octane and breathless. The story takes place over roughly 24 hours, thus we are bounced from clue to clue, location to location as Detective Harkones unveils each layer of the conspiracy. What Payne does very well, I think, is keep the pace up but not to the detriment of the plot. Nothing feels to rushed or glazed over and he does a great job of creating a mystery and giving us just enough to speculate alongside Detective Harkones.
If I have any real criticism, it’s that I didn’t feel there was much character development for Detective Harkones. But again, this being book one of a series, I feel there will be slow burn method to character reveal and evolution. Also, this book is primarily plot driven, much like detective books can be. We are chasing the case, trying to answer a mystery. This takes precedence here over character exploration. But I hope to learn more about Harkones as a man, as a husband and father in future books. We get a lot of reveal about his instincts and methods as a detective in Falling to Oblivion and its just enough to keep him an interesting character that we want to follow. The book is first person perspective, so we do get the inner musings of Harkones and I very much appreciated that. Which brings me to theme and context.
Harkones is very much on a Homer’s Odyssey mission. Throughout the story Harkones is desperate to get home to his wife, Raena and daughter Zinny. The latter of which is expecting him home to read a bedtime story to her. As a subtext to the growing conspiracy and unable to let go of this case, Harkones is a husband and father who is aware that his job takes him away from his family, but simultaneously this job provides for his family and the bonus creds that a detective earns from closing a case quickly, goes towards his daughter future. All through the book, Harkones just wants to get home, its his motivation and emotional hook and Payne does a fantastic job of making that front and centre of Harkones psyche. The case he is trying to close throughout, involves young men and women, young people whose future is taken from them and this resonates with Harkones deeply because of his daughter.
Like a rotting sandwich speckled with mold, this city is squished between layers of neon, ads, and, of course, the ever-present haze of Nox City.
Corruption, climate change and corporate monopolisation loom over Falling into Oblivion, an ever present subtext that informs the narrative with excellent perspicuity. It effects every character in the book, one way or the other, and the manipulation of choice and social status, the divide between rich and poor, underlies the main conspiracy that Harkones is uncovering.
Another theme that is apparent to me is technophobism, particularly in the case of Detective Harkones. He is continuously called plebo by criminals, which appears to be a slur for someone who does not have any body modifications or implants. To not embrace technology and become less human is seen as a weakness, inferior and out of touch. It taps into our fears today of our reliance on mobile phones, addiction to social media, the manipulation and degradation of society through trends and the damage that they have on young people, our sons and daughters.
Payne has written a cracking debut novel. I have skirted around what the conspiracy is and the details of what Harkones discovers, because, like all mysteries, I think going into this story with little knowledge of what its about, is hugely beneficial to the reader.
As the sun descends, neon remains.
Falling into Oblivion is a perfect read for lovers of cyberpunk sci-fi, fast-paced storytelling and blistering action. This neon-saturated action mystery novel drives forward with precision, mixing thematic narrative with action packed adventure. Bring on book two!
