Art done by Unattributed
36 Streets - Review
Link to the author's (T. R. Napper) personal website
Genre: Sci-Fi
Publication Type: Book
Tags:
- Average Age of Main Characters (22)
- Length (4 / 10)
Link to Goodreads
Blurb: Lin ‘The Silent One’ Vu is a gangster in Chinese-occupied Hanoi, living in the steaming, paranoid alleyways of the 36 Streets. Born in Vietnam, raised in Australia, everywhere she is an outsider.
Through grit and courage, Lin has carved a place for herself in the Hanoi underworld under the tutelage of Bao Nguyen, who is training her to fight and survive. Because on the streets there are no second chances.
Meanwhile the people of Hanoi are succumbing to Fat Victory, an addictive immersive simulation of the US-Vietnam war. When an Englishman – one of the game’s developers – comes to Hanoi on the trail of his friend’s murderer, Lin is drawn into the grand conspiracies of the neon gods: the mega-corporations backed by powerful regimes that seek to control her city.
Lin must confront the immutable moral calculus of unjust wars. She must choose: family, country, or gang. Blood, truth, or redemption. No choice is easy on the 36 Streets.
Review: An absolutely engaging read. Both the cyberpunk portrayal and story were phenomenal. The setting of an occupied Vietnam sometime in the far future was done amazingly well, and the book has a beautiful set of characters. The flashback interludes, the lulls in intensity, the constant tension, and the clear forward story progression all made this a joy to read. It is one of the rarer books, where I think a conscience effort was put into making natural reading pausing opportunities. If it wasn't, then I still appreciate the hell out of the style.
It is a joy, albeit a painful one, to experience this book through Lin's point of view. I very much enjoyed reading through her perspective. This book packs a fair few gut punches, and presents a story that is uncomfortable to confront, but it never crosses the line into horror (although I have tagged it as such due to its skirting of the line). It is a massive recommend from me. If you're in the market for a stand-alone novel, and the blurb is remotely appealing to you, then this is absolutely worth giving a shot.