Going Shogun

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Synopsis
Chris, or Brick [I think that's his nickname anyway], is a socio-economic climber in a cyberpunk world. All he has to do is steal some super secret recipes, hack into the completely controlled internetz AND avoid super agents.
But with a friend like Forklift, how can Brick fail?

My Thoughts
I started this book knowing NOTHING about it, not even a plot synopsis. So I was flying blind. And I couldn't tell what was going on, what was supposed to be going on or where the eventual destination was supposed to be.

I enjoy the occasional cyberpunk novel, as I enjoy the over the top techtalk, the swords and the darky gloomy grit. But this? It was all funny dark. Everything is gloomy and horrible, but Forklift is this irrepressible character who the MC gets swept along with. Jokes are cracked, violence is slapstick and the non-graphic sex was totally "first time".
Also, Japan does not appear to be ruling the world.

So what kind of cyberpunk book was this? Halfway through I recognized this was a parody, not a real cyberpunk novel that just sucked. And it all clicked.
And then the ending. Forklift changes so drastically that you have to wonder. If that society could produce him, how come it is still so monolithically stable?

Basically, I got a comedy when I wasn't expecting it. That'll teach me to read blindly ;-)

Rating: 2.5 of 5 Stars

Author: Ernie Lindsey