Falling Into Oblivion by Aaron M. Payne
Blurb:
MODIFICATIONS COME AT A PRICE.
Detective Sol Harkones is tangled in the wires of a deadly conspiracy involving defective body modifications causing permanent brain damage. A suspect is known, but something more dangerous may be lurking in the shadows.
A city plagued by waste.
Violence fills the streets.
Oblivion is within reach.
Falling Into Oblivion is the electrifying first book in the Tendrils of Chrome cyberpunk sci-fi series. If you're a fan of William Gibson's Neuromancer, HBO's True Detective, or Philip K. Dick’s Blade Runner, you will love Aaron M. Payne’s rapid-fire saga.
Review:
Falling Into Oblivion is a fast-paced, cyberpunk romp in mysterious body modifications and hard-boiled detectives that leaves you craving for your next hit. Payne has a strong showing with his debut novel, incorporating many of the common themes of futuristic, gritty cyberpunk novels while infusing a breath of fresh air into the poisonous atmosphere of Nox City.
The reader is thrust into the simultaneously foul-mouthed and lovingly paternal mind of Detective Sol Harkones from page one. He’s a classic stalwart of the old guard, refusing to participate in the rush for body modifications that are raging in the decrepit city around him. He’s given a quick case, something that he expects will take him just a few hours and allow him to earn enough money to keep the creditors off his back and finance his daughter’s school. He quickly becomes entangled in a conspiracy surrounding potentially faulty body mods that are causing users to slip into comas with permanent brain damage.
Payne does a great job establishing Harkones voice from the beginning and providing a unique, unfiltered view of the City of Nox: from its poisonous air to its bully gangs that are pushing the latest mod or the most mind-numbing escape drug to the violent metal animals that are waiting to spy or destroy. It can be difficult for debut authors to effectively establish a character’s voice, especially when the book is written in 1st person, and carry that voice throughout the narrative without slipping in and out and pulling the reader from the pages. Payne has mastered Harkones voice and narrative flow.
While the plot doesn’t revolutionize the genre, it was rip-roaring fun and allowed for a quick, pager-turning read that kept me up late multiple nights as I finished it up. There are twists and turns which kept me guessing until the last pages. And personally, I loved that the entire book was buttressed by the overarching desire of Harkones to get home to his daughter to read her a bedtime story. This persistent theme grounds Harkones and transforms him from the typical hardboiled detective who doesn’t care about anything past solving the next case and potentially finding the next long-legged stunner, into a family man who is forced to devel into the seedy underworld to provide an elevated upbringing for his daughter. His multi-layered personality provides an emotional depth that makes the pain and betrayal throughout the book significantly more poignant.
Payne has written a firecracker of a debut novel that sparks the imagination about what the future holds while staying true to classic detective fiction. I eagerly look forward to the sequel!
