Review: Toothsucker by Kaden Love
Blurb:
In a cyberpunk future, an alarming disease strikes, dissolving the bones of those with cybernetic enhancements. Petya, a refugee, sells himself to a company experimenting with a potential cure and instead finds himself with a strange new implant… and a vampiric hunger for teeth.
Petya only wanted a short trial with easy money, and now he’s at the mercy of a company hell-bent on market control, even if it means turning him into their personal pharmaceutical assassin.
They’re out for political power.
Petya is out for an escape and teeth.
Review:
Earlier this year a game called Split Fiction came out, a co-op campaign game by the developers of It Takes Two. It detailed two people trapped in a writing machine that steals their memories to churn out books (cough cough, machine learning = bad. Cough cough, AI), and one storyline is fantasy while the other was sci-fi. I was obsessed. So obsessed, in fact, that because I hadn’t read a sci-fi story in a while, I went to twitter to find some reccs.
Thus enters Toothsucker by Kaden Love. I’ve read one of his novellas before, and have the series on my TBR, but when he offered me this ARC as one to fill my sci-fi itch, I was sold from the jump. I mean, cyberpunk vampires? What’s not to love. Better yet is the “magic” system, but I’ll get into that a bit later.
This is a book steeped in impressive worldbuilding and lore, set in the future of (what I assume to be) the Earth, where countries have united into empires ruled by corporations and conglomerates. Presently, a medical faction is in charge, trying to leverage “cures” to the afflicted and suffering. Cures against what, you ask? Light. In Kaden’s story, scientists discovered the physical aspect of light, and essentially became the new currency. It became everything, really.
Are you rich? You live in the indigo or violet districts, as those light signatures are higher energy and thus worth more. Poor? You’re in yellow, maybe orange if you’re unlucky. Red is resigned for monsters and those given to addiction so far they aren’t human any longer.
In this story, we follow Petya, a man that fled to Light City from an empire he could not support. He is full of turmoil at the raging war and the lives being taken, the propaganda spewed and bandied, and the lies constantly being told. He is a part of an elite team of people with “Bites.” Implants that make them crave teeth, but also make them significantly stronger, faster, sharper, and all around more capable than the average person. The team’s task? To take out a medical conglomerate at the behest of their master, a man with leverage over them and a medical corporation of his own to rule.
I won’t go too deep into what happens after, but its a rollercoaster, and a damn fun one. The journey Petya and the others go on is quite enjoyable, and I’m excited to see where it goes. Since Petya is the sole POV, he is obviously the focus of the story and undergoes the most growth. The side characters are all likeable (except for the ones you are made to hate, which I won’t spoil), but Boyband makes the most growth, and I found myself really enjoying his development as the story went on.
Also, on the topic of characters, there are sentient (maybe they already are sentient but in a way humans can’t understand?) dolphins, called finnians. For a while, when finnians were referred to I didn’t really get it. And then it all clicks. Is that where I thought the story was going? No, but it was a very fun and welcome twist.
The atmosphere was exactly what you’d want from a cyberpunk story; dystopian, full of neon lights, and all manner of futuristic curse words that seem downright made up. I guess they are, considering this is science ‘fiction’. The setting with the allotment of districts in the city based on light levels was super cool, as was the incorporation on certain bullets, armor, and tech being stronger based on the light used. Not quite magic, but I’ll count it.
The twist at the end was totally out of left field in a really good way. I find myself wondering if there were any signs I missed. Probably, but I try not to stress on that stuff too much and admit when I’ve been had. A very intriguing story, with some strong (and not so subliminal) messages that really stick with the reader and make them think. The pages churn by as Kaden masterfully paces this one, and as I said earlier, I eagerly await what comes next.
For all you readers out there with polarizing opinions on romance in books, here it is. There is romance, but its not the main plotline. It takes a back seat, and is of lesser import compared to the more emotional, human themes present. Thus, if you only read books with romance, or if you prefer books without romance, this book fits well for both. I personally don’t have very strong preferences unless its about spice (though I don’t read romance only books), but I found the romance development a bit fast and puzzling at times. Though as I said, I’m not the expert here, its not my thing, so who knows. Try it and find out for yourself.
This was a really good book, one that I thoroughly enjoyed from cover to cover. Gripping, fast-paced, and emotional, Toothsucker was a surprising drop from an author I knew to be a fantasy writer, but a very welcome surprise regardless. If you like Cyberpunk Edgerunners or 2077, vampire stories, or this year’s game of the year Split Fiction (yes I’m calling it now even though it isn’t until December), Toothsucker is perfect for you.
