Customer Reviews

Better than Real: Sensual Solutions for the Discerning Client

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(4)
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Better Than Real by Huw Lyan Thomas presents a fast paced story in a coherent and believable near-future world with a great cast of characters, all of whom have at least one quality that makes them engaging or just plain cool. The story is a fast and fairly easy read. It's focused more on characters and plot than technical jargon and minute details. In other words, cyberpunk aficionados may find this book overly simplistic and may enjoy something like Looking Glass by James R. Strickland a lot more. But more casual cyberpunk readers may like this one.

The tale told is certainly not the most original tale, but a story does not need to be original to be enjoyable. I was reminded of some of my favorite anime, manga, comics, etc. as I was reading. The first chapter, for example, evoked thoughts of Elfen Lied in me and that's part of the reason I wanted to check this book out- because it evoked feelings of something else I liked.

The book is not without flaws, however. Sometimes the writing is a tad choppy. Sometimes events, albeit minor ones, just suddenly happen. This is one book that I felt could have benefited from smoother writing with more details. Of course, if you dislike copious details and just want to get to the good parts, check this book out. Even the first chapter starts off in the middle of the action and it was reading that first chapter on Amazon that made want to buy the book and find out what happens next.

Bottom line? If you are a more casual reader and don't mind sometimes choppy writing, this is a fun book to read over a holiday or weekend. If you want deeper, meatier, and more "tech-y" cyberpunk, there are better choices out there, such as James Strickland's Looking Glass. I enjoyed the book personally because I was looking for a more fun and relaxed read for the holidays.

But don't take my word for it. Go ahead and read the excerpt provided here at Amazon and decide for yourself if this is a book you'd like to read.

I'm a sucker for all books about sexy artificial intelligences, so I loved this one from beginning to end. Writing was just a tad rushed at times, but the characterizations are solid, and never gets boring.

This is an absorbing work that I spent a day and a half reading cover to cover. It is written so smoothly and visually that when done you feel as though you have lived in this world (and don't want it to end, which was great because the way the ending is written, it is a complete work unto itself yet leaves the door open for a sequel.) Suspense-filled, with great and memorable characters. The author obviously knows a lot about current and future technology and renders this highly imagined world in a way that makes it scarily real for the reader, and the tone of the book is great throughout, you feel as though Lee is real and a friend and even the most brutal of characters are made human. (I am an attorney and when I have a "client" that means one thing to me but when Stranger, pronounced, Strang-er, has a "client" it means something shudderingly different.)

I greatly recommend this book. If there are any smart film makers out there, they ought to read it. I hope the author is working on a screenplay because this would seriously make a wonderful movie -- it has all the successful elements of box office hits like The Matrix-- it fill your senses, keeps you on the edge of your seat and transports you into another world while connecting you to the characters so that you truly enjoy the ride (and don't want it to end-- I hope the author will do that sequel.)

Like many other reviewers, it was hard for me to put this one down! I would have read it in one sitting but my wife had other ideas and informed me of them in a frank and direct manner... :)

It reads like the best parts of an action movie, hooking you with the cool science and keeping you interested with equal parts action and suspense. Once I finished it I went looking for more books by this author, but unfortunately this is his only novel so far. So please, buy it, read it, tell your friends... I want a sequel!

Lee is a "mindware" designer for the Zendyne Corporation. Mindware is what we would call AI. In particular, he designs the shallow personalities of love dolls; mindless androids who exist to please. That is, until one of them goes berserk and kills her owner. Lee is called to the scene to investigate. Instead of discovering a malfunctioning love doll, he makes an astonishing discovery: the doll is lucid, she's self-aware. And she's got a name: Lilith.

Not wanting Zendyne to get their hands on this advanced new AI, Lee downloads her into his "handeck", and convinces his employers that he's still trying to determine the cause of the malfunction. After managing to find a new doll body for the Lilith AI, Lee suddenly finds himself up against her rightful owners. In particular, a knife-wielding robot-eyed sociopath named Stranger (pronounced STRAIN GRRR). They flee, Lee and Lilith in a high-tech RV, and violence ensues.

I enjoyed this book. Even as I encountered passages that were silly, inane, ho-hum, wandering, and sometimes disgusting, after I finished reading Better Than Real, I immediately went online to find the sequel (there's not one).

The primary characters make the book enjoyable, despite its flaws. The author lets them spring to life on their own, instead of trying to contrive zany personalities for them. There are zany characters to be found, of course. If the book were a movie, Stranger would be played by Michael Ironside, who never has trouble going temporarily insane in front of the camera.

But the main three characters are what it's really all about. Lee, the techie who gets caught in the middle between a rogue military AI and a frightening corporation with high-tech Draconian policies literally turning its employees into drones. Lilith, who's too beautiful to be human, but too human to be an android. And Sooz, the sassy 20XX Ellie May, who dreams of escape and finds it.

I enjoyed spending time with them. So much so that I dragged out reading the last fifty pages for a week. Here's hoping for that sequel.

This is the type of book that you won't want to put down until you reach the end. Huw Lyan Thomas is a superb storyteller along the lines of Orson Scott Card or Robert Heinlein. Clear and easy to read, the story builds upon itself with each chapter. It's not a cold, robotic science fiction, but one where you'll feel you're living alongside the characters in their own world. You'll experience the wonder of their technology, but will also feel their pain and joy. Highly recommended!

Stylish, effective writing style, with plenty of futurism predictions that one expects from sci-fi. Although, with the brain-cloned-body back up technology; it occurs to me that as much as robotic sex-bots would put prostitutes out of business, the brain backup technology would render assassinations obsolete. Anyone important enough to be worth assassinating will be able to clone themselves and replace all their knowledge in a new body. What's the point? Why even bother? Otherwise, it's pleasant to read and exciting.

When an Aphrodite 9400 shoves a stiletto through a client's eye, the man's 'bodyguard' calls Zendyne, the company who made the love doll. They send Lee, who designed the doll. What Lee discovers is an escaped combat AI who convinces him to help her further. Lee knows however that it is not going to be easy. Zendyne is going to lay blame for death of a client at his feet. That is the least of his troubles though when an all-but inhuman assassin literally knocks on his front door to kill him.

I enjoyed the hell out of this book. It's a fantastic post-cyberpunk techno-thriller. The characters, moods, ideas, and environments were all well thought-out and executed. I hate to be as cliche as saying it was a page-turner, but it was. I finished it off in less than a week. It literally enthralled me. And after conversing with the author (he's an easily accessible on FaceBook), I was slightly disappointed to hear that he concentrates on non-fiction these days. However, I wish him the best. That said, I'll be the first in line to catch any new fiction he publishes.

Absolutely fabulous book! I really enjoyed Huy Lyan Thomas' thoroughly awesome contribution to the Science Fiction genre. Great stuff. Readers of the Altered Carbon and Pink Carbide series will love this book!