Customer Reviews

Irreconcilable Differences

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I am not a huge fan of the cyberpunk science-fiction genre. It usually sits somewhere between noir and goth and tends to take itself way too seriously.

James R. Strickland's Irreconcilable Differences is a refreshing exception. Set in a credible and very interesting near-dystopian future, the novel focuses on the conflicting (and more than occasionally amusing) interactions between its protagonists. Strickland's skills as an author shine in the rich way he develops his characters and their relationships -- unusual in this sort of science fiction novel.

The book succeeds beyond being simply a character study. The relationships among the main characters are developed within a twisting and action-packed plot more reminiscent of Ian Fleming than of William Gibson. Better described as cyberthriller than cyberpunk, the novel pulls the reader into a conflict between government, corporation and individual while at the same time maintaining very a very human and personal flavor.

Irreconcilable Differences easily fills the promises made in the author's previous work Looking Glass, and I look forward to his next work.

Strickland's sophomore effort for Flying Pen Press builds on the mastery, and creative bending, of established cyberpunk conventions he so skillfully demonstrated in his debut title Looking Glass. His latest work, Irreconcilable Differences, takes us even further into his dismantled, post-collapse, North America and beyond the dystopic industrial cores and fantastic corporate techno-palaces typical of the genre and brings it to new, and equally-gritty locales; a family farm, a motor home, and, sometimes most disturbing, high school.

Along the way he introduces readers to an unlikely pair of central characters, Kansas teenager and aspiring hackergirl Michelle Marie "Micki" "Hotwire" Blake, and Inspector Rachel Santana, Interpol Covert Services, whose odd-couple, 'buddy cop' interactions provide an extra-wide window into the intricate, and all-too-believable world of 'flyover country' hacker gangs and the devastating effects of personal will magnified by asymmetric technology.

Looking Glass showed us that Strickland can do cyberpunk without resorting to a pastiche of Gibson, Morgan et. al. With Irreconcilable Differences he shows us how to take it to its next level.

Those glorious golden age sci-fi pulp magazines have now been reincarnated with the introduction of five trade paperback science fiction novels of galactic adventure, save-the-world suspense, and the merged technologies of magic and science. James R. Strickland's "Irreconcilable Differences" is a superbly imaginative cyberpunk mystery thriller. With their brightly colored 'pulp magazine' style covers, all five of these new titles from Flying Pen Press are enthusiastically recommended for fantasy and science fiction enthusiasts, and would make enduringly popular addition to community library collections.

Having stumbled on his debut novel, "Looking Glass", I'm pleased to say "Irreconcilable Differences" is another solid cyberpunk tale from Mr. Strickland. Deftly managing dual perspectives of a jaded teen-age hacker and the battle-hardened veteran who's digitized consciousness is implanted in her brain, Irreconcilable Differences moves through the fractured landscape of a future Balkanized America menaced by corporate espionage and treachery. A worthy read, indeed.

Neuromancer meets Altered Carbon.

This book gets harder and harder to put down and almost impossible to take a break from once you get half-way.

I also wound up really caring about the two protagonists. Another plus: complex twisting plot that always makes sense. The people do clever and surprising things that made me feel, "yeah good idea" logically within the book's universe.

So it gets your brain, emotions and adrenaline going.

"Irreconcilable Differences" is a very good book. It mixes action, mystery, and some very thought-provoking ideas in a cyberpunk world. This rates right next to "Looking Glass," the first story written within Strickland's universe.

Strickland takes a different angle here from his first book 'Looking Glass'. We're still in the cyberpunk world, but the focus is much more on the interactions between the two main characters, who are literally inseparable. One is a teenage girl, and the other is a software copy of a government agent - loaded into the girl's brain. I was worried it might bog down in 'adult subjected to teenage awkwardness' gags, but Strickland keeps it moving and produces another fun read.

I bought this novel along with Strickland's first novel, Looking Glass. I through Looking Glass was an excellent book so I was looking forward to reading Strickland's second novel, Irreconcilable Differences. Looking Glass was an intense cyberpunk influenced novel. If I had to describe the influences of Irreconcilable Differences, I'd list Robert Heinlein and his novel I Will Fear No Evil.

The main character of Irreconcilable Differences is a teenage girl, in High School. The novel is a mix of the universe in which Looking Glass is set (several years later) and the life and times of a teenage girl. Maybe its just me, but I see the teen years as years best forgotten. Both for those who lived through them and their parents. Dragging through the life a teenage girl (or boy) is just tedious. The girl in question has lots of adventures because she's supposed to be a gifted hacker. However, while the main character in Looking Glass has a Phd which explain her level of skill, we're supposed to believe that the teenage girl has skills that are up there with those of the government organizations that ends up involved with. I suspect that Strickland knows that this is unlikely, but it worked in the plot. After a while, I found that the plot dragged. I didn't find this a page turner by any means.

On the basis of Looking Glass I think that Strickland has the ability to write thought provoking, interesting and exciting novels. Unfortunately this novel didn't measure up to his skill. I look forward to reading his future work.