Customer Reviews

Nylon Angel (Parrish Plessis 1)

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I really enjoyed this book -- and its sequel, Code Noir. Looking forward to the third book (Crash Deluxe) in the series as well.

The thing to remember with Parrish Plessis as a character is that she is not shy, not retiring, not a pushover unless she has absolutely no choice. This is a female who does what she can to survive, and as part of that, helps those she can.

The world she lives in is dark. Her experiences up to the point where the books start -- and beyond -- have not been predominantly pleasant.

For me, this was a fast read -- mainly because I couldn't put it down once I'd picked it up! Sure, there are some love triangle elements to it, but that doesn't make it a bad thing necessarily.

I get what the previous reviewer wrote about this being a good post-breakup book to read. However, IMO, you don't necessarily have to be going through that to enjoy it.

Think: dark, sci-fi, strong female lead. Not cute and fluffy -- period.

If that's what you're in the mood for ... enjoy!

In a dystopian future Australia, Parish Plessis is a bodyguard for a shady crime boss/warlord. While trying to get out of that gig, she gets caught up in the murder of a media celb, and quickly realizes she is a pawn being played by multiple sides of a feud for the future of the city...

I honestly tried to like this, but just couldn't get into it. I like science fiction/cyberpunk and have a soft spot for spunky female leads, so you'd think I'd be all over this. Nope. There are several reasons why.

The author's writing style bugged me. Very spartan and choppy, and every other page we are treated to Parish's inner thoughts (almost always ending in an exclamation point) that I suspect are supposed to be witty or sardonic, but are just distracting due to the overt obviousness.

The plot moves at a brisk pace, though this is at the expense of things like "detail" and "character development." Although there are a couple of semi-interesting nugs of ideas, very little that is new is actually brought to the table. Indeed, one of the twists struck me as a thinly disguised variant of something in Gibson's "Count Zero."

To be honest, this book struck me as "young adult." I have to wonder at the ages and reading base of everyone who gave it 4 or more stars.

I didn't hate it, but I didn't particularly like it, either. I actually gave up on this about half way through, but went back and forced myself to finish because the alternate book I had handy was something I liked even less.

All that said, I'd actually give this a hesitant recommendation to anyone under 21 who is curious about sci-fi but hasn't read much of it. Think of it as a gateway drug to the better stuff.

An action packed futuristic thriller with a flavor reminiscent of Heinlein. Set in a dark and dangerous landscape, the book features a tough heroine who's only looking to get out of her own personal hell hole. But, in her own bid for freedom, she ends up championing the causes of the downtrodden all around her...not by intention, it just works out that way. I used the name Heinlein and I meant it. This is the way he used to build his books. The sci-fi background of the story oozes out around the action and the interaction of the characters, not in a 30 page monologue. Once you get yourself oriented in de Pierres world, the book rocks along like a roller coaster. A fun read. I'm looking forward to the next.

There are a great many spec' fic' writers out there who will soon be quaking on their rung of the best seller ladder at the emergence of Marriane de Pierres! Nylon Angel is a spectacular debut and when you've read the book you'll be as eager as I am to find out when Orbit are due to release the next one.

Parish's world is borne from an untethered imagination, built on fantastic imagery, rich prose and dialogue as sharp as the main character. And no matter what shape your life is in, it will seem thankfully ordinary after you've read this book.

Parish seems to have a penchant for the darkest kinds of strife and an unwitting ability to make acquaintance with the worst characters you could ever hope not to meet. Her only drive is to claw back her life from the manipulating clutches of the gang-lord of the Tert. Yet despite a serious `kit' and well-honed survival instincts that make Lara Croft look like an amateur, Plessis' manages to leap from one inferno to another. You'll be as exhausted as Parish if you take the ride and survive!

When I first started reading sci fi more years ago than I care to remember (a lot !!) It was extremely rare to find any books in the genre written by women and even rarer to find any that had female protagonists.
The writers were mainly American men and their stories were just packed with square jawed macho hero types. The few women in the books, and they were conspicuous by their absence in many novels, were present mainly so that the hero could explain things to the reader by way of 'the little woman'. Occasionally they had to be rescued from a fate worse than death, but apart from Robert Heinlein books , the women were mere spectators to Great Doings !
Mind you, Heinlein's women were a very peculiar breed indeed, in fact they were more like men in skirts than actual real women.
Anyway, rant over, I just wanted to remark on how times have changed and how glad I am that there are now many women authors who are writing about credible female protagonists.
Nylon Angel is a great example of this.
Parrish is a hero who possesses a full range of emotion, from hate and anger to compassion and gentleness. She embarks upon her mission to free herself from the attentions of a male villain, but nothing she does is out of character or rings falsely.
Her world is a grubby post apocalyptic poisonous hell, although there are, as always, some folk who manage to buck the trend and live lives of wealth and privilege.
I won't say any more for fear of spoilers, but this book was a very enjoyable read and I'm looking forward to getting my hands on the next ones as soon as payday comes round.

Set in a not-quite post-apocalyptic Australia, de Pierres offers us an entertaining cyberpunk novel with film noir elements. Particularly entertaining are the Australian elements of the setting and plot. Her protagonist, Parrish Plessis survives in the underworld and convincingly gives us the noir'ish conflict of choices. A very good read and I look forward to the rest of the series.

I loved the cover artwork, which drew me to this book in the store. And the backstory sounded like an awesome idea.

But, unfortunately for me, Nylon Angel dragged for me. The main character and her world were not portrayed nor vivid enough for my tastes. And that's too bad. This has enourmous potential to be really gritty and tough.

I'd like to have read about this woman's training and rise to her level, which didn't seem as cool and tough as she should've been.

The story didn't match up to the excellent imagery the cool cover artwork gave to my brainpan.

This book was neither great nor was it poor. There are parts that are really good, cleaver, and interested. On the other hand, there are parts that dragged and it didn't seem to truly finish although there was resolution. At this point, there is no reason for any other author to move over. Also, my experience may have been different from some of the other reviewers since I read the sequel directly following Nylon Angel. I recommend that other readers do so as well. The story ties together much more readily. The extra star is for reading it with the second book.

Nylon Angel is Cyberpunk at it best. Parrish Plessis is a bodyguard to a gang lord in a blighted, toxic ghetto in a dark futuristic Australia reminiscent of the world in Blade Runner. All Parrish wants is to break away from her current employer and have a life of her own but nothing's ever that easy. The storytelling is well-paced and the characters interesting(and sometimes bizarre) while the action is downright vicious at times. Parrish is tough, hip, and smart and not for the faint of heart. If Lara Croft was the good girl in high school with daddy's money and the dazzling smile, Parrish is the tough street punk in a push-up bra with a razor in her combat boots. There are three books in this series though only Nylon Angel is available in the US. Cyberpunk fans, Don't miss this book or you'll be playing catch up.

Cyberpunk with a bit more of a post-apocalyptic flavour. Parish Pleiss is either a gun moll with a muscle function, or muscle with a gun moll function, as she is decent enough looking to attract a local crime lord's attention. She does what she has to do to get by.

Set in the 'Tert', a regional part of Australia that has suffered a lot of degradation, and the people there are kept out of Viva City, which is presumably probably Sydney of some sort, because they do not have any money.

Parrish gets caught up in a plot involving genetics, information, possible alien parasites, among other things. She ends up breaking out of her situation and involved in something with much higher stakes.