Contributing to a dramatic new virtual-reality television series, writer Alex Munn dabbles in his own virtual-reality creations in his spare time and must run for his life when one of his violent characters escapes.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
Set in the not-so-distant future, this latest by the author of Challenge and Asia Rip is a compelling noir mix of science-fiction thrills, virtual-reality wonders and 19th-century horror. When Alex Munn accepts the job as head writer for a new virtual-reality television show, Real Life, he is frustrated that his own virtual creation, Munn's World, has been passed over. The executives at Television City had no interest in a show about an 1850s New York City serial killer known as the Fishman because he disembowels his victims. But before Real Life can air its first episode, Alex's own world is turned upside down when his estranged wife, Larissa Love, is found brutally murdered, leading Alex to believe that the Fishman has somehow escaped from Munn's World and followed him into the present. What ensues is an absolutely terrifying adventure filled with plenty of plot twists that most readers won't anticipate. Alex faces jail and the loss of everyone and everything he loves unless he can pinpoint his tormentor. Foy has created an intricate thriller that science fiction and historical fans alike will relish, one that combines elements of The Alienist and Lawnmower Man. (July) ~ FYI: Among many other jobs (designing CD-ROM games, traveling through Afghanistan with arms smugglers), Foy has worked as a commercial fisherman, hence "Fishman".
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
Just when it seemed cyberspace was wearing out its welcome, along comes this fresh and powerfully imagined new take on the coming video revolution. In the ratings-hungry entertainment world of near-future New York City, Alex Munn is a rising young "xtv" producer whose forthcoming virtual reality^-based series, Real Life, promises soap opera junkies full interactivity in three dimensions. Already bored by the show's cliched characters and predictable plots, Munn spends increasingly more time on his unsponsored pet project, Munn's World, a crime drama that tracks a serial killer through the seamy underworld of 1850s Manhattan. Neither Munn nor his video-engineer assistant, who adds the random factor to the show's programming, is prepared for what happens when the serial killer begins making his grisly presence felt in the everyday world beyond xtv's electronic margins. Munn's deliciously glib narrative voice and an irresistibly compelling story line are key elements in making Foy's stunningly vivid, all-too-plausible vision of the next wave in entertainment media one of the best cyberspace vehicles since Gibson's Neuromancer and a deserving candidate for every major sf award. Carl Hays
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Munn's World,
This review is from: The Shift (A Bantam spectra book)
"The Shift" has three immediate strikes against it. First off, the title is wrong, and has little to do with the book (It should have been called "Munn's World.") Second, the cover art is embarrassingly bad, and screams cheap and pandering with every airbrushed inch. It is the kind of cover and title you don't want people to see you holding on your lunch break. Third, the first chapter is so awful that it seems like it was written by a different author. It is cheap and pandering, just like the cover leads you to expect. In short, the very things that are supposed to hook you into a new book, repulse you instead. I can imagine more than one person picking this book up, shaking their head at the cover, then setting it back on the shelf after a glance at the first chapter.If you can make it past these three considerable barricades, however, you are in for a completely unexpected treat. This is a good book! The writing style is excellent, and the writer does an amazing job of bringing to life two such disparate worlds, that of his cyberpunk pseudo-future and the VR historical world of 1800's New York. Both worlds are fully fleshed out, with a detail that surprises even the characters in the book. The characters are also complete, although Alex Munn tends to be the single loud voice in the book. His supporting characters are equally interesting, and well researched. The punk-obsessed Zeng is accurate, although there are a few minor flaws (Sid Vicious did not sing "God Save the Queen." Johnny Rotten did.) The mysterious villain, The Fishman, is a nice boogie man to chase Munn down his various roads. Altogether, a book worth the time. Some good ideas and good writing, with an unusually successful blending of science fiction and historical fiction. I would love to see "The Shift" reissued with a different title and cover. Don't give up after the first chapter!
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Urban noir, semi-cyberpunk, and very good writing,
By
This review is from: The Shift (A Bantam spectra book)
Alex Munn is a sort-of-television producer for X-Corp., a Hong-Kong-financed major player in New York of a few years from now. Through unprecedented computer power, X-Corp. has developed an extremely lifelike virtual reality system, user access to which ranges from ordinary 2D television to immersion of the consumer and wide control of the story's development, depending on how much the consumer wants to spend. Alex considers himself an artist and he hasn't much use for "Real Life," the sappy product he's being paid to develop, but it's hard to give up the money -- though he's already lost his wife, a soap actress on one of his earlier projects. Alex has been working quietly on a much better application of the VR technology: "Munn's World," set in the New York of 1850. Where "Real Life" ignores plot in favor of showing off the technology, "Munn's World" is gritty and involving . . . and almost too real, for a Nativist killer who stalks the old city, butchering the hated Irish, seems to have edged over into the "real" New York. Foy is extremely knowledgeable about his city of the present and the past (or else he's really, really good at faking it), and he has a serious gift for characterization, intricate plotting, and descriptive writing generally -- and a teriffic ear for Nooyawkese. He puts you inside the protagonist, especially, and his take on Riker's Island is terrifying and unforgettable. I don't know how I managed to miss hearing about this when it came out, but I'm glad I found it!
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent Book,
By A Customer
This review is from: The Shift (A Bantam spectra book)
This book is one of the best I have ever read. The plot grabs you and brings you into the life of Alexander Munn. I definatly suggest anyone who likes the cyberpunk genre, read this book. You will not be dissapointed.
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