Customer Reviews

The Shift

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

"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!

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!

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.

I am very picky about what science fiction novels I read, and George Foy's _The Shift_ is science fiction that is truly in the tradition of the great SF writers, such as William Gibson, Neal Stephenson, and Isaac Asimov. Rich characters, a strong plot, salient to the present time, and suspense that lasts until the last page are all combined fluidly to create a superior story that almost any SF fan would enjoy.

Each of the characters is intricately described, from their outward appearances to their most annoying habits, without the lengthy page-long descriptions so common in lesser novels. I felt as if I knew each one intimately, and yet I could never predict their actions. In particular, Kaye Santangelo's character, developed over time, was excellent. Never actually offering a nice, neatly packaged description, Foy makes the reader think continually about what type of person Kaye is. Throughout the story, the reader never knows Kaye better than Alex Munn does himself.

On that note, the choice of writing The Shift in the first person, from Alex Munn's perspective, was inspired, at the very least. And unlike other SF authors that tend to drift in their writing, or even change the perspective, to give the reader a more complete idea of exactly what is going on, Foy never once took that easy out to keep the reader's attention, and it was definitely not needed. The suspense generated from not knowing what was going on, and the desire to find out the truth compelled me to pick up the book at every spare moment.

Suspense was one of the key elements in Foy's novel. By writing entirely in the first person, he was able to pull the reader into the story, and make the reader feel as if they and Alex Munn are one. Many stories, SF and other fiction alike, reveal the plot completely within the first part of the story, then build to a climax using the protagonist's movement towards a solution, and finally taper off in the last few pages. Foy has chosen a completely different route. He begins the story with action, and maintains a high level of intensity right up until the last page. And still, are the antagonists ever completely revealed, and is the conflict entirely resolved? Alex Munn thinks so.

Overall, I whole-heartedly recommend this book to any connoisseur of good writing. Even those readers who are not traditionally science fiction fans will enjoy reading The Shift, as the SF elements do not overwhelm the story. This is not a story about future technology. This is a story about Alex Munn's struggle to survive and be heard.

"The Shift" is a well written, but poorly paced SF Mystery novel.

The story takes place in a near-future NYC. The main character, Alex Munn is a VR-Soap producer going thorough a
mid-life identity crisis, divorce, and serious psychotherapy. Suddenly, attempts start on his life and people start dieing around him in a way that points to Alex Munn: psychopath.

First, the novel is not quite cyberpunk. The main character is too mainstream. In addition, the tech is really incidental.

"The Shift" is well written. The prose is descriptive and gritty. The tech is well considered and supports the story
very well. The plot however, is a little cliched. The bad
guys come from central casting. The plots within plots have been done before. The biggest problem I had is the story is not well paced. It takes the author 450 pages to wrap things up. Then he uses an additional 50 pages to re-wrap it. A sharp editor could prune 100 pages out of the book.

"The Shift" is set in a vividly realized New York City of the near future and in the same neighborhoods in the year 1850. Alex Munn is a producer who has invented an interactive TV prototype program focused on crime in 1850 New York City. He wants to develop and produce the prototype but the bosses will not allow it. Someone hacks into his prototype, mimics the M.O. of the serial killer in it, and then starts murdering Munn's friends to set him up with the police.

The book is very lively, intensely visual, and a fast, gripping read. I found a few coincidences too many later in the book, but the novel has many more virtues to recommend it

I am very picky about what science fiction novels I read, and George Foy's _The Shift_ is science fiction that is truly in the tradition of the great SF writers, such as William Gibson, Neal Stephenson, and Isaac Asimov. Rich characters, a strong plot, salient to the present time, and suspense that lasts until the last page are all combined fluidly to create a superior story that almost any SF fan would enjoy.

Each of the characters is intricately described, from their outward appearances to their most annoying habits, without the lengthy page-long descriptions so common in lesser novels. I felt as if I knew each one intimately, and yet I could never predict their actions. In particular, Kaye Santangelo's character, developed over time, was excellent. Never actually offering a nice, neatly packaged description, Foy makes the reader think continually about what type of person Kaye is. Throughout the story, the reader never knows Kaye better than Alex Munn does himself.

On that note, the choice of writing The Shift in the first person, from Alex Munn's perspective, was inspired, at the very least. And unlike other SF authors that tend to drift in their writing, or even change the perspective, to give the reader a more complete idea of exactly what is going on, Foy never once took that easy out to keep the reader's attention, and it was definitely not needed. The suspense generated from not knowing what was going on, and the desire to find out the truth compelled me to pick up the book at every spare moment.

Suspense was one of the key elements in Foy's novel. By writing entirely in the first person, he was able to pull the reader into the story, and make the reader feel as if they and Alex Munn are one. Many stories, SF and other fiction alike, reveal the plot completely within the first part of the story, then build to a climax using the protagonist's movement towards a solution, and finally taper off in the last few pages. Foy has chosen a completely different route. He begins the story with action, and maintains a high level of intensity right up until the last page. And still, are the antagonists ever completely revealed, and is the conflict entirely resolved? Alex Munn thinks so.

Overall, I whole-heartedly recommend this book to any connoisseur of good writing. Even those readers who are not traditionally science fiction fans will enjoy reading The Shift, as the SF elements do not overwhelm the story. This is not a story about future technology. This is a story about Alex Munn's struggle to survive and be heard.

The protagonist confuses the real world with his simulated game world.
It's a new genre of Science Fiction (sort of) because it's set in very
real current version of NYC. Gritty and tough, with a strong
surprise ending. Couldn't put it down. Highly recommended for
Mystery fans, computer folks (geeks), SF fans.

I am convinced that amid the dusty shelves of my local used book store, there are hidden gems. SF books that, for one reason or another, have been overlooked by fans and therefore a good read can be picked up on the cheap.

I picked up "The Shift" for less than three dollars, which seems a fair price for this murder-mystery-SF hybrid (more mystery than SF, I'm afraid).

Other than the already-mentioned-in-other-reviews cheesy cover, bad title and clunky first chapter, I think the biggest problem with this book is that it feels dated. No one's writing VR books anymore, for good reason.

But the references to mid-90's pop culture icons of Oliver North, Tonya Harding and Oksana Baiul seem weirdly out of date. Are cellphones really that unusual in the future?

The narrative moves along swiftly sometimes, but also gets bogged down mid-novel, as if even the author wasn't sure where this was all going. And perhaps there are a few too many shocking revelations in the last 50 pages (or at least, revelations that are poorly telegraphed).

I don't want to sound too negative, though. Given the competition in SF books these days, one could certainly do a lot worse. The worlds shown are well-realized (the 1850's world especially so), the characters are interesting, and I think overall, the book would make fine beach-reading.

Hands-down, the best novel I've read in the last year -- not just the best science-fiction (aside from the virtual reality scenes, it really isn't science fiction), but the best novel, period. Very well-written, terrific characters, especially the narrator, and a great plot. I'll eagerly look out for other books by Foy, and hope he has a long, productive career.