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Synopsis

Looking Glass is set in the not too distant future
in a gritty
unrefined
shattered North America. Hackers and IT security technicians fight a different kind of war in cyberspace. A serial killer has found a way to use the network to reach inside his victims brains
and use these brains as his weapon. Shroud is a security network team leader for a large retail company. In the realm of cyberspace
inside a sensory deprivation tank and jacked in to the network
she is fast
nimble
and ruthless. She is just beginning her shift when the killer strikes for the first time. She survives
but her entire team is dead or missing. She is exiled from her corporate resources
and her search for the killer is fraught with peril and overwhelming odds.

Review

As a fan and reader of the cyberpunk genre
I strongly recommend Looking Glass. I won't go into a plot synopsis
as others already have. The writing style is tight
and focused through the window of Shroud's perception and life experiences
and her shift into an increasingly uncomfortable and dangerous situation
both mentally and physically. It is this revelation of her inner life
with its defensive limitations and powerful motivations that keeps the focus on the human
despite the seeming technological focus of the plot.

The dystopic setting of the splintered second world North America is revealed as is needed by the narrative. The technology is speculative
but much more soundly grounded in current technologies that give a sense of competence to the characters actions
and satisfaction to the reader familiar with the topics.

In the end
to me
Science Fiction is a human story. It asks what will we do
what will we become
when technology has changed our society
our horizons
our bodies and challanged the limits of what is possible. Looking Glass does this
with a good touch for personal tension
evolving character awareness
and human weakness.

The plot is well thought-out
and the pacing is fast without being frenetic. There's little
if any
plot telegraphing or foreshadowing. The setting is future
yet the reference points are tantalizingly close to our present - again
enough to keep me invested (Shame about Reno
though). And while "cyberpunk" applies in general genre terms
the author isn't trying to be William Gibson or anyone else
which is a refreshing change! But if you like that style
then you'll definitely want to give this book a try. One day
one of those hackers turns out to be a serial killer
and uses the fact that people are jacked in to the Internet to use the Internet as a way to kill. Her corporation
Omni-Mart
in standard shortsighted corporate cover-up style
gets in the way of her investigation
while the killer pursues her every move in a world that is so completely connected to the Net that movement without observation is just about impossible.

Dr. Farro
or "Shroud" as she is known
is one of the most dynamic characters in fiction. She wrestles with inner demons as well as the muck that is the Internet of tomorrow. She doesn't necessarily deal with these demons very well. In a job that requires a certain level of paranoid schizophrenia to perform well
she is good at her work.

However
when the reader gets inside her head
we wee that this perfect employee of the future is far from a perfect human being
a metaphor
I think
for the futureshock and information overload that we experience every day. Strickland shows us that all the great technology that makes our civilization work so well may not be good for our mental health. It's a powerful message
yet there is no moralizing that gets in the way of a truly exciting thriller.

All in all
it was a great read
and I'll be back for the next instalment.