ISBN: 0-441-00105-X Order from: Amazon.com
A gritty, fast-moving novel of grimy, corporate future with little originality and plausibility.
Reviewed by David on February 11, 2001
Genre: Science Fiction (Mystery)
Synopsis: Max Maxon is a pretty touch guy. Over seven feet tall, armed and trained, he makes most thugs and mugger look for other prey.
Unfortunately, since his head injury as a corporate marine, his reduced intelligence makes him no match for the more sophisticated opponents.
When an unusual but lucrative bodyguarding contract lands in Max's hands, his poverty leaves him little choice but to take it. Lacking the intelligence to suspect plots, Max does his best to keep his client alive. But with multiple well-organized attempts to stop Max and his client, there is clearly more to this contract than its surface...
Full Review: The action takes place in not-too-distant future, with a grimy, ruthless, corporate anarchy popularized by the cyberpunk novels. Unfortunately, there are few novel elements in this book, and various implausible premises are inadequately hidden by the fast action and travelogue of the main plot. The reduced-intelligence hero, while not entirely unsypathetic, is not completely engaging, and the opposition often appears to me intellectually crippled as well.
On the whole, this book provides little entertainment or food for thought.
Overall: 4.5; Plot: 4; Characters: 5.5; Style: 5.5; World-building: 5; Originality: 5;
Copyright date 194, Berkley Publishing Group (Ace), October 1994, Mass market paperback, 231 pages
ISBN: 0-441-00105-X Order from: Amazon.com