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josworld96's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
4.0
highlanderajax's review against another edition
3.0
Solid for what it is. It's light reading, there's nothing too crazy going on here. Young does a good job of creating a fairly interesting world, and I enjoyed the read, but the plot is pretty thin and straightforward. It's fine.
natreviews's review against another edition
Just has the "main character" trope (get picked out of my daily life by someone higher class and craziness happens) and I don't need that. Like, it's what people complained about Twilight level of main character trope.
ghostlydreamer's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
5.0
One of the best books I've read, seriously.
This is not the first book I've read in the cyberpunk genre, but its wildly different from all the others I've read. This one is a lot more serious. It's dark. It's gritty. It's fucked up. There isn't much humor. It's pretty bleak and depressing, actually. And man, I fucking loved it. I couldn't put it down! It's actually a very quick read, but it already has me wanting to move onto the next book in the series. And trust me, I will be reading the rest. D.L. Young knows what they're doing. As a writer, I think I'd royally suck at writing anything in the cyberpunk genre, so I already have mad respect for people who can make sense of these worlds, because I certainly don't have the creativity or ingenuity to do that myself.
Anyway, story time! It was January 2022, and I'd just finished playing Cyberpunk 2077 on New Years Eve. What a way to ring in the New Year! Anyway. I was having significant withdrawals from any and all things Cyberpunk. I mean, not just the game. I fucking loved it, yeah, and immediately wanted to replay it again. But I also wanted MORE. I wanted books set in this genre, since I'm a reader at heart. So what do I do? I start browsing kindle. Searching for decent cyberpunk genre books that look like they might rope me in. And what do I find while I'm there? The first three books of this Cyberpunk City series in a bundle on Kindle for a very reasonable price. So what do I do? I goodreads it first, of course, because I've got to make sure it's decent. And then, once I see that it's got great reviews, I bought it. And then I bought others. And then I started some of the others. But for some reason, I forgot I had this one. Fast forward to March 2023, more than a year later, and I make a new vow to start reading my backlog of Kindle books because that shit is getting embarrassing. That's when I find this book. So, finally, I decide to read it. And I'm so glad that I did.
Let's start with the world. I find that this is one of the most important aspects of a cyberpunk book. The world needs to come alive. It needs to feel like I've been transported into these fucked up societies. And this book delivered. Everything came alive. And the author does an excellent job of explaining different aspects of the world to the reader. For anyone familiar with the genre as a whole, a lot of these concepts aren't all that surprising, but I felt like D.L. Young had a creative spin on them, to make them their own. I could appreciate not only the creativity, but the simplicity in which they were described. It was easy to follow along, and they managed to avoid the dreaded info-dump.
Then we have the characters! I didn't expect to like Maddox so much. I mean, he's a guy with a difficult past. He's got secrets and regrets and all kinds of depressing things that make him rather bleak. But I loved him. Beatrice also grew on me. At first, I hated her. And I didn't like that she was going to be a part of this core team. But as the book went on, something about her became much more likeable. I love that, ultimately, she and Maddox had each other's backs. And Tommy! I also hated him at first, but then I realized he's just a kid, living in this brutal world where he doesn't have a lot to get him by. I think I especially realized this when all he wanted was a little food, and he got so excited when Maddox said he might buy him some. And he comes through in the end. I'd love to see more of him in the next book.
Then we have the concept. The plot. Wow, that took me for a ride. I'm not sure what I expected, to be honest, since I don't remember reading the synopsis before I jumped right in. The last time I did was probably January 2022. Anyway, I loved it. And once again, I commend the author for the simplicity with which they conveyed it. Dropping hints all along the way. It wrapped up neatly, in a way that meant there were no loose ends or glaring plot holes. All around fantastic writing that had me highlighting multiple passages. Just as a cyberpunk book should, I was always on the edge of my seat, waiting - wanting - to read more. And it delivered. I never felt bored or like the book was dragging on. That's important to me, because I can lose interest fast when the pace slows down. This never did. The way everything unfolded had me from the start, and I adored it. It also leaves me wanting more. Needless to say, I will be reading the second book soon.
But that poor cricket! That broke my fucking heart.
Anyway. 10/10 recommend.
This is not the first book I've read in the cyberpunk genre, but its wildly different from all the others I've read. This one is a lot more serious. It's dark. It's gritty. It's fucked up. There isn't much humor. It's pretty bleak and depressing, actually. And man, I fucking loved it. I couldn't put it down! It's actually a very quick read, but it already has me wanting to move onto the next book in the series. And trust me, I will be reading the rest. D.L. Young knows what they're doing. As a writer, I think I'd royally suck at writing anything in the cyberpunk genre, so I already have mad respect for people who can make sense of these worlds, because I certainly don't have the creativity or ingenuity to do that myself.
Anyway, story time! It was January 2022, and I'd just finished playing Cyberpunk 2077 on New Years Eve. What a way to ring in the New Year! Anyway. I was having significant withdrawals from any and all things Cyberpunk. I mean, not just the game. I fucking loved it, yeah, and immediately wanted to replay it again. But I also wanted MORE. I wanted books set in this genre, since I'm a reader at heart. So what do I do? I start browsing kindle. Searching for decent cyberpunk genre books that look like they might rope me in. And what do I find while I'm there? The first three books of this Cyberpunk City series in a bundle on Kindle for a very reasonable price. So what do I do? I goodreads it first, of course, because I've got to make sure it's decent. And then, once I see that it's got great reviews, I bought it. And then I bought others. And then I started some of the others. But for some reason, I forgot I had this one. Fast forward to March 2023, more than a year later, and I make a new vow to start reading my backlog of Kindle books because that shit is getting embarrassing. That's when I find this book. So, finally, I decide to read it. And I'm so glad that I did.
Let's start with the world. I find that this is one of the most important aspects of a cyberpunk book. The world needs to come alive. It needs to feel like I've been transported into these fucked up societies. And this book delivered. Everything came alive. And the author does an excellent job of explaining different aspects of the world to the reader. For anyone familiar with the genre as a whole, a lot of these concepts aren't all that surprising, but I felt like D.L. Young had a creative spin on them, to make them their own. I could appreciate not only the creativity, but the simplicity in which they were described. It was easy to follow along, and they managed to avoid the dreaded info-dump.
Then we have the characters! I didn't expect to like Maddox so much. I mean, he's a guy with a difficult past. He's got secrets and regrets and all kinds of depressing things that make him rather bleak. But I loved him. Beatrice also grew on me. At first, I hated her. And I didn't like that she was going to be a part of this core team. But as the book went on, something about her became much more likeable. I love that, ultimately, she and Maddox had each other's backs. And Tommy! I also hated him at first, but then I realized he's just a kid, living in this brutal world where he doesn't have a lot to get him by. I think I especially realized this when all he wanted was a little food, and he got so excited when Maddox said he might buy him some. And he comes through in the end. I'd love to see more of him in the next book.
Then we have the concept. The plot. Wow, that took me for a ride. I'm not sure what I expected, to be honest, since I don't remember reading the synopsis before I jumped right in. The last time I did was probably January 2022. Anyway, I loved it. And once again, I commend the author for the simplicity with which they conveyed it. Dropping hints all along the way. It wrapped up neatly, in a way that meant there were no loose ends or glaring plot holes. All around fantastic writing that had me highlighting multiple passages. Just as a cyberpunk book should, I was always on the edge of my seat, waiting - wanting - to read more. And it delivered. I never felt bored or like the book was dragging on. That's important to me, because I can lose interest fast when the pace slows down. This never did. The way everything unfolded had me from the start, and I adored it. It also leaves me wanting more. Needless to say, I will be reading the second book soon.
But that poor cricket! That broke my fucking heart.
Anyway. 10/10 recommend.
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