William Shatner

This is a re-read, probably (eventually) of the whole series. I remember reading these in middle school in the library when they were first published.
Is it kind of cheesy? Sure. Is the writing fantastic? Of course not, its Shatner. Though the writing is *considerably* better than his Star Trek novels (especially the early ones). Does it hold up completely to modern standards? Certainly not. Did I still enjoy it as a light, fast action-y, cyberpunk-y sf read? Absolutely!
Its a lot more bright and shiny sf than cyberpunk, which ran contrary to my childhood memory. While there's elements of 'high tech, low life', most notably fairly light treatment given to drug/tech addiction, megacorps, and organized crime, its not as grounded in that thematically as I recalled. There's also a lot more of Dashell Hammet and pulpy detective action influence here than I remembered. Again, not unwelcome, just different. It gets pretty gonzo at times (the WAY brief digression into armed political revolution? the fact that our main character Jake still seems to know important people everywhere?), but if you can live with that its still a fun ride. Maybe some shades of Demolition Man here as well, both in terms of specific plot points and overall zaniness.… (mais)