Review: Falling Into Oblivion by Aaron M. Payne
Blurb:
MODIFICATIONS COME AT A PRICE.
Detective Sol Harkones is tangled in the wires of a deadly conspiracy involving defective body modifications causing permanent brain damage. A suspect is known, but something more dangerous may be lurking in the shadows.
A city plagued by waste.
Violence fills the streets.
Oblivion is within reach.
Falling Into Oblivion is the electrifying first book in the Tendrils of Chrome cyberpunk sci-fi series. If you're a fan of William Gibson's Neuromancer, HBO's True Detective, or Philip K. Dick’s Blade Runner, you will love Aaron M. Payne’s rapid-fire saga.
Review:
I’m long overdue in reviewing this beauty I read back in August. Where do I begin? I guess firstly by stating that I am completely unfamiliar with everything this book is compared to :P So I can’t attest to the accuracy of those comparisons, but what I can tell you is that I thoroughly enjoyed this book! Even without having seen the inspirations that helped this book take seed and bloom, the idea of cyberpunk has always appealed to me so I of course had to get this book in my hands!
Now what Falling Into Oblivion makes me think of is a slightly different take possibly, but it’s got that futuristic Sci-Fi civilization vibe of what you see in the Guardians of the Galaxy movies, or in the reboot movies of the OG Star Trek paired with all the things I love about crime shows. The flashy hovercraft-type vehicles are reminiscent of Back to the Future (yes, I’m dating myself a bit here) or even Star Wars, the body modifications made me think of the Borg in ST: Next Gen or Nebula from Guardians of the Galaxy. Those are the influences my brain was pulling from while I read this, all of which are some of my favorites, so naturally I loved Falling Into Oblivion.
The way Payne wrote the cityscape, the way he plotted out the crime Sol Harkness was trying to solve, and the implications of everything involved with high tech futuristic drugs seemed all too realistic with heavy implications of just what our real world could look like in the future. It feels so highly tangible you can almost smell the stinky garbage piled in the street gutters and alleyways, and hear all the vehicles flying overhead.
Payne writes an incredibly immersive tale of a city plagued by crime, drugs, and illegal trade, and all Sol, our lead character, wants is to make enough money to keep his family out of the poor district. He wants a better future for his young daughter, to pay for a school that will give her the possibilities of more. Sol’s internal worries over money, his feelings of failure about keeping his promises because his job keeps him away from home too much, of all he puts himself through just to keep the debt collectors away, all of this makes him such a relatable character and truly humanizes him.
The bionic implants and body modifications that people utilize in this world are super cool. I’ve joked before that I wish we had the capabilities of bionic implants, just thinking purely of the benefits, but what Mr. Payne has done is gone a step further and shown us the repercussions of such things; the need for fully licensed individuals to do the implants, the drug market that creates the anti-rejection drugs (why did I never think that you would need such??? It just makes plain sense!) and all those greedy souls who profit from it all; the black market, pharmaceutical companies, the crime bosses, etc. Payne thought of every aspect of the effect these kinds of things would have on a civilization, no detail was too small to not get his full attention to make it all as realistic as possible. I appreciated this so much!
Now let’s discuss the crime/mystery. I can’t tell you how many crime shows I’ve watched over the years, but it’s seriously A LOT, including Murder She Wrote when I was a small kid. Based on that you can assume I love a good brain puzzle to try to untangle as I read. The best ones manage to catch me unawares with some reveals, though as I’ve stated after years of watching crime shows I’m pretty good at figuring things out most of the time. But in Falling Into Oblivion the mystery element is written soooo damn well!! There were some things and people I was suspicious of, some of which proved I had a right to be though I hadn’t a clue to just how much those things or people were involved. And then I did fall for a red herring or two, which dude. Well played, Mr. Payne! Well played. I totally didn’t see some of that coming or how hard it would hit!
The author’s last name just hit. Payne…rhymes with Wayne. Like Bruce Wayne, and he wrote us a story about his own version of Batman fighting crime in a cyberpunk Sci-Fi version of Gotham City :D Sorry, the nerd references just keep coming. I’ll see myself out.
In all seriousness though, if you love sci-fi, cyberpunk, crime novels, etc. then go pick this book up. If you’re new to any of the genres mentioned above and don’t know where to start to dip your toes in, this is also an excellent choice! It’s a highly captivating read with a plot that launches to warp speed!
