Shovel Ready
Hardcover, 256 pg
Crown, 2014
Read: May 1 – 3, 2014
It’s the near future, NYC has been rendered nearly uninhabitable by terrorist attacks and most of those that are still there aren’t really in NYC — they’re permanently jacked in to a virtual reality, kept alive by IV feeding bags. (think of a dystopian vision of Ready Player One‘s OASIS)
One of the few not hooked to the VR world is Mr. Spademan, a hitman. He doesn’t care who, he doesn’t care why, as long as the money’s right and he’s given a name, he’ll take the job. Once he’s taken the job, you might as well consider it done, he never fails, he never quits.
Well, until this job. Otherwise, it really wouldn’t be much of a story now, would it? Something happens that keeps Spademan from doing what he does — and the aftermath is pretty deadly. Spademan, his friends/allies, and those around them will be fighting for their lives before long as they plunge into a world of the ultra-rich, ultra-pampered and pseudo-religious.
The voice that Sternbergh employs is strong — you want to hear this guy tell his story. It’s a little heavy-handed from time to time — particularly at the beginning. But there’s a purpose for it, I think — at first I thought it was just a product of this being his first novel, but that’s condescending, and blind. Sternbergh knew exactly what he was doing — persevere through the heavy-handedness and you’ll understand why it was there.
A great mix of noir, SF, and suspense — with a little extra thrown in. It’d be easy to just chalk up this book to a fun combination of style, setting, and premise. But it’d be a mistake, there’s real heart here. Heart, genuine suspense, and a good story (yeah, and style, setting, and premise).
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