When the words “indy author”, or “indy book” come up, you often think of people who couldn’t cut it in the real world of publishing deals. More and more that wall is coming down, and the bar is getting set higher and higher for writers. Under the Amoral Bridge by Gary A. Ballard is one such book. It deserves to have a publisher look at it, and it deserves to be in stores. A cyberpunk thriller set it in an alternate but not too distant future of Los Angeles in 2027, is a ride that you should take.
This is my first read in the cyberpunk genre, and if others are like this book, I like what I’m reading.
From the Cover: Artemis Bridge is the know-who, go-to guy, the amoral fixer in 2028 Los Angeles with the connection for any illicit desire no matter how depraved. You need it, he can get it without questions or judgment. He prides himself on staying detached from the depravity, untouched by the filth, untouchable by the law. When a young hacker is assassinated before his eyes, he is burdened with a scandalous video of the mayor on the eve of the city’s most important election of the century. With digital assassins and murderous thugs dogging his every step, he has only days before the corrupt mayor is re-elected, handing the Chronosoft Corporation complete control of the city. Unable to sell the video, he is forced further into a complex conspiracy. This taut futuristic thriller is the debut novel by Gary A. Ballard, a rising new talent in the cyberpunk genre.
Setting: Los Angeles, 2027. An alternate and futuristic city that is run by corporations. Laws signed gave control of sections of the city to corporations like Chronosoft. That includes law enforcement. It’s a world that seems to be run by hackers, and immoral acts no matter how much people try to control things. It’s a world filled with cybernetic implants, and pods called creches that basically allow you to live in a virtual world doing business that effects the real world. It’s a world that’s different from our own, but not so much that you can’t relate. He differentiates between the online world, and the real world very well. You know where you are at all times, and handles how someone comes in and out of each world better than I would expect.
Characters: There aren’t a ton of major players in the book. Because of this you get good insight into each of them, regardless of how much page time they actually have. The story revolves around Artemis Bridge, his ex-girlfriend and lover Angie, and his bodyguard Aristotle. Even the players that do not have good sized parts in this story have their own voice, and I could easily separate who was who when the dialogue was going on without the need of the author telling me who was who.
Artemis is really nothing more than a punk who connects people. If you want something, illegal or not, and don’t know how to get it, you contact him, and “he’s got a guy”. Angie has some disdain for Artemis, but you can tell still holds a candle for him, and Mr. Ballard conveys that very well. Aristotle is a soccer player that has a cybernetic implant in his knee so his playing days in FIFA are over because they don’t allow implants, so helps Artemis and guards him with his life, even if Artemis doesn’t want it.
The thing I liked, is even the villains had their own voice. Although I will say they were a bit cliche, with the varying accents. But that didn’t matter, he wrote them well, and painted a picture so vivid you would think you were watching a movie.
Plot: While this is labeled as a science-fiction, cyberpunk novel, I think that has more to do with the setting than the actual content of the story. When I was reading this, I got a very pulpy, noire kind of feel. While Artemis is weaving his way around the complexities of trying to figure out why nobody was paying for the content on the chip he had, that would have a very serious effect on the coming election, and who was behind it, at it’s heart it is almost a hard-boiled detective mystery.
Mr. Ballard sets everything up quite nicely. While working with a client, Artemis has to get a “leaker” someone who leaks information to the outside world for him. That leaker came from his ex-flame, Angie. When Artemis finally gets to the leaker, he is killed right before his eyes, but not before a “package” was delivered. That package contained something that just had to be seen, and right before he dies he sends it out via the wi-fi port that was in his head to Artemis. So now he has this package that he wants nothing to do with, but the information is so powerful that he makes it his duty to try to get it to the right people in order to let the world see what is on that chip, while trying to keep his hands clean, and name away from being the one who leaked it.
Some of the technology could have used a bit more description to truly understand what was what, it really was only in passing, and the tech that played big roles in the story were described well.
Gary Ballard uses all the tools available to him in order to create a story that envelops you. From using the technology that the setting allows, to strong use of dialogue, and suspenseful action the story moves along at a good pace, and you’ll be finished before you know it, and clamor for more.
If you haven’t read Cyberpunk before, this is a nice gentle entry into the world. It’s futuristic without being overly complex, and doesn’t rely on the setting to tell a well-thought out, well-paced story. The nice thing is, once the “whodunnit” of the story is solved, he takes it further, and ties everything up in a nice package because the “who” wasn’t as important to Artemis as the “why”. The why is just as surprising as the who.
This is his first novel, and if this is any indication of how well he writes, the next entries are going to be very good.
Once you step foot in this world, you are going to want more, and if you want to know anything else about this series, just let me know….I’ve got a guy.
——————————————————————————————————————–
There are other entries in The Bridge Chronicles series, 4 books and a short story collection. One of which (Feeding Autonomy) was featured in this book, but not reviewed.
For more information on The Bridge Chronicles you can visit his website here: The Bridge Chronicles
You can purchase this book for only .99 or in paperback at the following retailers:
