Looking Glass: Meh

Finished Looking Glass by James Strickland this morning.

The book is strong until the final lap. Then it sort of devolves into one of those “am I in reality or am I in a simulation” fights between an AI and a hacker where the hacker can’t be entirely sure whether she is jacked in to the environment or not. What most disappointed was the lack of payoff for the brutality with which the hacker’s colleagues were taken out at the start of the book. The motivations of the person responsible for the attack and cover up are glossed over in a sentence or two and what comes across for 90% of the book as a tale about seeking revenge for your team getting killed is really about a bit of a corporate fuck up – which made it all rather a bit unsatisfying. Compare this to something written by someone like Richard Morgan who, if he’s going to build up a revenge story, makes sure that arses are extensively kicked before the final page. In short – if you are going to invest me in a character getting revenge for an injustice (and you aren’t trying to teach me a moral or philosophical lesson about revenge (which this book is not)) then make sure that I get my payoff.