Jarrad Maiers

A good little short story that'll kill an hour. Good fun if you want to explore a little more of the Reckoners series. Not necessary for the series as a whole, but you won't get a lot out of it if you didn't read the first in the series first.

On my first read of this one, I loved it. I read it a second time right before the show came out, and even years later, I still think it's a great modern cyberpunk story. It hits the level of noir and gritty future reality just right. And the metaphorical writing is reminiscent of trying to be like Raymond Chandler, which fits the main character well. What I didn't remember from the first time, and what I found I really enjoyed during the second read, was all the political undertones and Quellist remarks made by various people. I suppose my interest in this has changed in the 12 years between 2006 and 2018, because I live in the United States, and in those years paying attention to revolutionary politics has suddenly become more important.

The really impressive thing about this book is the description of the setting. William Gibson once said that all science fiction is really about place, and with that in mind The Dervish House is incredibly well described. There is a flavor to the city that makes you want to explore it on your own...preferably armed. But what didn't hold my attention was most of the characters. I enjoyed the exploits of the young functionally deaf detective with his nano-bot toys, and the retired psychological economist trying to prove to the world that he is still useful, and the young woman searching for a mellified man, but there are other main characters in this book that I just found distracting and annoying. It all came together well in the end, and it was well written, but I found myself bored through a lot of it mainly because I just couldn't get myself to care about many of the major plot twists and characters.