The second book of Michael Shean's Wonderland cycle is
slightly better than the first.
It's also a little bit less noir - the first book was from
the point of view of a cynical detective. The second enters the head of Bobbi
January, who isn't nearly as jaded. She's actually a good female character -
not afraid to use her sexuality, extremely competent at what she does.
Which leads me to a minor but annoying issue - please,
please Michael, do not create a wonderful female character then, at any point,
refer to her as a "hackette." Women flinch at words like that, and
for a reason - the 'ette' suffix is commonly seen as belittling. Now, to be
fair, this is the biggest problem in the book - but word choice is important
these days. I'm not an over-sensitive feminist and it got to me.
That aside - Redeye is a well written cyberpunk/noir
thriller, highly dystopian and explaining more of the world introduced in
Shadow of a Dead Star. The editing is slightly better (I was thoroughly
unimpressed with the editing in the first volume). It's worth it if you're a
fan of the genre - Shean tells a good story and his pacing is solid throughout.
Just don't call people hackettes and we're good.
Four stars.
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