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obr 's review for:
Partition: Critical Era
by Kevin Kane
An interesting sci-fi slow-paced noir that takes all the vibes of Blade Runner, Appleseed and [b:The Sleepless|59805612|The Sleepless|Victor Manibo|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1639602683l/59805612._SY75_.jpg|93934131] and blends them into something both familiar and new. It plays with timely themes of identity and what happens when tech supposed to make everyone's lives better might not actually be as altruistic as it sounds, all while telling the complex mystery of two characters with one body... And one dead body whose blood might be on their hands.
Our protagonist Eric Noble is in two minds - literally. For half the day he's an influencer (well, sort of) and professional layabout, while the other half he's... A cop? In his futuristic world, people can opt to be implanted with a secondary AI persona via the node implanted in their heads that helps them navigate day to day life and tech. The original becomes a Day, able to live it up however they like, while their new emotionless cohabiter is a Night and will do all the work so their Day can play. Cleaning, work outs, a "real" job? That's what a Night is for. Eric's fine enough living with his oddly opinionated Night, even letting him chose to be a cop, until he discovers Glitch. The newest drug on the block offers up an amazing high, but for Eric the low is more than just a hangover. His memories of the night are gone, and there's a dead pretty girl left behind for his alter-ego to stumble across. Programmed to serve justice, the Night is determined to solve the case despite the main suspect being... Well, his own (other) self. Eric needs to solve it too, certain he's not a murderer and that there's more going on here than meets the tech-enhanced eye. In a world of corporate greed, gritty drug dens, illegal body modding and a new personality upgrade available on demand, there's always more.
There were times when I could feel a little confused by developments, or where maybe things could have been clearer earlier on (for example, what Critical Era is and how it could be considered possible), but it told a compelling, adult sci-fi story none the less. It is very, very detailed and complex, with a gritty masculine tone. A huge amount of thought gone into creating the technological dystopia our world could become, and many details are explored throughout. While it did slow the pacing down at times, I wanted to know the answers to the central mystery.
It turned out to be something quite unusual. I enjoyed how it didn't just retread old ground; the twist to how Nights and Days were made and what their creators did will leave you with that feeling of a reveal well told, designed to make you stop and think in the way all good sci-fi should when taking in big issue topics like this. There's a bit of a cliffhanger to the ending, but by then we've gotten plenty of action, secrets and character development that sets up for further parts of the series.
Our protagonist Eric Noble is in two minds - literally. For half the day he's an influencer (well, sort of) and professional layabout, while the other half he's... A cop? In his futuristic world, people can opt to be implanted with a secondary AI persona via the node implanted in their heads that helps them navigate day to day life and tech. The original becomes a Day, able to live it up however they like, while their new emotionless cohabiter is a Night and will do all the work so their Day can play. Cleaning, work outs, a "real" job? That's what a Night is for. Eric's fine enough living with his oddly opinionated Night, even letting him chose to be a cop, until he discovers Glitch. The newest drug on the block offers up an amazing high, but for Eric the low is more than just a hangover. His memories of the night are gone, and there's a dead pretty girl left behind for his alter-ego to stumble across. Programmed to serve justice, the Night is determined to solve the case despite the main suspect being... Well, his own (other) self. Eric needs to solve it too, certain he's not a murderer and that there's more going on here than meets the tech-enhanced eye. In a world of corporate greed, gritty drug dens, illegal body modding and a new personality upgrade available on demand, there's always more.
There were times when I could feel a little confused by developments, or where maybe things could have been clearer earlier on (for example, what Critical Era is and how it could be considered possible
Spoiler
when Nights aren't supposed to be able to oppose their Day's will enough to actually rebel that much pre-Glitch?It turned out to be something quite unusual. I enjoyed how it didn't just retread old ground; the twist to how Nights and Days were made and what their creators did will leave you with that feeling of a reveal well told, designed to make you stop and think in the way all good sci-fi should when taking in big issue topics like this. There's a bit of a cliffhanger to the ending, but by then we've gotten plenty of action, secrets and character development that sets up for further parts of the series.