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A review by vi_adhikary
Cyberpunk 2077: No Coincidence by Rafał Kosik
4.0
I am a huge Cyberpunk fan. I absolutely love the game and would consider it my favorite. I adore the anime and would easily put it on my top 10, and though I have yet to get to playing the original TTRPG created by Mike Pondsmith, I would consider the world of Night City birthed from Cyberpunk 2013 to be one of if not my favorite worlds in fiction. Going into this book, I knew that I would like it, as Rafał Kosik is said on the book to have been a screenwriter in Cyberpunk Edgerunners, the anime. Though I went into this book with many biases (as is impossible for none to go into anything without), I still can wholeheartedly say that this is an amazing book, though still with its issues.
The book follows Zor, Ron, Aya, Milena, Albert, and Borg, and is set after a successful heist. To be more specific, the first chapter documents the events of the heist, and every chapter afterwards is what occurs from it. Now one big issue arises immediately, and it is what stops this book from being something which I would consider almost perfect, and that is the fact that there are so many characters. Not only do we get to see the main characters which I had just listed, but there are also far more which we need to keep track of. Since this is a book which constantly switches perspectives, each break we can see in sections, save for maybe like 5 which I was able to count, has us switching to a whole new scenario, character, inner-thoughts, and sometimes even writing style. At first this can be annoying, mainly due to the fact that the person who the perspective switches to isn't told to you until you are around a paragraph or two into the section. Though as you go along, and even as early as chapter 2 if you are perceptive enough, there is enough given in those paragraphs for you to be able to pick up who the perspective switched to. Though I personally didn't have issues following along with it, I can see how this can be a detriment to many, as it can turn this book into a confusing mess. Going along with the idea of having so many characters, it leads to a whole lot of them not getting entirely fleshed out. I found that because there were so many perspectives to go through, and with what the overarching narrative was trying to achieve, the book seemed to favor 2 or 3 characters and left the rest just kind of... there. Though all the characters do have backstories and, in my opinion, very well executed send offs, there seemed to be 4, which I won't name for the sake of spoilers, who got the majority of the character building and themes, and unsurprisingly, my favorite character ended up being one of those 4.
Now onto Night City, which to me was really well handled in this book, but once again comes with an issue. The book just starts you off with no introduction to the world, acting as if you already know what this world is. Since I do already know what this world is and am very well acquainted with the lore surrounding it, this wasn't an issue for me, as I knew basically everything they were talking about and was able to following along with it really well. However, this becomes an issue to those who are completely unfamiliar with this world, as you are left with a bunch of references, information, and in-universe slang which really just seem like a whole lot of gibberish. Though you don't necessarily need to have knowledge on the Cyberpunk 2077 universe, it will help immensely when trying to read this book.
As an overall out of 10 rating, as that is what I prefer to use, I would give this book a 9/10. I found that it stays true to the world of Night City, is entertaining all the way through with its breakneck pace, and is a must read for those who are already fans of this world, and maybe even those who are wanting to get into it. I found that, though it has its issues, it is not enough for me to dock it anymore points than I already have.
The book follows Zor, Ron, Aya, Milena, Albert, and Borg, and is set after a successful heist. To be more specific, the first chapter documents the events of the heist, and every chapter afterwards is what occurs from it. Now one big issue arises immediately, and it is what stops this book from being something which I would consider almost perfect, and that is the fact that there are so many characters. Not only do we get to see the main characters which I had just listed, but there are also far more which we need to keep track of. Since this is a book which constantly switches perspectives, each break we can see in sections, save for maybe like 5 which I was able to count, has us switching to a whole new scenario, character, inner-thoughts, and sometimes even writing style. At first this can be annoying, mainly due to the fact that the person who the perspective switches to isn't told to you until you are around a paragraph or two into the section. Though as you go along, and even as early as chapter 2 if you are perceptive enough, there is enough given in those paragraphs for you to be able to pick up who the perspective switched to. Though I personally didn't have issues following along with it, I can see how this can be a detriment to many, as it can turn this book into a confusing mess. Going along with the idea of having so many characters, it leads to a whole lot of them not getting entirely fleshed out. I found that because there were so many perspectives to go through, and with what the overarching narrative was trying to achieve, the book seemed to favor 2 or 3 characters and left the rest just kind of... there. Though all the characters do have backstories and, in my opinion, very well executed send offs, there seemed to be 4, which I won't name for the sake of spoilers, who got the majority of the character building and themes, and unsurprisingly, my favorite character ended up being one of those 4.
Now onto Night City, which to me was really well handled in this book, but once again comes with an issue. The book just starts you off with no introduction to the world, acting as if you already know what this world is. Since I do already know what this world is and am very well acquainted with the lore surrounding it, this wasn't an issue for me, as I knew basically everything they were talking about and was able to following along with it really well. However, this becomes an issue to those who are completely unfamiliar with this world, as you are left with a bunch of references, information, and in-universe slang which really just seem like a whole lot of gibberish. Though you don't necessarily need to have knowledge on the Cyberpunk 2077 universe, it will help immensely when trying to read this book.
As an overall out of 10 rating, as that is what I prefer to use, I would give this book a 9/10. I found that it stays true to the world of Night City, is entertaining all the way through with its breakneck pace, and is a must read for those who are already fans of this world, and maybe even those who are wanting to get into it. I found that, though it has its issues, it is not enough for me to dock it anymore points than I already have.