Review: Neon Leviathan

Neon Leviathan by T.R. Napper
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

First, the Disclaimer: I was given a copy of this eARC by the publisher of Grimdark Magazine. Though I often contribute unpaid reviews for the GdM blog, this fact does not influence my opinion of this particular book. I am publishing this review on my own personal sites, independent of Grimdark Magazine.

Then, the review: Oh now, that was something special that doesn't come along very often. What we have here are 12 stories set along various years of a not-to-far future of our own world, mostly in this futures version of Australia, during and after a huge war with the conflict between China and an alliance including Vietnam and Australia. Of other countries, we are given little, but that there is no more America.

This grim future is scary as it is plausible, as the 12 tales give us insight into the minds, such as they are, of those that survive during these times. There are drugs aplenty and tech that improves not only on ways to kill, but perfects the methods of mind alteration and government controls. The biggest challenge through these stories is telling what is "real" and what isn't.

And it's such fun! Well, fun as only a mind fuq really is amusing, that is. The fun parts are making connections between stories, and trying to piece together a future history that is told in small chunks, with only limited perspectives to give views on the greater scale of things. At least, what their perceptions of these realities are.

I couldn't help but compare these stories to those that I've read by Philip K. Dick, as it's pretty obvious he was a big influence on the author. The author confirms this in his introduction, unsurprisingly. While Napper keeps to a focus of themes centered around the "history" he's created and the people involved in it, we can see how Dick's style helped to shape his narrative.

If you're looking for a space romp with high adventure and Baby Yoda, look elsewhere. But if you want a challenging study in a brutal society coping with advanced technology and its consequences, this is the perfect little dystopia. Just keep in mind that reading it might just affect your political rating.

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