Lost in a future world - my review of The Bridge Chronicles
For the past two weeks, I have been immersed in the cyberpunk world of the Bridge Chronicles by indie writer Gary Ballard. The series revolves around the dealings of fixer Artemis Bridge, a swarmy, amoral con-man living in 2028 Los Angeles. This somewhat bleak world of corporate-run government where the rich and powerful can buy and sell entire cities at whim may spring from the imagination of Ballard, but it's also uncomfortably close to our current reality. So much so that it's like looking through a window into our future.
Bridge is a fixer, a guy who knows a guy who can get you anything you want (and can pay for). He doesn't buy, sell, steal, or directly affect things; he's just the bridge. The Amoral Bridge, as he's known to the LA underworld. He's the guy who puts people and deals together. Doesn't much care what it is, whether it's legal, moral, or healthy. You need something, he knows a guy. He hooks the two parties up and steps aside to let the chips fall where they may. Except he keeps getting pulled into things that go against his personal code, leading the reader to realize that the Amoral Bridge isn't as amoral as he'd like people to believe.
I picked up the first book because it was $.99 and I was looking for something a little different to read. After that I was hooked, gobbling up all four books in the series. I especially liked book 2, The Know Circuit, about a strange dome that engulfs Boulder Colorado and beckons to all hackers with an interface jack implanted in their heads. Book 3, if[tribe]=, harkened to the days of the Roman gladiators, where the street battles of LA's gang scene become the fodder for a weekly televised media sensation.
I'm almost through book 4, The Long and The Short Swords, and while I've come to like the usual cast of characters that populate Bridge's world, I thought this was the weakest of the series so far, deviating more from Bridge's story into that of his mark, Logan. While the world and training of the ninja Tanaka clan was interesting, I thought too much of the book focused on that. Add to that the frequent timeline shifts during Logan's tale, and my attention started drifting. I would have been more interested to know about the man behind the corporation that set up Tanaka's clan, though I get the feeling Ballard is leading the reader to that as Bridge's big showdown with the leader of Chronosoft, the mega-corporation that controls LA.
Ballard has also written a number of short stories that bridge (no pun intended) the gap between the novels. They can be found on his main website, The Bridge Chronicles. If you're into cyberpunk, or you just want to read something a little off the beaten path, check out The Bridge Chronicles. The writing is top notch, and it's clear Ballard knows his subject matter--financial theory, weapons use, cyber technology, and the LA street and nightlife scene.
I love when I stumble across another good indie writer - just one more reason why I believe the best writing to be found today is self-pubbed.
Bridge is a fixer, a guy who knows a guy who can get you anything you want (and can pay for). He doesn't buy, sell, steal, or directly affect things; he's just the bridge. The Amoral Bridge, as he's known to the LA underworld. He's the guy who puts people and deals together. Doesn't much care what it is, whether it's legal, moral, or healthy. You need something, he knows a guy. He hooks the two parties up and steps aside to let the chips fall where they may. Except he keeps getting pulled into things that go against his personal code, leading the reader to realize that the Amoral Bridge isn't as amoral as he'd like people to believe.
I picked up the first book because it was $.99 and I was looking for something a little different to read. After that I was hooked, gobbling up all four books in the series. I especially liked book 2, The Know Circuit, about a strange dome that engulfs Boulder Colorado and beckons to all hackers with an interface jack implanted in their heads. Book 3, if[tribe]=, harkened to the days of the Roman gladiators, where the street battles of LA's gang scene become the fodder for a weekly televised media sensation.
I'm almost through book 4, The Long and The Short Swords, and while I've come to like the usual cast of characters that populate Bridge's world, I thought this was the weakest of the series so far, deviating more from Bridge's story into that of his mark, Logan. While the world and training of the ninja Tanaka clan was interesting, I thought too much of the book focused on that. Add to that the frequent timeline shifts during Logan's tale, and my attention started drifting. I would have been more interested to know about the man behind the corporation that set up Tanaka's clan, though I get the feeling Ballard is leading the reader to that as Bridge's big showdown with the leader of Chronosoft, the mega-corporation that controls LA.
Ballard has also written a number of short stories that bridge (no pun intended) the gap between the novels. They can be found on his main website, The Bridge Chronicles. If you're into cyberpunk, or you just want to read something a little off the beaten path, check out The Bridge Chronicles. The writing is top notch, and it's clear Ballard knows his subject matter--financial theory, weapons use, cyber technology, and the LA street and nightlife scene.
I love when I stumble across another good indie writer - just one more reason why I believe the best writing to be found today is self-pubbed.
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