Brain Thief
by Alexander Jablokov
science fiction
copyright 2009
read in April 2016
rated 7/10: well worth reading
It's an enjoyable book. With some unique and enjoyable aspects. And it has caused confusion in my reading enjoyment.
The inside cover claims that this is "Cyberpunk with a new twist". Guess I don't know cyberpunk. It seems like near future science fiction to me. No worries. It's just a label.
Some interesting phrasing, some clever comments. "He admired her romantic melancholy, her knees and her use of the gerund." Heh :-)
An unusual approach to the murder mystery plot:
I'm used to the clever detective interviewing suspects and gradually gathering clues, getting closer and closer to the suspect. There's a tendency -- so it seems to me -- for the detective to get all significant clues from one interview.
In Brain Thief, the hero meets people, interacts, gets maybe a clue, maybe not. He may meet them later, with a different style of interaction... Social, or another clue, or -- apparently -- just saying hello while investigating an unrelated other person.
Less organised investigation. More a gradual build-up of ideas, with the need to look again in some already examined areas. A real life approach, perhaps.
By the way: the hero is not a detective. Which may explain the lack of organisation in his approach to solving the mystery!
The solution is... fun :-)
And then...
I read the back cover. And found that this is not Jablokov's first book. So what?!
As I read I thought: Clever! Unique! Interesting approach! A first-time author, not yet weighed down by the requirements of maintaining an existing fan base!
And then I thought: Oh, an established author. Probably repeating what worked first time. The different approach worked before, let's follow the same framework...
Totally baseless shift in my attitude!
At least, my logical mind says that it's baseless. The book was clever, unique, interesting... How can it have suddenly changed, just because it's not the author's first book?!
So now I'm confused.
Confused by the way my own brain works.
The book itself is still, well worth reading.
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