Ghost of the Neon God

I have a soft spot for cyberpunk, the gritty noir feel mixed with high end science fiction. Like many subgenres it can be dismissed as a passing phase, in this case from the 80s, but fans know that there are still exceptional stories out there written today about crying androids or buildings that murder their residents. T R Napper already fleshed out their cyberpunk world in 36 Streets and this follow up novella, Ghost of the Neon God, lets the author expand on the ideas in one of the most enjoyable short reads I have read in a long time. 

There is nothing special about Jackson Nguyen, he is a small-time street thug fighting for an existence in a future Melbourne. It is his lack of being special that throws his life out of control when he stumbles across a woman in distress. Rather than save her, he steals her expensive shoes to sell on the black market, but unbeknownst to Jack she gave him something else, a technology that the rich and the powerful want. The type of people who would have no problem killing a petty criminal. 

I am all for pushing genres into new and unique directions, but I also like them to pay homage to the giants on which whose shoulders they stand. Napper has a perfect balance in Ghost. It instantly feels like a vintage cyberpunk novel with a sense of noir told through an 80s sci fi prism, but it also feels different. The setting of Australia for one feels fresh. There are vast cities of the future like Melbourne, but also great expanses. The book uses both of these settings to great effect. 

Originally a pair of connecting short stories, Ghost has been expanded upon, but does have that split feel to it. Part one is about the city, Jack and his criminal partner soon discover that they are in too deep. Part two moves onto the long roads of the Australian outback where Jack drags an innocent student into his crisis.  

The two parts feel like the same whole but shifts from pure cyberpunk into more general science fiction. We learn more about the technology in part two and it becomes integral to the plot driving it forwards, literally on occasion. This is a book of ideas and world building, as a cyberpunk novel Napper has captured the ambience perfectly; a world of Philip Marlowe mixed with some Robocop, all told from the perspective of a flawed protagonist. 

The world building is not the only thing that Napper gets right, this is also a thrilling novel. At under 150 pages, the book does not have long to cram it all in, so we are given a pacy thriller. Jack is constantly on the backfoot, danger is at every bend, but he is a survivor, willing to do what it takes to live a few more hours. Despite his flaws, you like Jack, he does what he can with the cards dealt. 

A book can do many things, but I am a reader that likes to be entertained and this is what Ghost did. The story may be short, but it was thrilling and packed with quality cyberpunk imagery and some interesting science fiction concepts. The world that Napper is building up feels rich with possibilities, it evokes classic cyberpunk but has the author's own sense of kinetic energy that makes it feel fresh. A must for any fan of the subgenre and one to check out for any general lover of science fiction or thriller.