Strictly Analog by Richard Levesque Narrator: Steven Jay Cohen
Published by Self-published on 09-15-14
Genres: Cyberpunk, Science-Fiction
Length: 8 hrs and 47 mins
Format: Audiobook
Source: Narrator
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Overal Rating:
Ted Lomax does his best to get by as a private detective in a society where almost nothing is private any more. He lives in a near-future California that has gained independence from the economically collapsed United States and where everyone is constantly linked into the web. Almost everyone. Because of injuries sustained during California’s border war, Ted is locked out of the technological culture that surrounds him. But that’s his edge: his business card reads “Strictly Analog,” and he markets himself as a man able to skirt the technological landscape without leaving a trail. It works nicely for him until he gets the most important case of his life. When his daughter Amy is accused of killing her boyfriend, Ted knows he has to do whatever he can to help her. It won’t be easy. The bullet in the boyfriend’s head matches Amy’s gun. To make matters worse, the dead boyfriend was an agent with California’s secret police. Now Ted has to dig himself out of the hole he’s been buried in since the war. Before long, he’s pulled into a shadow world of underground hackers, high-end programmers, and renegade gear-heads, all of whom seem to have a stake in California’s future. The further he digs into the case, the clearer it becomes that it’s about more than one dead agent. Solving it might save his daughter. And it might get him killed. And it just might open the door to secrets that reach back to the attack that almost killed him eighteen years before. At any rate, Ted Lomax will never be the same.
Due to missing eye during the last war, Ted Lomax is a strictly analog PI in a digital world. Both eyes are needed in order to use the current technology, leaving Ted out of it. He is nevertheless exploiting this handicap for his work. Not everything is recorded, not everything is seen by the digital eye, and some things can only be investigated and kept secret if one is strictly analog, like Ted. He gets the case of his life when his daughter is accused of murder, and he will have to use his secret contacts and perhaps be changed forever.
I love Richard Levesque’s cyberpunk approach to science-fiction. His characters might not be very complex, but their flaws make them relatable. Also, the stories he weaves are interesting, intriguing, and well written, and this one is no exception. What seemed a simple mishap hid a complex plot full of lies and conspiracies. In this story, nothing is what it seems, and there were several twists that I did not see coming, making for an exciting listen.
Richard Levesque’s writing style includes is very descriptive giving the reader the feeling of watching a movie, making it approachable and enjoyable.
Steven Jay Cohen was spot on in this audiobook. His expressive narration style brought the characters to life in a natural way, without making dialogs sound forced. The narration helped to make the story flow and become memorable.
I think this is one of my favorite Richard Levesque’s books. A must-listen if you are into cyberpunk.
I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.| Story (Plot) |
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My name is Elena. Since I was a little child I loved science fiction and fantasy, and I can’t resist a good novel. In 2015, while wait I started to listen to audiobooks and I discovered the pleasure in being able to read while doing my daily tasks, so there’s always an audiobook playing on my phone. If you see me with my Bluetooth headphones on, please be gentle, I get easily startled.
I live with my boyfriend, which I met during my six-year stay in Belgium, four cockatiels, eight lovebirds, and a hamster in Madrid, Spain; and I like to spend my free time knitting and sewing while listening to audiobooks.
