On occasion, I stumble across an author whose work draws me in and gets me to reading every book they’ve written. It’s a rare event. Usually they stick to one genre. I came across Lucifer’s Star (Space Opera) on a recommendation and then read Wraith Knight (Fantasy) and listened to Straight Outta Fangton (Vampire). Three books, three genres. Each of them brilliant in their way. I was a bit apprehensive of Agent G. Cyberpunk is one of my favourite genres but is as often done poorly as it is done well. I shouldn’t have worried. From a brilliant twist on the setting to a mind-blowing finale, this book delivered. Let’s break it down:
Setting
Not a spoiler but the biggest twist on the normal Cyberpunk setting is time. As in Agent G is set in the present day. [Insert expletives here] What? Am I joking? No. It’s a cyberpunk story with cyborgs and associated tech but written in a modern setting with events taking place in the ‘real world’. I didn’t believe that the idea could work but as I listened to it, I was proved wrong. There is a huge dose of grit and the right amount of reference to current issues such as terrorism etc. It’s very much a high-stakes technothriller but with the elements that make a good cyberpunk setting – hacking, implants, a ton of attitude etc. In some ways, the worldbuilding is less of a feature of this book compared to Lucifer’s Star and Wraith Knight – but given the genres of those books, that’s hardly surprising. What worldbuilding is required to make a present day thriller land is delivered here with aplomb. The core conceit works – the whys and wherefores of how cyborg technology appears in the story fits and I never found it jarring. Assassins codenamed as letters of the alphabet, memories that can’t be trusted. Exciting stuff.
9/10
Characters
They’re all a%%^**^s! Well, not quite. The morality of this book is definitely complex. Who is and isn’t a villain is far from clear-cut. The main character – G – is a killer for hire working for the IRS (nothing to do with tax, International Refugee Society). He is a very likeable character who I found myself quickly rooting for even though he does some pretty horrible things. Like the other novels I’ve read by Phipps, the moral complexity applies to the supporting characters and the villains. Like those novels, the characters go through a degree of evolution throughout the story. Twists and turns abound in the plot (see below) but many of those twists are used to reveal different sides of the characters rather than just to advance the plot and grip the reader. That’s quality.
9.5/10
Plot
Complex. Action packed. Fast paced. I can’t really comment on this without spoilers but let’s say all is not what it seems. The mission G is sent on that gives the subtitle ‘Infiltrator’ to the book is interesting and would probably be enough for most technothrillers. But there is a whole other layer to the story which is bound up with who G is and why he is what he is. It kept me guessing until the end and was both surprising and deeply-satisfying.
10/10
Prose/Narrator
Prose – Over the last three books, I’ve seen some common threads in Phipps’s writing. The dialogue is sharp and witty with plenty of pop-culture references, though this has been focused in to the more serious tone befitting a tale of espionage and assassination. Where it was humorous in Straight Outta Fangton, here it just adds an extra ‘sparkle’ to the dialogue. The narrative style itself is clean and crisp. Very readable and up there with a top-tier thriller. Written in 1st person. Could easily be James Patterson-esque back when he still wrote his own books. Oops, I didn’t say that aloud, did I?
9/10
Narration – reminds me of the narrator for Altered Carbon which is no bad thing. Great voice for capturing the Noir feel of this book. Enjoyed the narration a lot.
9.5/10
Overall rounds out to 9.5/10
Verdict – Two thumbs up. A wild-ride that seamlessly combines cyberpunk and technothriller. Thoroughly entertaining from start to finish.