The Fortunate Fall

The Fortunate Fall by Cameron Reed (1996) 289 pages

I read an article by Jo Walton on the Reactor magazine website a couple years ago that caused me to put this on my reading list. The article is edited from the introduction Walton wrote for this re-released edition of the book. I was intrigued by this cyberpunk world that wasn't so engulfed in noir. Most of the story takes place around Kazakhstan and it is a dystopian future. Maya Andreyeva is a "camera" working for a news network. She has audio and video equipment implanted in her head that can live broadcast what she hears and sees. There are also "screeners," who are like virtual producers providing research and graphics and editing for the broadcasts. Maya wants to investigate a holocaust/genocide that a previous world power committed and then nearly completely covered up. This leads her to finding a survivor from that time named Voskresenye. Maya interviews Voskresenye and falls deep into his scheming plans. Voskresenye had nearly died and was brought back to life Frankenstein style. He can only move around in the world with a cyborg carapace, which I imagined as a crab-like exoskeleton. He takes the place of the mad scientist who created him and furthers the cybernetic experiments. There are a few elements of this story that feel like a fairy tale. It constantly surprised me with the twists in the plot. The title and Voskresenye's ultimate goal to eliminate emotional suppression and restore the soul is tied to his own brand of theology. Maya developing feelings for the new "screener" assigned to her is engrossing until the end, when their lesbian romance just becomes angsty.

Thunderstruck

Thunderstruck by Erik Larson, 463 pages

In Thunderstruck, Larson expertly interweaves the tale of innovator Guglielmo Marconi's quest to create instantaneous transatlantic wireless communication and that of the unhappily married Dr. Hawley Crippen, who eventually becomes the most unlikely murderer of the Edwardian era. It's a fascinating tale, wonderfully told. And props to Bob Balaban, who narrated the audiobook, to which I listened. Excellent all around.