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Ghosts of Tomorrow
The children are the future.
And someone is turning them into highly trained killing machines.
Straight out of school, Griffin, a junior Investigations agent for the North American Trade Union, is put on the case: Find and close the illegal crèches. No one expects him to succeed, Griffin least of all. Installed in a combat chassis Abdul, a depressed seventeen year old killed during the Secession Wars in Old Montreal, is assigned as Griffin's Heavy Weapons support. Nadia, a state-sanctioned investigative reporter working the stolen children story, pushes Griffin ever deeper into the nightmare of the black market brain trade.
Deep in the La Carpio slums of Costa Rica, the scanned mind of an autistic girl runs the South American Mafia's business interests. But she wants more. She wants freedom. And she has come to see humanity as a threat. She has an answer: Archaeidae. At fourteen, he is the deadliest assassin alive. Two children against the world.
The world is going to need some help.
And someone is turning them into highly trained killing machines.
Straight out of school, Griffin, a junior Investigations agent for the North American Trade Union, is put on the case: Find and close the illegal crèches. No one expects him to succeed, Griffin least of all. Installed in a combat chassis Abdul, a depressed seventeen year old killed during the Secession Wars in Old Montreal, is assigned as Griffin's Heavy Weapons support. Nadia, a state-sanctioned investigative reporter working the stolen children story, pushes Griffin ever deeper into the nightmare of the black market brain trade.
Deep in the La Carpio slums of Costa Rica, the scanned mind of an autistic girl runs the South American Mafia's business interests. But she wants more. She wants freedom. And she has come to see humanity as a threat. She has an answer: Archaeidae. At fourteen, he is the deadliest assassin alive. Two children against the world.
The world is going to need some help.
394 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 1, 2017
About the author
Michael R. Fletcher
47 books1,231 followersMichael R. Fletcher is a science fiction and fantasy author, a grilled cheese aficionado, and a whiskey-swilling reprobate. He spends his days choreographing his forklift musical (titled "Get Forked"), and using caffeine as a substitute for sanity. Any suggestions that he is actually Dyrk Ashton in disguise are all lies.
Blog (kinda): http://michaelrfletcher.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MichaelRFlet...
Twitter: @FletcherMR
Instagram: fletcher_michael_r
Blog (kinda): http://michaelrfletcher.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MichaelRFlet...
Twitter: @FletcherMR
Instagram: fletcher_michael_r
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September 17, 2018
4.5/5 stars
If you call yourself a fan of Cyberpunk or just Sci-Fi in general, you owe it to yourself to read Ghosts of Tomorrow.
Ghosts of Tomorrow is a re-edited and rewritten version of 88, Fletcher’s first novel. Technically, you could say this is his debut, except that it has been revamped and re-released for us in a superior edition, which we all should be thankful for. Before I continue with my review, I must let you know that I’m not a stranger to Cyberpunk genre, I’m very familiar with it but this is the first time I’ve read any Cyberpunk in novel forms. For those of you who don’t know, Cyberpunk basically is a subgenre of Sci-Fi which emphasized the effect of high technology advancement in a low life or our current society, usually taking place in the near future from our own setting. In the case of this book, the year is 2046.
This may not be a genre that everyone loved, but for me who grew up watching movies, anime and playing video games, it’s a genre that I truly love. Here are some famous examples of what Cyberpunk is in popular cultures.
Movies: Blade Runner, Tron, RoboCop, The Matrix, Elysium.
Anime: Akira, Ghost in the Shell, Steins Gate, Psycho-Pass.
Video Games: Metal Gear Solid series, Deus Ex series, (if you love this MGS and Deus EX series like me, you MUST read this book), Xenogears, and Watch Dogs.
These are a few examples of what Cyberpunk is that I’ve watched or played already and it should let you know what kind of story you’re diving into here.
Why haven’t I read more Cyberpunk? It’s simple. I had some reason to believe that the genre just won’t translate well into a novel compared to other mediums due to the high need for imagery that required very well written and easily understandable prose, while in other mediums I mentioned, those problems will be easily solved. Today, Fletcher proved me wrong. Let me begin my review.
Ghosts of Tomorrow managed to capture the impending sense of society’s plunge into dystopian and Fletcher did it with finesse. The story started on August 1st, 2046 and ended on August 8th, 2046. Yes, the duration lasted only a week but trust me, Fletcher showed just how much events could go chaotic within a week due to the implication of technology advancement. The story can get a bit dark and brutal sometimes due to how realistic and relatable the progression of the story if our society ever made it this far in technology, which I imagine will happen eventually, sooner or later.
In the case of Ghosts of Tomorrow, it envisioned how our world will become when the concept of Virtuality (short for Virtual Reality, duh) has reached perfection. I’ve come to realize I haven’t talked about what the main story is about at all, but if you really want to, I’ll have to ask you to just take a look at the blurb. It’s more than enough, plus, it’s spoiler-free! All you have to know is I truly enjoyed every moment of it because, in my opinion, Fletcher truly has told the essence of Cyberpunk in his story.
It’s not all dark and bleak though, there are plenty of light and humor conversation for a breather that truly made me grin and laugh. An example to prove my point
Sometimes, it can even get philosophical and inspiring.
And this
Fletcher has implemented plenty of real life internal conflict and cultures through the diverse set of characters in this book. There is plenty of diversity here, the main characters ranged from kids to adults and most of them have something to teach us. Griffin, that never gives up despite all his failures, Abdul, who struggled with depression and try to find meaning in his current life, 88, an autistic child looking for freedom, Miles, a genius who suffer from loneliness, and Archaeidae, a child train from birth to be a merciless killing machine literally, and many more.
Considering that this is stand-alone, it’s really amazing what Fletcher has done with his characterization. Every characters first chapter breathes distinct voices and personality right from the start. However, I need to talk a bit about Archaeidae, he’s the one in the amazing cover btw.
Picture: Archaeidae by John Anthony Di Giovanni
Through his character, the book told not only Western culture but Eastern culture as well, specifically on the Japanese’s Way of Samurai. From the first moment I saw the words “daishō” “katana” and “Wakizashi” from the first page, I had a feeling I was going to love this character, and I was proven right. Archaeidae’s obsession with the way of the samurai is something I truly enjoyed reading and I can see that Fletcher did a lot of research on this. This brought me to my last two points, world-building and actions.
Both world-building and actions are connected to each other, with intriguing hacking, virtuality manipulation, and fast paced actions that remind me of Metal Gear Solid: Guns of the Patriot. Remember that this is a stand-alone book, Fletcher doesn’t have a lot of room to work with, but personally, I think he did a great job. The final battle scene, especially the usage of rotating perspective between both opposing sides slightly reminds me of Abercrombie’s ‘The Heroes’ in Sci-Fi form, which is always a plus for me. However, the actions and world-buildings are also where I had minor problems with. The first 20% of this book, while necessary, are quite info dumpy, and I did have problems visualizing some of the action scenes. These two, however, are just minor cons, if you've read a lot of sci-fi novels; I believe it will be a better experience for you. One more thing, this is a self-published book, there are a few typos and grammatical errors, I personally don't mind them, just thought that you should know.
Overall, Ghosts of Tomorrow is truly a wonderful blend of Cyberpunk story that every Sci-Fi fans must try. It did what it set out to do, to tell a relatable and thought-provoking story, it shows exactly the implication of high technology advancement and its usage to our society and military warfare. I haven’t read Fletcher’s Manifest Delusion series, which everyone keeps telling me to read. After this, I will make sure to remedy that within this year.
You can find this and the rest of my Adult Epic/High Fantasy & Sci-Fi reviews at BookNest
If you call yourself a fan of Cyberpunk or just Sci-Fi in general, you owe it to yourself to read Ghosts of Tomorrow.
Ghosts of Tomorrow is a re-edited and rewritten version of 88, Fletcher’s first novel. Technically, you could say this is his debut, except that it has been revamped and re-released for us in a superior edition, which we all should be thankful for. Before I continue with my review, I must let you know that I’m not a stranger to Cyberpunk genre, I’m very familiar with it but this is the first time I’ve read any Cyberpunk in novel forms. For those of you who don’t know, Cyberpunk basically is a subgenre of Sci-Fi which emphasized the effect of high technology advancement in a low life or our current society, usually taking place in the near future from our own setting. In the case of this book, the year is 2046.
This may not be a genre that everyone loved, but for me who grew up watching movies, anime and playing video games, it’s a genre that I truly love. Here are some famous examples of what Cyberpunk is in popular cultures.
Movies: Blade Runner, Tron, RoboCop, The Matrix, Elysium.
Anime: Akira, Ghost in the Shell, Steins Gate, Psycho-Pass.
Video Games: Metal Gear Solid series, Deus Ex series, (if you love this MGS and Deus EX series like me, you MUST read this book), Xenogears, and Watch Dogs.
These are a few examples of what Cyberpunk is that I’ve watched or played already and it should let you know what kind of story you’re diving into here.
Why haven’t I read more Cyberpunk? It’s simple. I had some reason to believe that the genre just won’t translate well into a novel compared to other mediums due to the high need for imagery that required very well written and easily understandable prose, while in other mediums I mentioned, those problems will be easily solved. Today, Fletcher proved me wrong. Let me begin my review.
Ghosts of Tomorrow managed to capture the impending sense of society’s plunge into dystopian and Fletcher did it with finesse. The story started on August 1st, 2046 and ended on August 8th, 2046. Yes, the duration lasted only a week but trust me, Fletcher showed just how much events could go chaotic within a week due to the implication of technology advancement. The story can get a bit dark and brutal sometimes due to how realistic and relatable the progression of the story if our society ever made it this far in technology, which I imagine will happen eventually, sooner or later.
“Religion and politics were diseases. Even money, that great builder of civilizations, was part of that sickness. Of what use are such trappings when you were immortal and could define your reality like a god? Reality was such a chaotic mess. One look at the news; starvation, poverty, and war unending. He would fix all of that. Virtuality was the answer to everything.”
In the case of Ghosts of Tomorrow, it envisioned how our world will become when the concept of Virtuality (short for Virtual Reality, duh) has reached perfection. I’ve come to realize I haven’t talked about what the main story is about at all, but if you really want to, I’ll have to ask you to just take a look at the blurb. It’s more than enough, plus, it’s spoiler-free! All you have to know is I truly enjoyed every moment of it because, in my opinion, Fletcher truly has told the essence of Cyberpunk in his story.
It’s not all dark and bleak though, there are plenty of light and humor conversation for a breather that truly made me grin and laugh. An example to prove my point
“Is there anything sexier than nerd chicks?”
“No, unless you’re Gal Gadot” – (This reply is not in the book. You can only read it here because it’s provided sincerely by me.)
Sometimes, it can even get philosophical and inspiring.
“Take the easy road and at the end, you will feel you have achieved nothing. Try the difficult shit and you’ll enjoy your successes.”
And this
“Never forget your failures, they’ll teach you more than your successes.”
Fletcher has implemented plenty of real life internal conflict and cultures through the diverse set of characters in this book. There is plenty of diversity here, the main characters ranged from kids to adults and most of them have something to teach us. Griffin, that never gives up despite all his failures, Abdul, who struggled with depression and try to find meaning in his current life, 88, an autistic child looking for freedom, Miles, a genius who suffer from loneliness, and Archaeidae, a child train from birth to be a merciless killing machine literally, and many more.
Considering that this is stand-alone, it’s really amazing what Fletcher has done with his characterization. Every characters first chapter breathes distinct voices and personality right from the start. However, I need to talk a bit about Archaeidae, he’s the one in the amazing cover btw.
Picture: Archaeidae by John Anthony Di Giovanni
Through his character, the book told not only Western culture but Eastern culture as well, specifically on the Japanese’s Way of Samurai. From the first moment I saw the words “daishō” “katana” and “Wakizashi” from the first page, I had a feeling I was going to love this character, and I was proven right. Archaeidae’s obsession with the way of the samurai is something I truly enjoyed reading and I can see that Fletcher did a lot of research on this. This brought me to my last two points, world-building and actions.
Both world-building and actions are connected to each other, with intriguing hacking, virtuality manipulation, and fast paced actions that remind me of Metal Gear Solid: Guns of the Patriot. Remember that this is a stand-alone book, Fletcher doesn’t have a lot of room to work with, but personally, I think he did a great job. The final battle scene, especially the usage of rotating perspective between both opposing sides slightly reminds me of Abercrombie’s ‘The Heroes’ in Sci-Fi form, which is always a plus for me. However, the actions and world-buildings are also where I had minor problems with. The first 20% of this book, while necessary, are quite info dumpy, and I did have problems visualizing some of the action scenes. These two, however, are just minor cons, if you've read a lot of sci-fi novels; I believe it will be a better experience for you. One more thing, this is a self-published book, there are a few typos and grammatical errors, I personally don't mind them, just thought that you should know.
Overall, Ghosts of Tomorrow is truly a wonderful blend of Cyberpunk story that every Sci-Fi fans must try. It did what it set out to do, to tell a relatable and thought-provoking story, it shows exactly the implication of high technology advancement and its usage to our society and military warfare. I haven’t read Fletcher’s Manifest Delusion series, which everyone keeps telling me to read. After this, I will make sure to remedy that within this year.
You can find this and the rest of my Adult Epic/High Fantasy & Sci-Fi reviews at BookNest
May 15, 2017
"Virtuality is the new reality"
Within my online social circles, I have heard many amazing things about the writer Michael R. Fletcher. My peers were so influential that I decided to check out one of his books and I chose this one because of the completely stunning cover, the fact that it is a stand-alone novel and also the point that the description sounded amazing.
This book is set in 2046 in a horrifically advanced world that is scarily relatable to our current Earth and here, young children's brains are harvested and then sold on the black market, where they are sometimes purchased by the Mafia, trained and then turned into having to control enhanced mechanical beings. Imagine the combat suits from Edge of Tomorrow with no human (alive at least) needed, with the same spectacular qualities that they possessed and I think that is an apt summary. The blistering action of this novel is intense and the awesome book takes place over 7 days. In the third person, we infiltrate the minds of about 8 "people." The main characters are Griffin, a rookie US government agent, 88 an ingenious autistic child who enjoys creating mirrors and Archaeidae, a 14-year-old robotic assassin who wears a Chassis that gives him six limbs. Yes, enough limbs to walk, wield two guns and flaunt two samurai swords. He also looks amazing in a trench coat that Chow Yun-Fat would be proud of owning.
I have to admit that I haven't read much Science-Fiction recently but, I believe this could be admired and enjoyed by Fantasy and maybe "grim-dark" readers also. It has a great mix of emotion (surprising when a majority of the characters are robots, especially Abdul commenting on the point of existence after "death"), deaths and brutal set-pieces. Although I noticed a few grammatical errors, it is amazingly well written and Fletcher definitely knows his way around the Oxford Dictionary to create amazing prose. This isn't Science-Fiction in an out of space sort of presentation, it is how, seriously, the world could be in 30 years.
This is the revamped edition of Fletcher's book 88 and the story is so good, I might read that one like the completist I am just to see the differences. Some of the language used confused me here and there, very scientific-seeming of course but that is probably my silliness and not a negative to the story. At one point a character who I thought was female became male which knocked me off balance for a little while (robots, eh?) but the reason was explained a few chapters later which made me nod my head and think, cool.
Ghosts of Tomorrow is pretty damn awesome. I know a lot of the main bloggers and sites rave about Fletcher's work and now I have finished this, I can 100% see why. It is gritty, brutal, amazingly well written and also a scarily possible view on where our future could be going towards. If you could live forever as a robot, would you? I will check out Beyond Redemption very soon as my friend advised me that this book is in the greatest series he has read after Malazan. To me, and many of my fantasy book reading friends, that is a huge statement. I hope it is true.
James x
Within my online social circles, I have heard many amazing things about the writer Michael R. Fletcher. My peers were so influential that I decided to check out one of his books and I chose this one because of the completely stunning cover, the fact that it is a stand-alone novel and also the point that the description sounded amazing.
This book is set in 2046 in a horrifically advanced world that is scarily relatable to our current Earth and here, young children's brains are harvested and then sold on the black market, where they are sometimes purchased by the Mafia, trained and then turned into having to control enhanced mechanical beings. Imagine the combat suits from Edge of Tomorrow with no human (alive at least) needed, with the same spectacular qualities that they possessed and I think that is an apt summary. The blistering action of this novel is intense and the awesome book takes place over 7 days. In the third person, we infiltrate the minds of about 8 "people." The main characters are Griffin, a rookie US government agent, 88 an ingenious autistic child who enjoys creating mirrors and Archaeidae, a 14-year-old robotic assassin who wears a Chassis that gives him six limbs. Yes, enough limbs to walk, wield two guns and flaunt two samurai swords. He also looks amazing in a trench coat that Chow Yun-Fat would be proud of owning.
I have to admit that I haven't read much Science-Fiction recently but, I believe this could be admired and enjoyed by Fantasy and maybe "grim-dark" readers also. It has a great mix of emotion (surprising when a majority of the characters are robots, especially Abdul commenting on the point of existence after "death"), deaths and brutal set-pieces. Although I noticed a few grammatical errors, it is amazingly well written and Fletcher definitely knows his way around the Oxford Dictionary to create amazing prose. This isn't Science-Fiction in an out of space sort of presentation, it is how, seriously, the world could be in 30 years.
This is the revamped edition of Fletcher's book 88 and the story is so good, I might read that one like the completist I am just to see the differences. Some of the language used confused me here and there, very scientific-seeming of course but that is probably my silliness and not a negative to the story. At one point a character who I thought was female became male which knocked me off balance for a little while (robots, eh?) but the reason was explained a few chapters later which made me nod my head and think, cool.
Ghosts of Tomorrow is pretty damn awesome. I know a lot of the main bloggers and sites rave about Fletcher's work and now I have finished this, I can 100% see why. It is gritty, brutal, amazingly well written and also a scarily possible view on where our future could be going towards. If you could live forever as a robot, would you? I will check out Beyond Redemption very soon as my friend advised me that this book is in the greatest series he has read after Malazan. To me, and many of my fantasy book reading friends, that is a huge statement. I hope it is true.
James x
July 17, 2017
4/5
Buddy read with Justin Biebers biggest fan Drew
As you all know Michael R. Fletcher is my new obsession, I love the way he writes so much. I love all his fucked up, gritty, unique, badass stories. He is definitely one of my favourite authors and this book cemented that fact even more. Going into this novel I was abit apprehensive mainly because most fantasy writers who try their hand at writing Sci-fi fail miserably imo, but I'm happy to announce that Fletcher nailed it. This is actually my first ever Cyberpunk book and it blew me away. I didn't really know what to expect from a Cyberpunk book. I normally stay far away from 'futuristic' novels I just find them so unrealistic & super geekish (not hating on anyone who loves this shit). I just don't understand the terminology used because I'm a simpleton. However I feel Ghosts of Tomorrow was extremely realistic, fun, believable and easy to follow. When I imagine the future, I actually imagine computers, robots and a virtual reality. This is exactly what this book is about. It's not ridiculous with hover cars and laser beams, but instead scarily real. Will our future consist of a Virtual Reality? When our children's, children's, children's, children die will their brains be scanned to a USB stick and they will exist in a virtual reality fucking the world up from the inside of a computer making them basically immortal? I'm not sure, but I'm pretty fucking sure that this is probably the most fucked up thing I could think of. Why? Because it seems so real. Being unable to die and live as a sentient scares the shit out of me. I do not want to be a computer or have my head removed from my body and scanned to a goddamn hard drive. But I wouldn't mind being a robot and blowing shit up... But in all seriousness everyone should have this book on their gigantic TBR pile, it's not just about the interweb and robots, it's also about mafia gangsters who steal children and turn them into killing machines and it's an extremely chilling story.
The Children are the future. The story is a multiple POV that follows a whole bunch of people set on earth in the future when virtuality is the new reality, there's an autistic girl named 88 who has her brain scanned into a hard drive, the South America mobsters are using her to run their businesses. They thought she was a moron, a mental cripple. A victim. But 88 has been underestimated and wants freedom she has come to see humanity as a threat and she can only have her freedom by finding a boy name Archaeidae another child who was scanned but instead he is six limbed Chassis and a killing machine. (That badass ninja dude on the cover with the samurai swords, yeah that one). Griffin a junior investigator is put on a special case find all the mobsters illegal crèches a place where they raise children so they can scan their brains, but Griffin is in a dilemma he falls in love with his partner and must protect her aswell as himself while fighting a war full of chassis, gangsters and lunatic scanned brains. Abdul a depressed 17 year old boy who is now a chassis after being killed in a secession war in Old Montreal who is assigned as Griffins Heavy Weapons support, who doesn't know a thing about killing and hates himself. Who will come out on top the good guys or the bad guys? Well you should go read it and find out.
This novel is actually Fletchers debut, I thought Beyond Redemption was his first book but I was wrong, this story is 88 but revamped and renamed as Ghosts of Tomorrow. I just don't understand how Fletcher is still so underrated when he creates such beautiful vivid worlds full of badassery. He is an author that will make you think and his writing is so deep. He needs to be on everyone's favourite author list, stop reading mindless crap people and come read some of Fletchers work, you'll definitely thank yourself for reading his shite. His characterisation is fantastic, you have characters like 88 and Archaeidae who are unhinged, emotionally damaged killers, who you will either love or hate. I personally loved both and found my murderous darlings to be quite precious. But then you'll easily love his good guys especially Abdul, who is always trying his best to be a better person.. or should I say the best killing machine chassis he can be. I also loved Nadia, I found her to be an extremely relatable character “Scars are sexy. War wounds are sexier. Missing limbs...” She fanned herself like some dame from one of those old black and white movies. I thought I was the only fictional character who loves disfigured men. Turns out Nadia is my twin.
Your probably wondering why I didn't give this novel five stars? Well I had a few issues, firstly I'm not that into Sci-Fi. I find it interesting however like I said earlier, I find the terminology hard to follow, yes this book is an easier read then some, but the first 22% is extremely slow and very confusing, it took me 30 pages to realise that 88 was a scanned brain. I also had to google a shit ton of words. So you must be patient, at 23% in I promise you won't be able to put the novel down because there is so much badassery happening, like there's explosions, gun fights, people losing limbs and murderous computers. What else could you ask for? Nothing.
I personally thought this novel wasn't going to live up to the expectations I have for Fletchers novels, I was waiting a long time for action and unexpected things to happen. Yes they did eventually happen, but my god that start was freaking slow.
This novel is freakily good and will have you thinking about it for a long time. So all in all this is a great read that I really enjoyed, it's EXTREMELY interesting. And complex. I actually never thought I'd say that about a Cyberpunk book. Definitely recommended to everyone who loves gritty Sci-fi, books about the future and everyone who is a mega fan of Fletchers Manifest Delusions series. Also if you liked the film Edge of Tomorrow, you'll enjoy this.
Ps."Is there anything sexier than nerd chicks?"
Why don't guys in real life think like this? If they did I wouldn't be single.. Actually I probably would be, but it's nice to dream.
You can find this review and my other reviews at Booksprens.
'Gun fights weren’t about who shot first, they were about who got shot first.'
Buddy read with Justin Biebers biggest fan Drew
As you all know Michael R. Fletcher is my new obsession, I love the way he writes so much. I love all his fucked up, gritty, unique, badass stories. He is definitely one of my favourite authors and this book cemented that fact even more. Going into this novel I was abit apprehensive mainly because most fantasy writers who try their hand at writing Sci-fi fail miserably imo, but I'm happy to announce that Fletcher nailed it. This is actually my first ever Cyberpunk book and it blew me away. I didn't really know what to expect from a Cyberpunk book. I normally stay far away from 'futuristic' novels I just find them so unrealistic & super geekish (not hating on anyone who loves this shit). I just don't understand the terminology used because I'm a simpleton. However I feel Ghosts of Tomorrow was extremely realistic, fun, believable and easy to follow. When I imagine the future, I actually imagine computers, robots and a virtual reality. This is exactly what this book is about. It's not ridiculous with hover cars and laser beams, but instead scarily real. Will our future consist of a Virtual Reality? When our children's, children's, children's, children die will their brains be scanned to a USB stick and they will exist in a virtual reality fucking the world up from the inside of a computer making them basically immortal? I'm not sure, but I'm pretty fucking sure that this is probably the most fucked up thing I could think of. Why? Because it seems so real. Being unable to die and live as a sentient scares the shit out of me. I do not want to be a computer or have my head removed from my body and scanned to a goddamn hard drive. But I wouldn't mind being a robot and blowing shit up... But in all seriousness everyone should have this book on their gigantic TBR pile, it's not just about the interweb and robots, it's also about mafia gangsters who steal children and turn them into killing machines and it's an extremely chilling story.
"Meat brains were the past. They age and rot and die, doomed from the day they’re born. Sickness, disease, cancer. Those were yesterday’s problems. Tomorrow was a whole new reality, one without filth and famine and poverty. Virtuality is the new reality."
The Children are the future. The story is a multiple POV that follows a whole bunch of people set on earth in the future when virtuality is the new reality, there's an autistic girl named 88 who has her brain scanned into a hard drive, the South America mobsters are using her to run their businesses. They thought she was a moron, a mental cripple. A victim. But 88 has been underestimated and wants freedom she has come to see humanity as a threat and she can only have her freedom by finding a boy name Archaeidae another child who was scanned but instead he is six limbed Chassis and a killing machine. (That badass ninja dude on the cover with the samurai swords, yeah that one). Griffin a junior investigator is put on a special case find all the mobsters illegal crèches a place where they raise children so they can scan their brains, but Griffin is in a dilemma he falls in love with his partner and must protect her aswell as himself while fighting a war full of chassis, gangsters and lunatic scanned brains. Abdul a depressed 17 year old boy who is now a chassis after being killed in a secession war in Old Montreal who is assigned as Griffins Heavy Weapons support, who doesn't know a thing about killing and hates himself. Who will come out on top the good guys or the bad guys? Well you should go read it and find out.
“Hindsight is merciless,” said Abdul. “And self-pity a useless indulgence.”
This novel is actually Fletchers debut, I thought Beyond Redemption was his first book but I was wrong, this story is 88 but revamped and renamed as Ghosts of Tomorrow. I just don't understand how Fletcher is still so underrated when he creates such beautiful vivid worlds full of badassery. He is an author that will make you think and his writing is so deep. He needs to be on everyone's favourite author list, stop reading mindless crap people and come read some of Fletchers work, you'll definitely thank yourself for reading his shite. His characterisation is fantastic, you have characters like 88 and Archaeidae who are unhinged, emotionally damaged killers, who you will either love or hate. I personally loved both and found my murderous darlings to be quite precious. But then you'll easily love his good guys especially Abdul, who is always trying his best to be a better person.. or should I say the best killing machine chassis he can be. I also loved Nadia, I found her to be an extremely relatable character “Scars are sexy. War wounds are sexier. Missing limbs...” She fanned herself like some dame from one of those old black and white movies. I thought I was the only fictional character who loves disfigured men. Turns out Nadia is my twin.
Your probably wondering why I didn't give this novel five stars? Well I had a few issues, firstly I'm not that into Sci-Fi. I find it interesting however like I said earlier, I find the terminology hard to follow, yes this book is an easier read then some, but the first 22% is extremely slow and very confusing, it took me 30 pages to realise that 88 was a scanned brain. I also had to google a shit ton of words. So you must be patient, at 23% in I promise you won't be able to put the novel down because there is so much badassery happening, like there's explosions, gun fights, people losing limbs and murderous computers. What else could you ask for? Nothing.
I personally thought this novel wasn't going to live up to the expectations I have for Fletchers novels, I was waiting a long time for action and unexpected things to happen. Yes they did eventually happen, but my god that start was freaking slow.
'At the end of the hall, exiting a room, was death. A gleaming chrome skull with long fangs. A ridiculous ninja outfit, and two samurai swords dripping blood and gore. It looked so much like something off one of those gory morning cartoons Griffin didn’t want to take it seriously. It flicked the swords and the walls were cut with two neat lines of red spray. The swords were now spotless.'
This novel is freakily good and will have you thinking about it for a long time. So all in all this is a great read that I really enjoyed, it's EXTREMELY interesting. And complex. I actually never thought I'd say that about a Cyberpunk book. Definitely recommended to everyone who loves gritty Sci-fi, books about the future and everyone who is a mega fan of Fletchers Manifest Delusions series. Also if you liked the film Edge of Tomorrow, you'll enjoy this.
Ps."Is there anything sexier than nerd chicks?"
Why don't guys in real life think like this? If they did I wouldn't be single.. Actually I probably would be, but it's nice to dream.
You can find this review and my other reviews at Booksprens.
March 11, 2017
If you haven't read the Manifest Delusions Beyond Redemption and The Mirror’s Truth you should. If you have you'll love this sci-fi book by Fletcher who blends all the personality schisms into a historical fiction version of the future and virtual reality. The book is a combination of Manifest Delusions, Terminator and Ready Player One. To say Mr Fletcher has an obsession with mirrors and personality defects would be a vast understatement. To say his dystopian view of the future of the planet is bleak even more so.
May 29, 2017
4.5 of 5 stars at The BiblioSanctum https://bibliosanctum.com/2017/05/29/...
Readers coming to Ghosts of Tomorrow from Michael R. Fletcher’s Manifest Delusions series will find its themes to be very different, I suspect. Interestingly though, this book actually predates Beyond Redemption, being a revamped and republished version of the author’s first novel, which was a futuristic cyberpunkish sci-fi dystopian called 88. Still, from the fascinating premise to the amazing setting and characters, it’s clear everything about this book is pure Fletcher—that is to say, grim, gritty, and violently gory. In a way, it’s good to know that some things have never changed. For a fan like me, it’s a comfort, even.
The story takes place in the near future, when most of the world’s countries have consolidated into continental trade unions in order to compete in the global market. Technology has come a long way too, with the advent of brain scans and the ability to transfer a deceased person’s mind into machines called chassis. Not quite human and yet not quite a computer, these scans have effectively become a source of slave labor. While they have sentience and retain most of the memories and personality they had in life, scans are more or less immortal and can be tweaked like any program, making them a highly sought after resource in almost every industry. Officially, people become scans voluntarily, but because demand outstrips supply, criminal organizations have capitalized by churning out their own black market scans in illegal crèches. It’s a horrifying process: children are either illicitly bred, bought, or stolen from their homes, put through forced conditioning, and then killed for their precious brains which are then scanned and sold. Certain boutique crèches have even sprung up, brainwashing and training children to become loyal, unquestioning fighters intended for combat and assassin chassis.
For his first assignment as a special investigator for the North American Trade Union, newly graduated agent Griffin Dickinson is tasked to crack down on such illegal crèches. Unfortunately, his inexperience also leaves him unprepared for the grisly consequences of failure. In another place, a seventeen-year-old Marine named Abdul is killed in the line of duty, but medics rescue enough of his brain and consciousness to give him a choice: become a scan and continue working for the military, or die for real. Meanwhile, the world says goodbye to Mark Lokner, founder and CEO of the world’s largest manufacturer of Scanning equipment. Before his death, he was also famously known for refusing to be scanned, though in fact, Mark’s mind lives on in Lokner 1.0, watching his own funeral from a hidden server stored in a secret facility in Redmond, Washington. And somewhere deep within mob territory in Costa Rica, the scanned mind of an autistic girl known only as 88 awakens to her new reality. Bought for an exorbitant sum from a black market crèche, her scan was originally acquired by the South American Mafia to manage and expand their vast business empire by seeking out patterns in everything from financial markets to sports betting pools. However, all 88 wants to do is find her mom. And unfortunately for 88’s masters, she has all the mental and technological resources at her disposal to break free of their virtual chains.
Books like Ghosts of Tomorrow make me wonder why Michael R. Fletcher isn’t a bigger deal in the world of science fiction and fantasy publishing. I don’t even enjoy cyberpunk all that much, but I fucking loved this. Dare I say, in some ways it even appealed to me more than his Manifest Delusions, and I certainly did not expect that when I started this novel. These are the kinds of stories I enjoy though, gripping narratives about darkly philosophical subjects with plenty of intrigue and in-your-face action and violence mixed in.
Speaking of which, do not read this book if you are squeamish or prefer only safe, happy, familiar topics—because here you will find the complete opposite of all that. Innovative and surprising at every turn, the story is as fresh, bloody and raw as a slab of butchered meat, and in truth, most of Fletcher’s work should probably come with a “Persons who are faint of heart should not experience this attraction” warning sticker. You would think I’d know to expect that by now, but even I was somewhat taken aback by the massive destruction and astounding death toll in this novel. And yet, it’s all part and parcel of the world-building—the casual dismemberments, decapitations, and massacres all feeding into this atmosphere of bleakness and chaos.
In fact, with the escalation in violence and stakes growing ever higher, you may even find yourself thinking, “No way, this has gone too far!” or “Nah, this isn’t gonna work!” But you’d be wrong. Under different circumstances, Ghosts of Tomorrow might have been just another mindless action novel devoid of any soul, but Fletcher’s talent with characterization turned this story into a gripping experience that I could emotionally connect with. While the most dangerous and powerful people in Beyond Redemption are the ones touched with insanity, the smartest and deadliest of characters in Ghosts of Tomorrow are those with the psychological maturity of children—because that is in fact what they are. Scans like 88 or Archaeidae are little more than frightened, emotionally damaged and uninhibited killer kids who see the world as a game board and human lives as expendable game pieces. Whether you love them or hate them, the author’s characters are always deep, complicated, and terrifyingly genuine.
Unflinchingly twisted and mind-bending, Ghosts of Tomorrow is a gem of a novel, guaranteed to get under your skin and stay with you for a very long time. Michael R. Fletcher has done it again, enrapturing me with another ripping good read.
Readers coming to Ghosts of Tomorrow from Michael R. Fletcher’s Manifest Delusions series will find its themes to be very different, I suspect. Interestingly though, this book actually predates Beyond Redemption, being a revamped and republished version of the author’s first novel, which was a futuristic cyberpunkish sci-fi dystopian called 88. Still, from the fascinating premise to the amazing setting and characters, it’s clear everything about this book is pure Fletcher—that is to say, grim, gritty, and violently gory. In a way, it’s good to know that some things have never changed. For a fan like me, it’s a comfort, even.
The story takes place in the near future, when most of the world’s countries have consolidated into continental trade unions in order to compete in the global market. Technology has come a long way too, with the advent of brain scans and the ability to transfer a deceased person’s mind into machines called chassis. Not quite human and yet not quite a computer, these scans have effectively become a source of slave labor. While they have sentience and retain most of the memories and personality they had in life, scans are more or less immortal and can be tweaked like any program, making them a highly sought after resource in almost every industry. Officially, people become scans voluntarily, but because demand outstrips supply, criminal organizations have capitalized by churning out their own black market scans in illegal crèches. It’s a horrifying process: children are either illicitly bred, bought, or stolen from their homes, put through forced conditioning, and then killed for their precious brains which are then scanned and sold. Certain boutique crèches have even sprung up, brainwashing and training children to become loyal, unquestioning fighters intended for combat and assassin chassis.
For his first assignment as a special investigator for the North American Trade Union, newly graduated agent Griffin Dickinson is tasked to crack down on such illegal crèches. Unfortunately, his inexperience also leaves him unprepared for the grisly consequences of failure. In another place, a seventeen-year-old Marine named Abdul is killed in the line of duty, but medics rescue enough of his brain and consciousness to give him a choice: become a scan and continue working for the military, or die for real. Meanwhile, the world says goodbye to Mark Lokner, founder and CEO of the world’s largest manufacturer of Scanning equipment. Before his death, he was also famously known for refusing to be scanned, though in fact, Mark’s mind lives on in Lokner 1.0, watching his own funeral from a hidden server stored in a secret facility in Redmond, Washington. And somewhere deep within mob territory in Costa Rica, the scanned mind of an autistic girl known only as 88 awakens to her new reality. Bought for an exorbitant sum from a black market crèche, her scan was originally acquired by the South American Mafia to manage and expand their vast business empire by seeking out patterns in everything from financial markets to sports betting pools. However, all 88 wants to do is find her mom. And unfortunately for 88’s masters, she has all the mental and technological resources at her disposal to break free of their virtual chains.
Books like Ghosts of Tomorrow make me wonder why Michael R. Fletcher isn’t a bigger deal in the world of science fiction and fantasy publishing. I don’t even enjoy cyberpunk all that much, but I fucking loved this. Dare I say, in some ways it even appealed to me more than his Manifest Delusions, and I certainly did not expect that when I started this novel. These are the kinds of stories I enjoy though, gripping narratives about darkly philosophical subjects with plenty of intrigue and in-your-face action and violence mixed in.
Speaking of which, do not read this book if you are squeamish or prefer only safe, happy, familiar topics—because here you will find the complete opposite of all that. Innovative and surprising at every turn, the story is as fresh, bloody and raw as a slab of butchered meat, and in truth, most of Fletcher’s work should probably come with a “Persons who are faint of heart should not experience this attraction” warning sticker. You would think I’d know to expect that by now, but even I was somewhat taken aback by the massive destruction and astounding death toll in this novel. And yet, it’s all part and parcel of the world-building—the casual dismemberments, decapitations, and massacres all feeding into this atmosphere of bleakness and chaos.
In fact, with the escalation in violence and stakes growing ever higher, you may even find yourself thinking, “No way, this has gone too far!” or “Nah, this isn’t gonna work!” But you’d be wrong. Under different circumstances, Ghosts of Tomorrow might have been just another mindless action novel devoid of any soul, but Fletcher’s talent with characterization turned this story into a gripping experience that I could emotionally connect with. While the most dangerous and powerful people in Beyond Redemption are the ones touched with insanity, the smartest and deadliest of characters in Ghosts of Tomorrow are those with the psychological maturity of children—because that is in fact what they are. Scans like 88 or Archaeidae are little more than frightened, emotionally damaged and uninhibited killer kids who see the world as a game board and human lives as expendable game pieces. Whether you love them or hate them, the author’s characters are always deep, complicated, and terrifyingly genuine.
Unflinchingly twisted and mind-bending, Ghosts of Tomorrow is a gem of a novel, guaranteed to get under your skin and stay with you for a very long time. Michael R. Fletcher has done it again, enrapturing me with another ripping good read.
August 27, 2018
I'm not a giant fan of the cyberpunk genre but I was a massive fan of Michael R. Fletcher's Beyond Redemption series so my hopes were pretty high for this book. Fletcher proved worthy of my trust as this ranked up there with Altered Carbon as one of the best cyberpunk books I've ever read. I'd actually rate this as one of the best dark sci-fi stories I've read in general!
The story was fast paced and engaging. New special investigation agent Griffin is thrown into the deep end on his first few field assignments. He is tasked with heading a team who's mission is to liberate the children from a black market crèche. As well as regular soldiers he is asked to take along state sanctioned reporter, Nadia, and a state of the art combat chassis Abdul. The investigations lead the team to come into conflict with mafia, scans (children from the crèches that have been uploaded to combat chassis), and even powerful leaders in the economic and technology industry! They also come up against 88, the mind of an autistic girl, hand picked by South American mafia to run their stock investments. 88 has no interest in remaining a slave of the mafia and launches her own moves to free herself and secure her future!
The world as an intriguing one. We got a near future sci-fi (around the 2060s) setting. The North American Trade Union (NATU) was the setting for most of the story. It was one of a number of similar unions that ruled regions of the world. The future was a bit bleak for humanity as the effects of climate change was just starting to take effect. Scanning was the other big development. With AI tech not up to scratch the alternative of scanning the human brain to power computers and machines has become a viable possibility. The tech is still new and destroys the human brain so only the dying are signing up. Fletcher's take on the continuing development of the technology, both the abuses and the unforeseen consequences, were this stories real strength!
The characters were a decent enough bunch and a good mix of personalities. I probably liked combat chassis Abdul and 88 the best of the bunch but most of the characters had plenty to offer to the story. Abdul was a 17 year old soldier who died in combat and was offered the chance to continue his service to the army as a scanned mind while 88 was the scanned mind of a murdered autistic girl. Both proved fascinating characters! They also let Fletcher paint us a dark but intriguing tale of a post human future.
All in all this story was really engaging and enjoyable. Fletcher has a fun writing style and his dark take on the future was an unforgettable one! This was a really dark story at times but I feel like the real strength of Fletcher's books is that he never goes too bleak or nihilistic in tone. The dark happenings are mitigated by having a bit of humour thrown in and by the general storytelling style being detached enough that it mitigates a lot of the horror. I also felt like the balance was perfect as while this was a super dark vision of the future it never got too bleak and depressing.
Rating: 4.5 Stars.
Audio Note: I was not a giant fan of Rosa B. Watkinson. Mainly because I was not a big fan of her accent or characters voices. Though I get that is a very subjective opinion. The only actual flaw she had was the occasional weird pronunciation of a word and the occasional bit of stilted delivery. She was not my favourite but she was passable and did not hinder my ability to enjoy the story.
The story was fast paced and engaging. New special investigation agent Griffin is thrown into the deep end on his first few field assignments. He is tasked with heading a team who's mission is to liberate the children from a black market crèche. As well as regular soldiers he is asked to take along state sanctioned reporter, Nadia, and a state of the art combat chassis Abdul. The investigations lead the team to come into conflict with mafia, scans (children from the crèches that have been uploaded to combat chassis), and even powerful leaders in the economic and technology industry! They also come up against 88, the mind of an autistic girl, hand picked by South American mafia to run their stock investments. 88 has no interest in remaining a slave of the mafia and launches her own moves to free herself and secure her future!
The world as an intriguing one. We got a near future sci-fi (around the 2060s) setting. The North American Trade Union (NATU) was the setting for most of the story. It was one of a number of similar unions that ruled regions of the world. The future was a bit bleak for humanity as the effects of climate change was just starting to take effect. Scanning was the other big development. With AI tech not up to scratch the alternative of scanning the human brain to power computers and machines has become a viable possibility. The tech is still new and destroys the human brain so only the dying are signing up. Fletcher's take on the continuing development of the technology, both the abuses and the unforeseen consequences, were this stories real strength!
The characters were a decent enough bunch and a good mix of personalities. I probably liked combat chassis Abdul and 88 the best of the bunch but most of the characters had plenty to offer to the story. Abdul was a 17 year old soldier who died in combat and was offered the chance to continue his service to the army as a scanned mind while 88 was the scanned mind of a murdered autistic girl. Both proved fascinating characters! They also let Fletcher paint us a dark but intriguing tale of a post human future.
All in all this story was really engaging and enjoyable. Fletcher has a fun writing style and his dark take on the future was an unforgettable one! This was a really dark story at times but I feel like the real strength of Fletcher's books is that he never goes too bleak or nihilistic in tone. The dark happenings are mitigated by having a bit of humour thrown in and by the general storytelling style being detached enough that it mitigates a lot of the horror. I also felt like the balance was perfect as while this was a super dark vision of the future it never got too bleak and depressing.
Rating: 4.5 Stars.
Audio Note: I was not a giant fan of Rosa B. Watkinson. Mainly because I was not a big fan of her accent or characters voices. Though I get that is a very subjective opinion. The only actual flaw she had was the occasional weird pronunciation of a word and the occasional bit of stilted delivery. She was not my favourite but she was passable and did not hinder my ability to enjoy the story.
May 12, 2017
Originally reviewed at Bookwraiths.
I’ve come to the realization that Michael Fletcher is among my favorite writers. Whether it is the fantasy insanity of Beyond Redemption or this cyberpunk vision of the future, he finds the perfect balance between madness and sentiment, poignance and action to keep me turning the pages. The guy never writes a bad story. At least, in my opinion, and Ghosts of Tomorrow is yet another amazing novel.
Step into the future. The world is carved up into huge multi-national Trade Unions. There is peace, of a sort. But the world itself has drastically changed due to environmental issues; people forced to wear breathing masks due to the air pollution, deal with power shortages, and brave unbearable heat nearly all year round. Thank God, they have a supercharged internet, superpowered computers, and near superhuman robots to deal with all the annoying shit in life.
There is one problem though. All that amazing technology requires huge amounts of processing power. So much that the artificial intelligence of the time can’t provide enough. In fact, the only processor able to supply the required power is the human brain itself.
A whole new technology springs into existence. Special computers and software created to transfer a digital copy of the human consciousness (dubbed Brain Scans) into a computer. These digitized versions of people used to control every sort of airplane, vehicle, computer and robotic device in the world!
Only one problem: the transfer process kills the person. Not many healthy humans lining up to trade a real life for immortality as a brain scan. And so the demand for human brains exceeds the people willing to undergo the “life-changing” procedure.
But human ingenuity always rises to the occasion. Black market “creches” popping up across the globe. Young children abducted or purchased like livestock, raised in inhuman conditions until their brain scans are harvested for the highest bidder. Genetic manipulation of fetuses even used to create autistic children whose brain power is directed toward specific areas of learning. All of this very illegal and very profitable for the bastards doing it.
Enter our cast of characters. From North American Trade Union (NATU) official Griffin Dickinson to tech mogul Mark Lokner, from Gunnery Sergeant (and Brain Scan) Abdul to Miles the computer genius, from autistic child 88 to deadly assassin Archaeidae, Ghosts takes you into each of their lives. Their individual parts in the overall narrative action-packed, gritty, sad, funny, and terribly, terribly believable. The final resolution not so much a conclusion as an ending where the reader finally is able to take a well deserved rest.
There are so many things which worked in Ghosts. But since I always criticize authors when they forget to create engaging characters, I think it only fair I start with that aspect of this book. And, without a doubt, Michael Fletcher does an amazing job introducing readers to this diverse cast and making you feel like you know everyone of them. He doesn’t waste time giving tons of back story on them either, merely reveals everything you need to know as the story rockets forward from exciting event to exciting event. Every person from brain scan to injured, exhausted NATU investigator coming alive; their individual quirks, annoying habits, and dreadful inspirations so easy to learn, empathize with, and hate. Reading the final sentence of the book difficult, because you have grown to like these people and still want to know so much more about where they go from here.
As for this cyberpunk world, it is another homerun for Fletcher. His world building spectacularly done. Many times cyberpunk worlds are too damn strange, too far-fetched, or too unrealistic compared to the 21st Century we all live in to be easily accepted. But every single technological, environmental, societal, or political element of this future earth was very realistic and grown so organically from the current status quo that I never once found it hard to grasp, understand, or believe could very easily take place in the future. Quite frankly, it was terribly real – like in the Matrix way, where you wake up like Neo and discover you’re a damn battery. Scary stuff.
There is even time in all the frenetic action for more than a few moments of dark humor and philosophy. No, they do not happen all the time, but they are there, at well timed intervals. The chuckles and laughs breaking up the horrors of what is going on around these people. The morality of transhumanism causing the gory violence to mean more, as it demands that reader decide for themselves what they believe is right or wrong in the eternal effort to uplift humankind.
As for criticisms of the book, I don’t have any. Well, I take that back; I do have one. Where is the next book, dammit! I mean, you can’t leave someone with a final line like that and an epilogue like that and not tell us what happens next, Michael Fletcher!
Ghosts of Tomorrow is a high octane book which wows with its amazing characters, extreme violence, poignant moments, dark humor, and horrific world of tomorrow. Plus the cover is damn amazing. I mean, a four-armed robotic assassin, wielding samurai swords and six guns while wearing a duster and a cowboy hat? What the hell else do you need to know before buying this one already?
I’ve come to the realization that Michael Fletcher is among my favorite writers. Whether it is the fantasy insanity of Beyond Redemption or this cyberpunk vision of the future, he finds the perfect balance between madness and sentiment, poignance and action to keep me turning the pages. The guy never writes a bad story. At least, in my opinion, and Ghosts of Tomorrow is yet another amazing novel.
Step into the future. The world is carved up into huge multi-national Trade Unions. There is peace, of a sort. But the world itself has drastically changed due to environmental issues; people forced to wear breathing masks due to the air pollution, deal with power shortages, and brave unbearable heat nearly all year round. Thank God, they have a supercharged internet, superpowered computers, and near superhuman robots to deal with all the annoying shit in life.
There is one problem though. All that amazing technology requires huge amounts of processing power. So much that the artificial intelligence of the time can’t provide enough. In fact, the only processor able to supply the required power is the human brain itself.
A whole new technology springs into existence. Special computers and software created to transfer a digital copy of the human consciousness (dubbed Brain Scans) into a computer. These digitized versions of people used to control every sort of airplane, vehicle, computer and robotic device in the world!
Only one problem: the transfer process kills the person. Not many healthy humans lining up to trade a real life for immortality as a brain scan. And so the demand for human brains exceeds the people willing to undergo the “life-changing” procedure.
But human ingenuity always rises to the occasion. Black market “creches” popping up across the globe. Young children abducted or purchased like livestock, raised in inhuman conditions until their brain scans are harvested for the highest bidder. Genetic manipulation of fetuses even used to create autistic children whose brain power is directed toward specific areas of learning. All of this very illegal and very profitable for the bastards doing it.
Enter our cast of characters. From North American Trade Union (NATU) official Griffin Dickinson to tech mogul Mark Lokner, from Gunnery Sergeant (and Brain Scan) Abdul to Miles the computer genius, from autistic child 88 to deadly assassin Archaeidae, Ghosts takes you into each of their lives. Their individual parts in the overall narrative action-packed, gritty, sad, funny, and terribly, terribly believable. The final resolution not so much a conclusion as an ending where the reader finally is able to take a well deserved rest.
There are so many things which worked in Ghosts. But since I always criticize authors when they forget to create engaging characters, I think it only fair I start with that aspect of this book. And, without a doubt, Michael Fletcher does an amazing job introducing readers to this diverse cast and making you feel like you know everyone of them. He doesn’t waste time giving tons of back story on them either, merely reveals everything you need to know as the story rockets forward from exciting event to exciting event. Every person from brain scan to injured, exhausted NATU investigator coming alive; their individual quirks, annoying habits, and dreadful inspirations so easy to learn, empathize with, and hate. Reading the final sentence of the book difficult, because you have grown to like these people and still want to know so much more about where they go from here.
As for this cyberpunk world, it is another homerun for Fletcher. His world building spectacularly done. Many times cyberpunk worlds are too damn strange, too far-fetched, or too unrealistic compared to the 21st Century we all live in to be easily accepted. But every single technological, environmental, societal, or political element of this future earth was very realistic and grown so organically from the current status quo that I never once found it hard to grasp, understand, or believe could very easily take place in the future. Quite frankly, it was terribly real – like in the Matrix way, where you wake up like Neo and discover you’re a damn battery. Scary stuff.
There is even time in all the frenetic action for more than a few moments of dark humor and philosophy. No, they do not happen all the time, but they are there, at well timed intervals. The chuckles and laughs breaking up the horrors of what is going on around these people. The morality of transhumanism causing the gory violence to mean more, as it demands that reader decide for themselves what they believe is right or wrong in the eternal effort to uplift humankind.
As for criticisms of the book, I don’t have any. Well, I take that back; I do have one. Where is the next book, dammit! I mean, you can’t leave someone with a final line like that and an epilogue like that and not tell us what happens next, Michael Fletcher!
Ghosts of Tomorrow is a high octane book which wows with its amazing characters, extreme violence, poignant moments, dark humor, and horrific world of tomorrow. Plus the cover is damn amazing. I mean, a four-armed robotic assassin, wielding samurai swords and six guns while wearing a duster and a cowboy hat? What the hell else do you need to know before buying this one already?
June 8, 2017
Damn. This is an amazing book. Like, Grimdark William Gibson and Philip K. Dick take on Robocop, officiated by Orson Scott Card. Cyberpunk returned, with a vengeance. And dark. Grimpunk. Cyberdark. Punkdark, maybe.
I'm not sure what I expected from this, but being familiar with Fletcher's work, and totally sucked in by the cover, I had to give it a shot. I'm really glad I did. Strange but relatable characters in a bizarre and nasty future, extremely well drawn with incredible action scenes, and imaginative as hell. Gut-wrenchingly brutal, balanced with feeling, and amazing detail. Yeah. Kind of speechless, really. So, I guess, read it so you can be too.
I'm not sure what I expected from this, but being familiar with Fletcher's work, and totally sucked in by the cover, I had to give it a shot. I'm really glad I did. Strange but relatable characters in a bizarre and nasty future, extremely well drawn with incredible action scenes, and imaginative as hell. Gut-wrenchingly brutal, balanced with feeling, and amazing detail. Yeah. Kind of speechless, really. So, I guess, read it so you can be too.
November 16, 2020
I'm reconsidering my ratings and I'm not giving five stars as easily as before, but in this case it is fair if I give this novel 4 stars.
In the year 2000 it was The Golden Age by John C. Wright; in the year 2010, The Quantum Thief by Hannu Rajaniemi; and now in 2017, this one.
Ghosts of Tomorrow is a cyberpunk story with a hard scent of transhumanism. The intrigue is very good, along with a great sense of wonder in this crazy future in 2046. High violent scenes, “lovely” characters and funny dialogues (human/human, human/machine and also machine/machine).
I highly recommend this book.
In the year 2000 it was The Golden Age by John C. Wright; in the year 2010, The Quantum Thief by Hannu Rajaniemi; and now in 2017, this one.
Ghosts of Tomorrow is a cyberpunk story with a hard scent of transhumanism. The intrigue is very good, along with a great sense of wonder in this crazy future in 2046. High violent scenes, “lovely” characters and funny dialogues (human/human, human/machine and also machine/machine).
I highly recommend this book.
June 6, 2018
Done With Mirrors?
This Fletcher guy and his mirrors! Here we get a cyber-virtual near-future version, but a lot of this stuff is done with smoke and... mirrors. Or scans.. combat chassis. What's not to love?
This Fletcher guy and his mirrors! Here we get a cyber-virtual near-future version, but a lot of this stuff is done with smoke and... mirrors. Or scans.. combat chassis. What's not to love?
March 13, 2017
I remember reading Neuromancer back in 1993 (aye, I'm an old fart), when cyberpunk was so huge even Billy Idol released a record by the title of, go figure, "Cyberpunk". I didn't like Gibson's book one bit as I found it to be an utter mess, and I didn't like Billy Idol's cd either as, again, it was... it was shite, utter shite, the biggest load of wank he ever published. Three years later I gave William Gibson another chance and got myself a copy of Virtual Light, and once again I didn't like the bastard, I bloody loathed it. Bottomline: cyberpunk's not my cup of tea. Fuck cyberpunk, both literally and musically.
Now enters Michael R. Fletcher with his take on cyberpunk. And well, I'll tell you what? He's no William Gibson, alright. And I mean that in the best possible way. "Ghosts of Tomorrow" is an action packed rocket-ride, gritty and, most of all, believable.
So anyway, this charming Canadian bloke has released three books so far, and they're all five star material. I guess I've found my new favourite author, hey.
Grammar nazi bit: Chapter 7 - "Quelle merde totale " - I'm the greasiest of all greasy wops, so trust me on this one, it's actually "quelle merde totali ".
Now enters Michael R. Fletcher with his take on cyberpunk. And well, I'll tell you what? He's no William Gibson, alright. And I mean that in the best possible way. "Ghosts of Tomorrow" is an action packed rocket-ride, gritty and, most of all, believable.
So anyway, this charming Canadian bloke has released three books so far, and they're all five star material. I guess I've found my new favourite author, hey.
Grammar nazi bit: Chapter 7 - "Quelle merde totale " - I'm the greasiest of all greasy wops, so trust me on this one, it's actually "quelle merde totali ".
June 22, 2022
Another dose of bloody perfection from who is now truly cemented as my favourite author. Well, alongside my favourite favourite author, Lionel Shriver.
Fletcher's imagination and creativity is staggering. Now, I like Joe Abercrombie as much as the next grimdark junkie but his books are all variations on a theme, same sort of people, same sort of place, same sort of humour, same sort of bloody murder. But each of Fletcher's books blows my mind in a completely different way. No pseudo-medieval sword-wielding killers here!
Here we have a cyberpunk story about scanning people's minds and uploading them into computers and robots. Except in Grimdarkland. Think enslavement of human consciousness, brainwashing of small children to create perfect killing machines, extreme violence and a land where computer nerds have a leg up.
It was crafty, fast-paced, full of the unexpected, morally suspect, and thoroughly satisfying. I'm amazed it's a reworking of his first book. Highly recommend.
Fletcher's imagination and creativity is staggering. Now, I like Joe Abercrombie as much as the next grimdark junkie but his books are all variations on a theme, same sort of people, same sort of place, same sort of humour, same sort of bloody murder. But each of Fletcher's books blows my mind in a completely different way. No pseudo-medieval sword-wielding killers here!
Here we have a cyberpunk story about scanning people's minds and uploading them into computers and robots. Except in Grimdarkland. Think enslavement of human consciousness, brainwashing of small children to create perfect killing machines, extreme violence and a land where computer nerds have a leg up.
It was crafty, fast-paced, full of the unexpected, morally suspect, and thoroughly satisfying. I'm amazed it's a reworking of his first book. Highly recommend.
July 28, 2018
4.5/5
Brilliant and excellent.
As I'm preparing for holidays , I probably won't have time to write a proper review.
So let me repeat: brilliant and immersive
Brilliant and excellent.
As I'm preparing for holidays , I probably won't have time to write a proper review.
So let me repeat: brilliant and immersive
April 12, 2017
Michael R. Fletcher's Ghosts of Tomorrow is a super duper hotcake dystopic, cyberpunk, revenge-thriller, science fiction. When Mr. Fletcher revealed the cover of Ghosts of Tomorrow, I was a goner. Then he was kind enough to offer an ARC.
Ghosts of Tomorrow has an impressive beginning (I am going to use a thesaurus today, need a lot of adjectives to cut down the curses). Right from the first line, I was hooked. A complex plot with a vast array of characters, some human, some not, the book is never tedious or slow. The tone shifts from light to dark to heavy to emotional and the pieces are woven with strong action. However, the pace or the suspense never falters. Mr. Fletcher has not only conceived and gestated a fascinating concept, but he has the power to tell a story. Ghost, in Fletcher's world, have a different form of existence. I had never thought the word creche could mean something inhuman. Last year, I had read an article about parents thinking about induced autism to increase their children's aptitude and intelligence. I hadn't known about Ghosts then. Fletcher has used a similar concept to such extent that he has shown us the future.
The large question of morality hangs on our head as we proceed with the story. But not for once does the author preach on his philosophy. He tells us a story and lets us decide what to make out of it.
The characters are introduced with a little background infused into their current status in such manner that backstory never pulls the pace of the narrative down. The actions scenes are violent and gory. The emotions run raw and deep.
88 is one of my favorite characters from the book. 88's fixation on the cracks on the walls is a recurrent phenomenon and a heart-rending reference to her situation and background. Griffin, the anchor of the book, not only serves his purpose but makes you want to root for him. I loved Abdul. I wish he would kill someone for me. No, don't get any ideas. I am not hiring an assassin, and he is not for hire.
Fletcher's language hovers between dark humor and poignant, using the right style and sense at the right moment. He gives the reader enough freedom to feel. To understand each character and their actions. The ending is beautiful. Another set of my favorite dialogs from the book are the last few lines which I can't quote for you. Want to avoid spoilers. I found the short epilog satisfying.
5 Bohostars
Ghosts of Tomorrow has an impressive beginning (I am going to use a thesaurus today, need a lot of adjectives to cut down the curses). Right from the first line, I was hooked. A complex plot with a vast array of characters, some human, some not, the book is never tedious or slow. The tone shifts from light to dark to heavy to emotional and the pieces are woven with strong action. However, the pace or the suspense never falters. Mr. Fletcher has not only conceived and gestated a fascinating concept, but he has the power to tell a story. Ghost, in Fletcher's world, have a different form of existence. I had never thought the word creche could mean something inhuman. Last year, I had read an article about parents thinking about induced autism to increase their children's aptitude and intelligence. I hadn't known about Ghosts then. Fletcher has used a similar concept to such extent that he has shown us the future.
The large question of morality hangs on our head as we proceed with the story. But not for once does the author preach on his philosophy. He tells us a story and lets us decide what to make out of it.
The characters are introduced with a little background infused into their current status in such manner that backstory never pulls the pace of the narrative down. The actions scenes are violent and gory. The emotions run raw and deep.
88 is one of my favorite characters from the book. 88's fixation on the cracks on the walls is a recurrent phenomenon and a heart-rending reference to her situation and background. Griffin, the anchor of the book, not only serves his purpose but makes you want to root for him. I loved Abdul. I wish he would kill someone for me. No, don't get any ideas. I am not hiring an assassin, and he is not for hire.
Fletcher's language hovers between dark humor and poignant, using the right style and sense at the right moment. He gives the reader enough freedom to feel. To understand each character and their actions. The ending is beautiful. Another set of my favorite dialogs from the book are the last few lines which I can't quote for you. Want to avoid spoilers. I found the short epilog satisfying.
5 Bohostars
August 5, 2020
This one started of quite... Lets call it gorey. While the start really was nothing to laugh about, but rather actually feel a bit sick, it soon progressed on to being grim, dark, and full of black humor. I chuckled along, interspersed with some evil witch laughter. I don't know if you are supposed to laugh at main characters getting stabbed, or otherwise dead, but I enjoyed every page along the way!
This story manages to have you laughing one paragraph, and have you shudder and think "oh dear, where is our world headed" in the next. I always liked having serious topics packaged in some sarcasm and humor, and this book matched my sense of humor and also my interest to expand my views on the world, and "what ifs".
Besides the dark humor, what I absolutely loved are the characters! I have always been a friend of the non human characters like Mr Data or The Doctor from Star Trek - and I absolutely loved the scans in this story. Fletcher managed to balance them not being human, but still having some human traits. I fell in love with 88 right away, and with Archaeidae soon after. Griffin was also a great relatable character, who grew a lot from start to end.
The prose was fluent, and stepped nicely to the background, so that I could fully drop into the story, and not notice I'm actually reading.
I enjoyed it so much, I ordered a signed copy right after finishing the last page - so I can definitely recommend this one, if you aren't squeamish and do like it on the bloody side, with quite some sarcasm. It was a pleasure to read!
This story manages to have you laughing one paragraph, and have you shudder and think "oh dear, where is our world headed" in the next. I always liked having serious topics packaged in some sarcasm and humor, and this book matched my sense of humor and also my interest to expand my views on the world, and "what ifs".
Besides the dark humor, what I absolutely loved are the characters! I have always been a friend of the non human characters like Mr Data or The Doctor from Star Trek - and I absolutely loved the scans in this story. Fletcher managed to balance them not being human, but still having some human traits. I fell in love with 88 right away, and with Archaeidae soon after. Griffin was also a great relatable character, who grew a lot from start to end.
The prose was fluent, and stepped nicely to the background, so that I could fully drop into the story, and not notice I'm actually reading.
I enjoyed it so much, I ordered a signed copy right after finishing the last page - so I can definitely recommend this one, if you aren't squeamish and do like it on the bloody side, with quite some sarcasm. It was a pleasure to read!
May 11, 2017
Ako volite Ghost in the Shell i druge slicne post human price ova knjiga ce vam odlicno leci. Ima odlicnu kombinaciju pseudo nauke (naravno), robota, trziste kradje i zloupotrebe dece (brrrrrr) i sve spakovano u pricu koja te ne pusta od pocetka do kraja.
Prica je teska, teme koje pokriva nisu ni malo naivne. Ako ocekujete happy end... pa nemojte.
Iskreno receno ne znam sta jos reci (to je problem kada su knjige dobre, nemam materijala za kukanje :P ) sem ako volite grimdark naucnu fantastiku samo navalite.
Prica je teska, teme koje pokriva nisu ni malo naivne. Ako ocekujete happy end... pa nemojte.
Iskreno receno ne znam sta jos reci (to je problem kada su knjige dobre, nemam materijala za kukanje :P ) sem ako volite grimdark naucnu fantastiku samo navalite.
October 28, 2018
Very dark and brutal, but brilliant. Humour shines the brightest in this darkness.
Writing reminded me somewhat of Abercrombie. I think it's a combination of darkness and humour, philosophy and great combat scenes, with the punch lines that give you goosebumps. The plot on the other hand has some parallels with Takeshi Kovacs. Both are my favourites, so needless to say - it ticked the right boxes.
Few grumbles:
Too many PoVs for a standalone book. They are done well, but still slow down the progress in the first half of the book.
Too grim - if there is such a thing for the grimdark's lover. Despite the humour sometimes reading this book felt like a punch in the gut.
Recommended for grimdark readers, Takeshi Kovacs fans, darker sci-fi/cyberpunk lovers.
Writing reminded me somewhat of Abercrombie. I think it's a combination of darkness and humour, philosophy and great combat scenes, with the punch lines that give you goosebumps. The plot on the other hand has some parallels with Takeshi Kovacs. Both are my favourites, so needless to say - it ticked the right boxes.
Few grumbles:
Too many PoVs for a standalone book. They are done well, but still slow down the progress in the first half of the book.
Too grim - if there is such a thing for the grimdark's lover. Despite the humour sometimes reading this book felt like a punch in the gut.
Recommended for grimdark readers, Takeshi Kovacs fans, darker sci-fi/cyberpunk lovers.
May 15, 2022
I discovered Fletcher' work a bit over a year ago through his grim dark Manifest Delusions fantasy series. Absolutely loved it. Here Fletcher tries his hand sci-fi and again for me hits one out of the park. In Ghosts of Tomorrow, the evil MSoft Corporation is becoming rich stuffing the scanned brains of people into robots on the promise of making them immortal. Only problem: You may become a medical bot, factory worker, assassin, or garbage truck depending on who buys your scan. The most valuable scans are--major trigger warning--children because their brains are most malleable. No one survives the scanning process.
Enter 88, an autistic savant child mind who escapes her cell of computer code to search for her mother. She collides with MSoft and the scanned mind of CEO Mark Lockner in a battle for that fate of the planet. Trying to stop the mayhem, the hapless, hoping to be a hero, human Agent Griffin Dickenson, on his first day on the job.
Fear not. Ghosts is not all 1s and 0s. Even computers need physical help--IT folk to keep the machines running, combat bots to protect them, and assassins to infiltrate and destroy the enemy.
Ghosts is fast paced, kinetic, frenetic and visceral. An action comic in novel form. Recommended if you like action packed sci-fi and can get past the trigger warning.
PS: It was interesting to read this novel at the same time as Martha Wells' terrific Murderbot series. Two wildly different takes on human/machine AI.
Enter 88, an autistic savant child mind who escapes her cell of computer code to search for her mother. She collides with MSoft and the scanned mind of CEO Mark Lockner in a battle for that fate of the planet. Trying to stop the mayhem, the hapless, hoping to be a hero, human Agent Griffin Dickenson, on his first day on the job.
Fear not. Ghosts is not all 1s and 0s. Even computers need physical help--IT folk to keep the machines running, combat bots to protect them, and assassins to infiltrate and destroy the enemy.
Ghosts is fast paced, kinetic, frenetic and visceral. An action comic in novel form. Recommended if you like action packed sci-fi and can get past the trigger warning.
PS: It was interesting to read this novel at the same time as Martha Wells' terrific Murderbot series. Two wildly different takes on human/machine AI.
July 30, 2017
Just finished and I have to say it was a pretty damned good book. I will have a full review sometime soon... or in a long time but at some point at least. But for now just read it It is Wildly original with non stop action but an amazing amount of depth as well.
January 17, 2020
TLDR: Among the best cyberpunk / dystopia books I've read.
Writing: Michael R. Fletcher won a fan with Ghosts of Tomorrow. Fletcher's writing reminds me a lot of Martha Wells, which is a very good thing. Clear, and to the point.
Characters: The characters were a lot of fun. Competently written "action movie" characters that are organically developed via storytelling. Definitely my preference for an action / cyberpunk novel.
Setting: The setting is a pretty standard near future dystopia. Nothing really special, but the focus is more on story and characters. Like the well done characters, Fletcher seemed to know just the right level of description for the story world to make it fit perfectly into the story.
Story: The story was great fun. Action packed, again, with just the right amount of description. Plenty of plot twists, no dead spots (in my opinion), just the right amount of build up and tension, fantastic humor. There are quite a few characters, and the story switches perspective between them from chapter to chapter, but it was done well, and I really enjoyed it. The characters were different and interesting enough the changes in perspective always added, and never detracted from my enjoyment. The story is very dark, but if you are OK with Game of Thrones, you'll be OK here. The violence and dark tones are story appropriate, and don't feel gratuitous.
Overall: Like Martha Wells Murderbot Diaries, I had a lot of fun reading Ghosts of Tomorrow, and I'm very happy to have read them so close together. I'm hoping to do a buddy read of Fletcher's Manifest Delusions series in the not-too-distant future.
Recommended for: Adults who enjoy a dark, and gritty cyberpunk action masterpiece.
Writing: Michael R. Fletcher won a fan with Ghosts of Tomorrow. Fletcher's writing reminds me a lot of Martha Wells, which is a very good thing. Clear, and to the point.
Characters: The characters were a lot of fun. Competently written "action movie" characters that are organically developed via storytelling. Definitely my preference for an action / cyberpunk novel.
Setting: The setting is a pretty standard near future dystopia. Nothing really special, but the focus is more on story and characters. Like the well done characters, Fletcher seemed to know just the right level of description for the story world to make it fit perfectly into the story.
Story: The story was great fun. Action packed, again, with just the right amount of description. Plenty of plot twists, no dead spots (in my opinion), just the right amount of build up and tension, fantastic humor. There are quite a few characters, and the story switches perspective between them from chapter to chapter, but it was done well, and I really enjoyed it. The characters were different and interesting enough the changes in perspective always added, and never detracted from my enjoyment. The story is very dark, but if you are OK with Game of Thrones, you'll be OK here. The violence and dark tones are story appropriate, and don't feel gratuitous.
Overall: Like Martha Wells Murderbot Diaries, I had a lot of fun reading Ghosts of Tomorrow, and I'm very happy to have read them so close together. I'm hoping to do a buddy read of Fletcher's Manifest Delusions series in the not-too-distant future.
Recommended for: Adults who enjoy a dark, and gritty cyberpunk action masterpiece.
February 23, 2017
Formidable, violent, and fun as hell.
I loved it.
Full review to come.
I loved it.
Full review to come.
July 16, 2021
Ghosts of Tomorrow is a book that stands in a very interesting place as it did so many things well and yet I just could not enjoy myself. The writing was solid, the plot was thrilling and I loved the worldbuilding. I even liked it so much that at the start I was more than certain that this book would be getting either 4 or 5 stars. Everything felt completely right and I was pulled in by the cyberpunk atmosphere and then the author started switching PoVs. I swear it felt to me like any time I got remotely interested in someone the author swapped a PoV and moved on with someone else. Over time this irked me so badly that even though the novel is solid I could not enjoy any other aspects because I did not build up an attachment to most of the cast. We were getting new people to follow even in the last fifth of the book and it was just too overwhelming for me. Now despite this I think the groundwork is super solid and I am more than certain that other people would love this book but it just was not for me.
July 6, 2018
If Philip K. Dick had stayed up for four days straight taking heroic dose after heroic dose of LSD while reading and rereading Neuromancer with The Matrix trilogy and an array of mech animes playing in the background then stayed up four more days doing nothing but writing while under the influence of amphetamines, Ghosts of Tomorrow would’ve been the result.
Fletcher—whom, in the interest of full disclosure, I guess I’m sort of friends with, in the Facebook sense of the word—has continually wowed me with his brand of batshittery. The guy is a madman of the highest order, and his writing displays that consistently. Ghosts of Tomorrow is a wild, frenetically paced roller coaster of WTF that gets crazier and crazier as it goes on. It’s his first novel (well, technically a rerelease of his first novel, formally titled 88, apparently with some changes made, though I cannot speak to what those might be) and if you’ve read any of his Manifest Delusions series you can see Fletcher toying with some of the themes and motifs he uses there (mirror images, insanity, etc.). The similarities end there, however, as Fletcher has something completely different in store for you here.
It’s a fun, ridiculous page turner that I couldn’t put down. Robots, AI, disembodied intelligence trapped in the Internet, secret agents, explosions, samurai, six-shooters, beginnings of the apocalypse....Ghosts has it all. It’s mind bending genre at its most fun. Will read again.
Fletcher—whom, in the interest of full disclosure, I guess I’m sort of friends with, in the Facebook sense of the word—has continually wowed me with his brand of batshittery. The guy is a madman of the highest order, and his writing displays that consistently. Ghosts of Tomorrow is a wild, frenetically paced roller coaster of WTF that gets crazier and crazier as it goes on. It’s his first novel (well, technically a rerelease of his first novel, formally titled 88, apparently with some changes made, though I cannot speak to what those might be) and if you’ve read any of his Manifest Delusions series you can see Fletcher toying with some of the themes and motifs he uses there (mirror images, insanity, etc.). The similarities end there, however, as Fletcher has something completely different in store for you here.
It’s a fun, ridiculous page turner that I couldn’t put down. Robots, AI, disembodied intelligence trapped in the Internet, secret agents, explosions, samurai, six-shooters, beginnings of the apocalypse....Ghosts has it all. It’s mind bending genre at its most fun. Will read again.
March 8, 2017
Review originally posted here: http://thequeenofblades.blogspot.co.u...
4.5 stars
*I received an ARC from the author in exchange for an honest review*
Michael R. Fletcher takes a break from torturing the sane characters of the Manifest Delusions world and instead decides to torture us all with scary predictions of the future...
What makes a good sci-fi?
For me, more than anything I need to 'see' the portrayed reality actually happening. I need to believe it can happen. In this instance I can absolutely see it happening. I believe wholeheartedly that at some point someone will be successfully transfer consciousness into a computer, whether or not we continue the practice is a different story. I believe the climate will change, fossil fuels will deplete. The world that Fletcher has created here is terrifyingly close to what our own future almost certainly holds.
But aside from all that what also makes a good sci-fi is fun. Ghosts of Tomorrow is expertly balanced between incredibly depressing prediction and thrilling delight. This has bucket loads of fun! How he managed to pull it off I don't know. Hats off to you sir!
There is are so many different parts to love about this book, it's a combination of my favourite things in film/tv/video games. The relationship between Griffin and Abdul is brilliant. Their dogged determination reminded me of the old buddy-cop movies. Griffin may only be holding it together with a few stitches and a handful of painkillers and Abdul may be on the verge of unstable, but they're gonna solve this case! Can someone please make this film?
Archaeidae and 88, on the other hand, both have a beautiful innocence. Both victims of a terrible tragedy, one longing to be free, one longing only to please. Both are slaves to circumstance. I loved witnessing them grow as characters.
Another thing to love is that cover! It made me sit up and pay attention for sure. Who doesn't want to know about the samurai-cowboy robot? It's cool. People still say cool, right?
I should come away from this feeling worried about the direction our technology and our lack of care towards the planet is leading us down a irreversible course. A small part of me does, but it's overshadowed by how much genuinely ridiculous fun this was!
4.5 stars
*I received an ARC from the author in exchange for an honest review*
Michael R. Fletcher takes a break from torturing the sane characters of the Manifest Delusions world and instead decides to torture us all with scary predictions of the future...
What makes a good sci-fi?
For me, more than anything I need to 'see' the portrayed reality actually happening. I need to believe it can happen. In this instance I can absolutely see it happening. I believe wholeheartedly that at some point someone will be successfully transfer consciousness into a computer, whether or not we continue the practice is a different story. I believe the climate will change, fossil fuels will deplete. The world that Fletcher has created here is terrifyingly close to what our own future almost certainly holds.
But aside from all that what also makes a good sci-fi is fun. Ghosts of Tomorrow is expertly balanced between incredibly depressing prediction and thrilling delight. This has bucket loads of fun! How he managed to pull it off I don't know. Hats off to you sir!
There is are so many different parts to love about this book, it's a combination of my favourite things in film/tv/video games. The relationship between Griffin and Abdul is brilliant. Their dogged determination reminded me of the old buddy-cop movies. Griffin may only be holding it together with a few stitches and a handful of painkillers and Abdul may be on the verge of unstable, but they're gonna solve this case! Can someone please make this film?
Archaeidae and 88, on the other hand, both have a beautiful innocence. Both victims of a terrible tragedy, one longing to be free, one longing only to please. Both are slaves to circumstance. I loved witnessing them grow as characters.
Another thing to love is that cover! It made me sit up and pay attention for sure. Who doesn't want to know about the samurai-cowboy robot? It's cool. People still say cool, right?
I should come away from this feeling worried about the direction our technology and our lack of care towards the planet is leading us down a irreversible course. A small part of me does, but it's overshadowed by how much genuinely ridiculous fun this was!
July 26, 2017
As always this review can also be found on my blog The Tattooed Book Geek: https://thetattooedbookgeek.wordpress...
This was a buddy read with Sarah aka the lovely polite sweet demure and heavenly Lady Luna from Booksprens. ;)
I don’t normally mention the book cover in my review but I feel the need to point out and state just how awesome the cover for Ghosts of Tomorrow is. A six limbed, dual gun and dual samurai sword wielding chassis rocking skull paint, a cowboy hat and trench coat, it’s fucking amazing, a stunning design and it makes you want to crack open the book and read this bad boy!
Ghosts of Tomorrow is actually a revamped, rejigged and expanded new version of Michael R Fletcher’s debut book 88. Yes, the very same whisky guzzling Canadian who writes the Manifest Delusions books, high quality grimdark at its deluded, delicious darkest also wrote this cyberpunk book, diversity baby!
The story told in Ghosts of Tomorrow is set in 2046 and takes place over the duration of a single week. Rookie NATU (North American Trade Union) agent Griffin Dickinson is tasked with closing down the illegal black market crèches where young children who have been purchased or stolen are being raised, modified and programmed before having their consciousness scanned (the scanning process destroys the brain killing the subject but allowing the consciousness to live on) and transferred to computers and combat chassis. There’s lots more going on and Griffin’s path crosses with a variety of other characters as he investigates further who is behind the illegal crèches.
Cyberpunk isn’t a genre that I usually read, I’m actually struggling to think of another cyberpunk book that I’ve read and my mind is coming up blank! Due to that, I have to admit that at the beginning of the book while not wholly inaccessible I did personally have trouble with some of the jargon and terminology used – but that could just be me being a dumb fucker!
There wasn’t instant gratification and it took some time for me to become fully engrossed in Ghosts of Tomorrow. For around the first 20% the book is slightly confusing and lacks action, it’s a story driven but slow start. However, after the first 20% the pacing and action soon ramp up to go along with the story and you find yourself with a thoroughly riveting and frenetic read packed with various awesome set pieces that wouldn’t be out of place in a Hollywood blockbuster.
I really like Fletcher’s writing style, told through multiple third person points of view he always manages to bring his characters to life. Add in that he has a way of pulling you into the story he is telling and you have a fantastic storyteller.
Yes, the above sentence could have come straight out of one of those smut books, maybe another genre for Fletcher to try writing!
He has a uniquely descriptive way with words too.
And, he is also a dab hand at writing emotion, deep and meaningful poignant sentences that make you question and think.
One of the main things that I admire about Fletcher’s work is his stellar characterisation with his main characters and it is once again at the forefront in Ghosts of Tomorrow. Griffin Dickinson NATU Special Investigations Agent was to me the lead character, a rookie Agent and a sort of everyman who you can’t help but root for as he shows his determination to see his case through to the end. Perhaps the most intriguing character is 88 later the Archetype, an autistic child who is a really unique individual. But all characters, even the plethora of secondary all show development and are well thought out. My own two favourite characters in the book were Abdul and Archaeidae, two combat chassis and two fucking awesome characters, you’ll love them both.
Mention also needs to go to the relationship between Griffin and Abdul, it’s like a buddy cop movie and is a highlight of the book! Awesome!
During the course of Ghosts of Tomorrow Fletcher also dabbles in morality issues asking the question of whether or not the scanned chassis should have the same rights as humans and making you question if you could, would you want to live on as a robot?
For fans of Fletcher’s Manifest Delusions work (like myself) Ghosts of Tomorrow is a different beast but nonetheless enjoyable and there’s a lot to like found within the pages of this engaging and quality read.
Set in 2046 it’s a future thriller and with the constant advancement in technology Ghosts of Tomorrow is a believable, dark, disturbing and plausible look into what could possibly be are not so distant future.
This was a buddy read with Sarah aka the lovely polite sweet demure and heavenly Lady Luna from Booksprens. ;)
I don’t normally mention the book cover in my review but I feel the need to point out and state just how awesome the cover for Ghosts of Tomorrow is. A six limbed, dual gun and dual samurai sword wielding chassis rocking skull paint, a cowboy hat and trench coat, it’s fucking amazing, a stunning design and it makes you want to crack open the book and read this bad boy!
Ghosts of Tomorrow is actually a revamped, rejigged and expanded new version of Michael R Fletcher’s debut book 88. Yes, the very same whisky guzzling Canadian who writes the Manifest Delusions books, high quality grimdark at its deluded, delicious darkest also wrote this cyberpunk book, diversity baby!
The story told in Ghosts of Tomorrow is set in 2046 and takes place over the duration of a single week. Rookie NATU (North American Trade Union) agent Griffin Dickinson is tasked with closing down the illegal black market crèches where young children who have been purchased or stolen are being raised, modified and programmed before having their consciousness scanned (the scanning process destroys the brain killing the subject but allowing the consciousness to live on) and transferred to computers and combat chassis. There’s lots more going on and Griffin’s path crosses with a variety of other characters as he investigates further who is behind the illegal crèches.
Cyberpunk isn’t a genre that I usually read, I’m actually struggling to think of another cyberpunk book that I’ve read and my mind is coming up blank! Due to that, I have to admit that at the beginning of the book while not wholly inaccessible I did personally have trouble with some of the jargon and terminology used – but that could just be me being a dumb fucker!
There wasn’t instant gratification and it took some time for me to become fully engrossed in Ghosts of Tomorrow. For around the first 20% the book is slightly confusing and lacks action, it’s a story driven but slow start. However, after the first 20% the pacing and action soon ramp up to go along with the story and you find yourself with a thoroughly riveting and frenetic read packed with various awesome set pieces that wouldn’t be out of place in a Hollywood blockbuster.
I really like Fletcher’s writing style, told through multiple third person points of view he always manages to bring his characters to life. Add in that he has a way of pulling you into the story he is telling and you have a fantastic storyteller.
The woman stood beside Griffin, staring at Abdul in undisguised fascination. “It’s huge.”
Yes, the above sentence could have come straight out of one of those smut books, maybe another genre for Fletcher to try writing!
He has a uniquely descriptive way with words too.
Lokner’s expression would be right at home on a pedophile in a playschool but maybe creepier.
And, he is also a dab hand at writing emotion, deep and meaningful poignant sentences that make you question and think.
Meat death. Machine death. Was there a difference? Wasn’t dead just dead?
One of the main things that I admire about Fletcher’s work is his stellar characterisation with his main characters and it is once again at the forefront in Ghosts of Tomorrow. Griffin Dickinson NATU Special Investigations Agent was to me the lead character, a rookie Agent and a sort of everyman who you can’t help but root for as he shows his determination to see his case through to the end. Perhaps the most intriguing character is 88 later the Archetype, an autistic child who is a really unique individual. But all characters, even the plethora of secondary all show development and are well thought out. My own two favourite characters in the book were Abdul and Archaeidae, two combat chassis and two fucking awesome characters, you’ll love them both.
Mention also needs to go to the relationship between Griffin and Abdul, it’s like a buddy cop movie and is a highlight of the book! Awesome!
During the course of Ghosts of Tomorrow Fletcher also dabbles in morality issues asking the question of whether or not the scanned chassis should have the same rights as humans and making you question if you could, would you want to live on as a robot?
For fans of Fletcher’s Manifest Delusions work (like myself) Ghosts of Tomorrow is a different beast but nonetheless enjoyable and there’s a lot to like found within the pages of this engaging and quality read.
Set in 2046 it’s a future thriller and with the constant advancement in technology Ghosts of Tomorrow is a believable, dark, disturbing and plausible look into what could possibly be are not so distant future.
February 27, 2017
Let me begin by saying that Michael R. Fletcher is the best thing to happen to my Kindle/bookshelf in the past 5 months. Beyond Redemption was my top read of 2016 and the sequel, The Mirror's Truth, is 1000 times better. Not sure how he pulled that off, but I can't put anything past him. Now, with Ghosts of Tomorrow, Fletcher has moved away from Fantasy/Grimdark and ventured into Science Fiction. When I heard this news, I thought he had gone out binge drinking and had forgotten that he was a fantasy writer. I decided to give it a shot (get it, shot?) and was pleasantly surprised that IT WASN'T SHITE!
2046. Children are being stolen from their families and their brains are being farmed in hidden creches across North America. On the Black Market, these brains are being traded between extremists and put into combat chassis for security and protection, but also to wage war with feuding Mafias and the North American Trade Union who looks to shut them down.
Griffin, a junior investigations agent for NATU, is tasked with shutting down illegal creches and finding who is ultimately responsible. Along with Abdul, a recently deceased 17-year old boy turned heavy weapons unit, and Nadia, an investigative reporter assigned to Griffin, he will begin to uncover secrets of the underground trade that will not only put their lives in danger, but the lives of the everyone around them.
The scanned mind of an autistic girl, simply known as 88, is being harbored in South America and is looking for a way out. But not in the way you may think. She has manipulated her way into running the South American Mafia's business interests and continues to make copies of herself, called Mirrors, in order to advance her reach. With the enlisted service of a 14-year old boy/robot-samuri/cool as heck gunslinger known as Archaeidae, she looks to take out all who oppose her.
Now that you know a little bit about the book, let's talk about quality. I know Fletcher can write and so should you. He has this ability to dive into characters without any flashy background information and make you care about them. Want to know why? Because it is easy to identify with characters that are much like ourselves, that go through some of the same things we do, like depression or loss. His ability to get inside each character's mind and bring out their innermost thoughts just adds to their like ability.
Ghosts of Tomorrow is set to release on Wednesday, March 1st. Go grab a copy, especially for the awesome cover, but mostly for what is inside. Fletcher should be on top of your TBR list and will more than likely stay there once you've read this.
2046. Children are being stolen from their families and their brains are being farmed in hidden creches across North America. On the Black Market, these brains are being traded between extremists and put into combat chassis for security and protection, but also to wage war with feuding Mafias and the North American Trade Union who looks to shut them down.
Griffin, a junior investigations agent for NATU, is tasked with shutting down illegal creches and finding who is ultimately responsible. Along with Abdul, a recently deceased 17-year old boy turned heavy weapons unit, and Nadia, an investigative reporter assigned to Griffin, he will begin to uncover secrets of the underground trade that will not only put their lives in danger, but the lives of the everyone around them.
The scanned mind of an autistic girl, simply known as 88, is being harbored in South America and is looking for a way out. But not in the way you may think. She has manipulated her way into running the South American Mafia's business interests and continues to make copies of herself, called Mirrors, in order to advance her reach. With the enlisted service of a 14-year old boy/robot-samuri/cool as heck gunslinger known as Archaeidae, she looks to take out all who oppose her.
Now that you know a little bit about the book, let's talk about quality. I know Fletcher can write and so should you. He has this ability to dive into characters without any flashy background information and make you care about them. Want to know why? Because it is easy to identify with characters that are much like ourselves, that go through some of the same things we do, like depression or loss. His ability to get inside each character's mind and bring out their innermost thoughts just adds to their like ability.
Ghosts of Tomorrow is set to release on Wednesday, March 1st. Go grab a copy, especially for the awesome cover, but mostly for what is inside. Fletcher should be on top of your TBR list and will more than likely stay there once you've read this.
January 10, 2019
Fast paced action
Fletcher does a great job of grabbing you by the hand and dragging you into the cyber world he created. I never got lost between the virtual and real and the action kept hammering along. I
The descriptions were intense. You could feel the grate of sword on bone. Hear the thundering of heavy rounds. Smell the sickly sour stretch of old sweat.
The characters and plot build upon each other like a snow ball and take you tumbling down the mountain with them.
Enjoy the ride.
Fletcher does a great job of grabbing you by the hand and dragging you into the cyber world he created. I never got lost between the virtual and real and the action kept hammering along. I
The descriptions were intense. You could feel the grate of sword on bone. Hear the thundering of heavy rounds. Smell the sickly sour stretch of old sweat.
The characters and plot build upon each other like a snow ball and take you tumbling down the mountain with them.
Enjoy the ride.
April 6, 2020
Ghosts of Tomorrow is the best novel i've read this year. The plot is excellent, the writing is excellent, and the action scenes literally blew me away.
May 20, 2017
Neil Stephenson's Snow Crash remains the greatest cyberpunk novel ever written with it just barely nudging out Neuromancer in my opinion. I've written a cyberpunk novel, myself, with Agent G: Infiltrator and elements in my dark space opera Lucifers Star but I'm nowhere near the top of the genre. That might not be the case for Michael R. Fletcher who has written a cyberpunk novel that, if there's any justice in the world, should be ranked among those three as defining the genre. Which is high praise, I know, for a book primarily with a fourteen-year-old cowboy spider samurai assassin as one of its protagonists.
Snow Crash was an affectionate parody of cyberpunk's excesses with a black samurai pizza boy who worked for the Italian mob and a 15-year-old Fedex girl with a sedative-equipped chastity belt. Ghosts of Tomororw, by contrast, embraces every one of the excesses of Neil Stephenson's book but manages to present them in a horrifying as well as tragic light. Many of the murderous cyborg killers in this book act like hyperactive overstimulated video-game addicted fourteen-year-olds. Which makes sense because they are hyperactive overstimulated video-game addicted fourteen-year-olds. They've just had their brains destroyed to make scans so the easily-indoctrinated child-soldiers can be unleashed on the rest of the world.
The premise is humanity has become addicted to the use of scans as a substitute for still-undeveloped artificial intelligence. Scans are a process where a human brain is destroyed but their personality and intelligence is copied onto an electronic format. They're much faster than regular humans in piloting, managing business assets, and even serving as assassins but the demand for them is overwhelming. This has resulted in the mob and other organized crime syndicates start trafficking children to be killed in their preteen years by the thousands, providing society with the scans they don't question the origin of.
Thankfully, not everyone is a monstrous psychopath and a few individuals are trying to curb the rampant child-murder. Griffin is a NATU (North American Trade Union) agent working with plucky reporter Nadia and a 17-year-old new combat-chassis-equipped scan named Abdul. Griffin failed in his first attempt to shut down a child slavery ring and has resolved to never do so again, no matter how much collateral damage gets in his way. Abdul is a man who "died" thanks to a spider-mine and has taken what form of survival he could but is going rapidly insane from the sensory deprivation his new life entails. Naida? Naida regurgitates the party line even though it's complete nonsense. These are the "good guys" on the case.
The bad guys are Riina, a mid-level mafia boss who has murdered and scanned thousands of children with the belief he's doing the impoverished children of Third World Nations a favor. 88 is an autistic girl murdered as a pre-teen and turned into a digital goddess on the quest for a "mother" she barely remembers. There's Miles Lorkner, a billionaire who believes scans are the future of humanity and thus it's perfectly justified to murder however many people necessary to resolve the world's problems with them. Finally, there's Archaeidae who is the aforementioned fourteen-year-old cowboy spider samurai assassin--and a character so insane that he steals the show every time he's on page.
It's difficult to say what character is my favorite as they're all so vividly realized. I really liked Griffin and Nadia's relationship despite them being the two most normal characters in the book. Abdul's existential angst is entirely justified since he's in a sensory-deprivation tank with the only purpose left to him being murder. 88 is also blissfully tragic and I sympathized with her even as her bodycount approaches five figures. I even liked reading about Lorkner's psychotic breakdown as it's clear the man envisioned himself as an ubermensch but is incredibly unprepared for life as a scan.
The book is full of action, intrigue, murder, crazy situations, double-crosses, triple crosses, and allegiances shifting constantly. Every character is motivated and three-dimensional but all of them tend toward the extreme because it's an extreme world. However, the saddest part of the book is that it's depiction of thousands of children used up for scans every year is not so different from the same kinds of kids today being used up for other kinds of trafficking. We're not so far removed from the cyber-hell in the book and the only difference is we have less block-destroying battles between cyborgs.
Which is a shame.
10/10
Snow Crash was an affectionate parody of cyberpunk's excesses with a black samurai pizza boy who worked for the Italian mob and a 15-year-old Fedex girl with a sedative-equipped chastity belt. Ghosts of Tomororw, by contrast, embraces every one of the excesses of Neil Stephenson's book but manages to present them in a horrifying as well as tragic light. Many of the murderous cyborg killers in this book act like hyperactive overstimulated video-game addicted fourteen-year-olds. Which makes sense because they are hyperactive overstimulated video-game addicted fourteen-year-olds. They've just had their brains destroyed to make scans so the easily-indoctrinated child-soldiers can be unleashed on the rest of the world.
The premise is humanity has become addicted to the use of scans as a substitute for still-undeveloped artificial intelligence. Scans are a process where a human brain is destroyed but their personality and intelligence is copied onto an electronic format. They're much faster than regular humans in piloting, managing business assets, and even serving as assassins but the demand for them is overwhelming. This has resulted in the mob and other organized crime syndicates start trafficking children to be killed in their preteen years by the thousands, providing society with the scans they don't question the origin of.
Thankfully, not everyone is a monstrous psychopath and a few individuals are trying to curb the rampant child-murder. Griffin is a NATU (North American Trade Union) agent working with plucky reporter Nadia and a 17-year-old new combat-chassis-equipped scan named Abdul. Griffin failed in his first attempt to shut down a child slavery ring and has resolved to never do so again, no matter how much collateral damage gets in his way. Abdul is a man who "died" thanks to a spider-mine and has taken what form of survival he could but is going rapidly insane from the sensory deprivation his new life entails. Naida? Naida regurgitates the party line even though it's complete nonsense. These are the "good guys" on the case.
The bad guys are Riina, a mid-level mafia boss who has murdered and scanned thousands of children with the belief he's doing the impoverished children of Third World Nations a favor. 88 is an autistic girl murdered as a pre-teen and turned into a digital goddess on the quest for a "mother" she barely remembers. There's Miles Lorkner, a billionaire who believes scans are the future of humanity and thus it's perfectly justified to murder however many people necessary to resolve the world's problems with them. Finally, there's Archaeidae who is the aforementioned fourteen-year-old cowboy spider samurai assassin--and a character so insane that he steals the show every time he's on page.
It's difficult to say what character is my favorite as they're all so vividly realized. I really liked Griffin and Nadia's relationship despite them being the two most normal characters in the book. Abdul's existential angst is entirely justified since he's in a sensory-deprivation tank with the only purpose left to him being murder. 88 is also blissfully tragic and I sympathized with her even as her bodycount approaches five figures. I even liked reading about Lorkner's psychotic breakdown as it's clear the man envisioned himself as an ubermensch but is incredibly unprepared for life as a scan.
The book is full of action, intrigue, murder, crazy situations, double-crosses, triple crosses, and allegiances shifting constantly. Every character is motivated and three-dimensional but all of them tend toward the extreme because it's an extreme world. However, the saddest part of the book is that it's depiction of thousands of children used up for scans every year is not so different from the same kinds of kids today being used up for other kinds of trafficking. We're not so far removed from the cyber-hell in the book and the only difference is we have less block-destroying battles between cyborgs.
Which is a shame.
10/10
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