Cyberpunk Book Review
One of the things I love best about cyberpunk is the way it has influenced writers from many different genres and seeped into the most unlikely of places.
Take Megan Macie's Finder of the Lucky Devil, for instance.
While FotLD is a fine example of genre mash-up, it's most closely aligned with the Urban Fantasy genre. Rune Leveau, the proprietor of a bar called the Lucky Devil, is an undeclared magical Talent.
In this world, humans and fantasy creatures cohabit an alternate-reality version of Chicago, and tensions are high between magical and non-magical beings. Rune's hidden Talent for finding things, while it seems innocent enough, could get her into big trouble with the police.
And that's not the only thing Rune is hiding. Secrets from Rune's past have begun to surface, and the fresh start she's built for herself begins to crumble around her. To top it off, a cyber-spy named St. Benedict has taken notice, and the powerful tech corporations that rule the city want to do a deadly kind of business.
Finder of the Lucky Devil is a fun, unexpected, and complex tale involving secret identities, corporate espionage, and a cyborg with a heart of... well, it's hard to say. Sometimes Rune thinks it's stone, but there might be a little glimmer of gold under there after all.
Hints of romance and a hefty dose of snarky humour buoy up this dark and twisting tale until it feels quite different from your usual cyberpunk fare.
If you like cyberpunk stylings but have grown a bit tired of the usual tropes and settings, Mackie's magical world might be just the shake-up you need.
Do you have a favourite cyberpunk mashup?
Drop a link in the comments!