Book Review - Convergence by Michael Patrick Hicks

I'd heard good things about this book and I wasn't disappointed. It's a well written sci-fi tale set in the near future. The main character isn't the most likeable of people but his motivations and struggles develop throughout the story in a well thought out way.

There's some interesting tech and associated issues at the core of the story - namely that of memory recording. It's also used to good effect for the flow of the story allowing flashbacks to integrate seamlessly into the plot.

My only real down point was the setting. California having been captured by the Chinese seems a bit unlikely and I would have liked to have learned more about how this came to be. Once into the story it didn't make any difference as it did make for an interesting setting. Although again a bit more of the culture clash would have made for interesting reading.

Apart from that the story is well paced and well written. It didn't suffer from any bloat. There's a good blend of technology and the human side and it ends in a decent fashion. I also enjoyed the mix of action and more contemplative side of the main character. Overall a recommended read.

Click on image to buy from Amazon

An Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award 2013 Quarter-Finalist

Jonah Everitt is a killer, a DRMR addict, and a memory thief.

After being hired to kill a ranking officer of the Pacific Rim Coalition and download his memories, Everitt finds himself caught in the crosshairs of a terror cell, a rogue military squadron, and a Chinese gangster named Alice Xie. Xie is a profiteer of street drugs, primarily DRMR, a powerful narcotic made from the memories of the dead. With his daughter, Mesa, missing in post-war Los Angeles, Everitt is forced into an uneasy alliance with Alice to find her.

Mesa's abduction is wrapped up in the secrets of a brutal murder during the war's early days, a murder that Alice Xie wants revenged. In order to find her, Jonah will have to sift through the memories of dead men that could destroy what little he has left.

In a city where peace is tenuous and loyalties are ever shifting, the past and the present are about to converge.

Click here to buy Convergence from Amazon US / Amazon UK (and it's a thrilling sci-fi read)