36 Streets
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- $13.99
Publisher Description
Altered Carbon and The Wind-Up Girl meet Apocalypse Now in this award-winning dystopian cyberpunk about memory, identity, and the power of narratives.
“Intricately plotted, using advanced biotechnology, a close investigation into Vietnamese history and culture, and a hard-edged, complicated lead character . . .” —Booklist
Lin ‘The Silent One’ Vu is a gangster in Chinese-occupied Hanoi, living in the steaming, paranoid alleyways of the 36 Streets. Born in Vietnam, raised in Australia, everywhere she is an outsider.
Through grit and courage, Lin has carved a place for herself in the Hanoi underworld under the tutelage of Bao Nguyen, who is training her to fight and survive. Because on the streets there are no second chances.
Meanwhile the people of Hanoi are succumbing to Fat Victory, an addictive immersive simulation of the US-Vietnam war. When an Englishman—one of the game’s developers—comes to Hanoi on the trail of his friend’s murderer, Lin is drawn into the grand conspiracies of the neon gods: the mega-corporations backed by powerful regimes that seek to control her city.
Lin must confront the immutable moral calculus of unjust wars. She must choose: family, country, or gang. Blood, truth, or redemption. No choice is easy on the 36 Streets.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Napper debuts with a gripping near-future cyberthriller involving gangsters, an addictive video game, and a plot to alter the memories of an entire nation. Born in Vietnam and later adopted and raised in Australia, 24-year-old Lin Thi Vu has never felt like she fit in. Now back in Vietnam, her determination and skill earn her the attention of crime boss Bao Nguyen, but even as a gangster in the grimy underworld of the 36 Streets in Chinese-controlled Hanoi, Lin feels like an outsider. Part employer, part mentor, Bao teaches Lin the skills she'll need to eventually run a gang herself. His latest assignment for her is to take a job as a PI for an English businessman investigating the murder of the programmer behind Fat Victory, an addictive virtual reality game that turns the U.S.-Vietnam war inside out. When her investigation stirs up far more trouble than she bargained for, she and Bao get caught between warring local gangs and an international battle to control a mind-breaking technology. Napper drives the brisk plot forward with plenty of action and intrigue. Cyberpunk fans will find much to enjoy in the noir tone, unique setting, and high stakes.
