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S - Science Fiction
F - Fantasy
H - Horror
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Adams, Douglas (S)
Asher, Neal (S)
Aylett, Steve (S)
Banks, Iain M (S)
Barclay, James (F)
Barker, Clive (H)
Baxter, Stephen (S)
Brin, David (S)
Bury, Stephen (S)
Card, Orson Scott (S)
Cherryh, CJ (S/F)
Clute, John (S)
Cockayne, Steve (F)
Cook, Glen (F)
Danielewski, Mark (H)
Dick, Philip K (S)
Egan, Greg (S)
Feist, Raymond (F)
Gaiman, Neil (F)
Gibson, William (S)
Goodkind, Terry (F)
Grimwood, Jon C (S)
Hamilton, Peter (S)
Jeter, K.W. (S)
Jordan, Robert (F)
Lethem, Jonathan (S)
McAuley, Paul (S)
MacLeod, Ken (S)
Martin, George RR (F)
McMullen, Sean (S)
Miéville, China (S)
Moran, Daniel K (S)
Morgan, Richard K (S)
Nagata, Linda (S)
Niven, Larry (S)
Noon, Jeff (S)
Robinson, Kim S. (S)
Rucker, Rudy (S)
Simmons, Dan (S)
Smith, Michael Marshall (S)
Stephenson, Neal (S)
Sterling, Bruce (S)
Vinge, Vernor (S)
Westerfeld, Scott (S)
Williams, Sean (S)
Williams, Tad (S/F)
Collections (S/F)
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| The Classics |
Bradbury, Ray (S/H)
Burgess, Anthony (S)
Tolkien, JRR (F) |
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| K.W. Jeter |
| Author Information |
Reviewed Books |
Other Books |
| Notes: (B) - Blade Runner Series |
Edge of Human(B)
Noir
Dr. Adder |
Farewell Horizontal
Dark Seeker
Death Arms
Replicant Night(B)
The Glass Hammer
In the Land of the Dead
Infernal Devices |
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 Our
Ranking As a quick word of warning, this book
is a sequel to the movie Blade Runner, and not the novel by Phillip K. Dick, Do
Androids Dream of Electric Sheep. This is actually fairly surprising since Jeter
was one of Dick's proteges so one would think he would stay true to the book over
the movie. As with the movie, the book is centered around Decker, a replicant
hunter who was nearly killed by the pack of replicants in the movie. He's escaped
to the woods in the Pacific Northwest with his replicant lover Racheal. Jeter
does a very fine job painting the desperation of this as well as the conflict
of a replicant hunter harboring a replicant. Not only is Decker hiding a replicant
but it turns out that Pris (Daryl Hannah from the movie) was actually human so
he's wanted for murder. The plot takes off from here into the dark setting of
LA created in the movie. The plot is fairly strong, leaning a lot on the movie,
but is full of some good action. Jeter plays heavily on the human/replicant issue,
even to the point where Decker struggles to find out if he might actually be a
replicant himself. (this was hinted at in a round about way in the movie. The
biggest hint being his recurring unicorn dream and at the ending, the origamy
unicorn was left for him at his apartment hinting that someone could actually
see his dreams.) These struggles are very well done and a little reminiscent of
a Dick novel. Jeter's characters are very well done, all leaning on the dark and
shady side. The only real problem is that some characters who were killed in the
movie actually manage to come back somehow, some in very creative ways while others
without a real explanation. The ending of the novel is action packed and very
well done. He does an extremely creative thing with the old LA freeway that still
sticks in my head as one of the most vivid and imaginative scenes in the book.
Any fan of Phillip K Dick or the Blade Runner movie should certainly read this.
Anyone in the mood for a good action sci-fi book would also love this. There's
one other book to this series, Replicant Night, which has not been reviewed yet,
as well as the original Phillip K. Dick book, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep,
reviewed here. |
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 Our
Ranking K.W. Jeter is one of Philip K Dick's
(author of Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep and many others) proteges. This
is the fifth book I've read by him and this is by far the most heavily influenced
by PKD. First off, this is a pretty tough read. Jeter has a very rough writing
style where he describes many scenes using metaphors. Normally this is not that
hard of a thing, but when he begins describing completely unique futuristic concepts
with just a metaphor you are left pretty confused for a bit. I'm assuming this
is done on purpose, because he will continue to describe it from different but
still obscure angles and eventually you begin to get the whole picture. It's a
nice effect but it does leave something constantly shrouded in some half murky
understanding of what Jeter is saying. Added to the somewhat sideways description
of things, this book is just very grim and dark. (hence the title) All of the
characters are plodding through a dank and hopeless life in a futuristic California.
It is a world where planes are unable to fly due to a robotic infestation that
inhabits the air and shoots down anything that tries to leave and where the dead
are not allowed to die if they are in debt but are rather dumped into a virtual
purgatory where they must work off their debt to finally be laid to rest. There
truly is no hope anywhere in this novel. The main character is a retired asp-head,
which is a copywrite infringement officer who hunts down and disposes (in very
brutal ways) violators of copywrite laws. He is being recruited by a monster corporation
(one who feels the need to perform terrorist acts on their own services to remind
the public what it'd be like if they weren't around) to take on a mission into
the very vague Wedge to recover the soul of one of their operatives. He and the
rest of the cast move and act in very PKD fashion, all paranoid, all observing
and questioning their own and each others actions is a very surreal existential
kind of manner. For the most part the characters are pretty interesting but if
you have trouble stomaching 500 pages of bleakness I'd turn back. The plot itself
is interesting but a little roughshod. At points it just seems that Jeter didn't
know where to take it. The biggest problem is that the grim characters mixed with
a somewhat sporadic plot and then add in Jeter's writing style and the book almost
begin a bit too complicated to be worth it. What saved this one and did make it
worth the effort was a highly original setting and I happen to love the grimmer
side of fiction. I don't regret reading it, but I certainly prefer a PKD novel
over this. |
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 Our
Ranking This book is currently out of print.
Only place I've found it is on ebay KW Jeter is one of Phillip K Dick's prodigies.
An extremely dark, gritty and violent mind that is a full force throughout Dr.
Adder. This is one of those books that need a warning straight from the start.
This is very violent. It is extremely perverted and callous. In fact, even just
writing a review on this may be disturbing to some. Dr. Adder is set in a violent
(almost cyberpunkish) futuristic LA where hoodlums rules and debauchery is the
game of the day. Welcome to a world where prostitution is a saturated industry
that is looked for ways to redefine itself to keep it alive. Enter Dr. Adder.
Dr. Adder has cornered the market of remaking these prostitutes. He has perfected
a technique of delving into a client's mind, seeking out his darkest sexual desires.
From there he "molds" a prostitute to that image, literally. Adder does everything
from removing limbs, or redefining organs to make the prostitute equal to the
dark secrets of the client. The industry as made him very rich as well as very
powerful. Generally these clients are very well off and influential to afford
his services, and for the most part they are very very satisfied with his work.
However, somewhere along the way he's made an enemy who is working to destroy
his empire. For the most part, this book is really driven by Jeter's incredibly
twisted visions. The plot is not overly powerful, but you find yourself somehow
enthralled and revolted by his casual telling of the works of Adder. This is enough
to get you to keep reading. The problem is, the story doesn't really go far. It
is obvious that Jeter is a very new author, at points he just seems confused as
to where he wants to go. Transitions are pretty sloppy and the characters, with
the possible exception of Adder, are very one dimensional, driven solely by their
sexual desires. At first, the book seems groundbreaking, but as you read on you
realize it is more of the shock value of the ambutees, etc. Once this wears off
the weakness of the plot is really revealed. People who like Philip K Dick, or
just dark fantasy in general may enjoy this. However, don't expect the casual
cohesiveness that Dick brings to his stories. Jeter has obvious potential (which
he displays in later works) but at this point he still hasn't developed enough
to carry the tale. |
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