BOOK REVIEW - Empire State By Adam Christopher
The Review:
The debut novel by Britishbased New Zealander Adam Christopher arrives with a noir super powered punch. The fiftieth novel to be published by Angry Robot has shown exactly why they were excited to sign him up back in March last year. Empire State is a story of superheroes in a city divided in two. Detective Rad Bradbury picks up the trail of a murderer, only to discover that the world he has always known is in a pocket universe, recently brought into existence by an explosion of phenomenal power. With a superhero on his tail he crosses into a city that bears a remarkable resemblance to his own – a city called New York. There he uncovers a deadly threat to the Empire State, and finds that the futures of both realities are at stake. We are immediately drawn into the world of Empire State following Private Detective Rad Bradbury in his quest to find a murderer. The noir setting of thirties New York is a welcome break from other scifi novels and although there have been countless books set in this era this somehow manages to feel fresh. The main reason for this is that here we encounter robots, superheroes, alternate universes’ and one hell of a mystery.
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The story unfolds steadily giving clues along the way that lead to a busy but satisfying finale that will keep you guessing right up to the last page. What Christopher has done is not create but rather solidified the foundations for a sub-genre of sci-fi with this book and you hope that this is not the last time we visit the Empire State as it seems a far too interesting place to visit just once. The characters are well drawn with the required flaws in place and although some are give enough back-story others are left purposely blank which is fine in this instance as we prefer to concentrate on the mystery at hand. The style of Christopher’s writing is a visual one that allows you to easily imagine Empire State and it’s citizens. In fact you could easily see this as a graphic novel in the future. Overall this is an excellent first novel for Angry Robot and Adam Christopher and shows that there are some publishers out there willing to take a chance on original concepts and ideas that expand and compliment the genre. Also a big shout out to the cover for a totally cool and retro design. Rating:
Aurhor: Adam Christopher Publisher: Angry Robot Publishing
The Blurb:
The stunning superhero-noir fantasy thriller set in the other New York. It was the last great science hero fight, but the energy blast ripped a hole in reality, and birthed the Empire State – a young, twisted parallel prohibition-era New York. When the rift starts to close, both worlds are threatened, and both must fight for the right to exist. Adam Christopher’s stunning debut novel heralds the arrival of an amazing new talent.
Christophe Montoya
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