Review: Trouble and Her Friends ~ by Melissa Scott

 

Review by Shellie: Trouble and Her Friends ~ by Melissa Scott

A futuristic science fiction novel with underground “noir-ish” themes, which takes the reader on a journey via internal biological internet connections into an intriguing online world.

Trouble is well known online as one of the best and most notorious “crackers”. She is a future version of a hacker, where cracking is breaking through IC(E) –  the acronym for the complex security systems which simulate actual ice.  Intriguingly, web users have connections to the web via “dollie ports” and “brain worms” giving a “virtual reality” experience to being online, where one smells color.

A story set in a dystopian US where things have gone environmentally sour, the beaches are so polluted that visiting them is toxic. Political factions have set in place laws which make “cracking” illegal and dangerous. As the stakes become higher, Trouble disappears in an effort to protect herself.

What brings her out of hiding is that someone is using her name. Not happy (neither are some significant powers that be), she emerges to set things right. As Trouble lives up to her name - she and her friends have an interesting and not entirely safe romp into an online and real-world futuristic adventure.

Trouble and Her Friends is cyberpunk. It is a subgenre which is characterized by a high tech dystopian environment with characters that are of marginal class standing. It is also said to have a “noir-ish” feel. Which are perfect descriptions for this science fiction novel.

Melissa Scott uses many intriguing science fiction concepts - for example the “dollie ports” and “brain worms” which actually hook the user up to the net through implants into the body. Beyond the nerdy bits she also has included romance (lgbt), virtual sex (nicely done), and the experience of traveling the net via internally hard wired brain connection with some excellent results.

I could not imagine a writer being able to tell you about a virtual web experience as it occurs in Trouble’s world. But she does – and very well at that. Scott uses a technique that toggles between real world and internet experiences, using italicized letters for the virtual world travels and normal text for the real world experience.

Despite the description, the book is very accessible and is actually a mystery thriller set in a darker future time. There are strong female characters (another favorite element) and it has some realistic science (another one too). I will be looking at this author and this subgenre more. This is an impressive novel with a redemptive ending. I give it 4 stars.

---

Amazon links US|UK|Canada; 384 pages; Orb Books; First Edition edition (February 1, 2011)

The version of the novel that I read is a reprint by Tor/Orb which was originally published in 1994 winning a well deserved Lambda award in the same year. For more information on the book check out our release post for the book – Trouble and Her Friends.

Tor has a number of posts around LGBT science fiction and fantasy for anyone who is interested in this element check out their feature - Queering of Science Fiction and Fantasy. They currently have a variety of books out which has LGBT themes included in their pages. One which is on my nightstand that I have not had the chance to read is Black Blade Blues ~ by J. A. Pitts.

For additional information on the cyberpunk genre this text links to Wikipedia's definition, as well as a list of books which are included in this subgenre.

This novel will be included in The Basics Challenge; The LGBT Challenge; The Science Fiction Challenge, and goodness knows where else it will fit!

Thanks for reading.