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Cyber Noir #1
NeoAddix
DATAKILL!
Alex Gibson is an evidence chaser on the run in London. One of his eyes is palest grey. The other is a Zeiss eyecam with enough data locked in it to blow open a very messy murder trial. Unfortunately for Alex, media giant CySat GmB reckon the evidence belongs to them. And they intend to take it. so does the Order of Antioch, a shadowy organization run by an 800-year-old Sicilian psychopath.
Bad news for prosecutor Clare Fabio, who's been set up but doesn't know it. Just as she doesn't yet know her only chance of getting out of Paris alive is to cut a deal with a ruthless, criminally inclined computer.
While on the other side of the world, wired into the Cy, sits Johnnie T, leader of the neoAddix, Japan's slickest street gang - who just may be able to do something to help them.
Or maybe not...
NEOADDIX, drawing on today's and tomorrow's developments in genetics, nanotechnology and computer hacking, is a dark, violent technoshocker that splices the thriller with Japanese traditions of manga to create cutting-edge cyber noir.
Alex Gibson is an evidence chaser on the run in London. One of his eyes is palest grey. The other is a Zeiss eyecam with enough data locked in it to blow open a very messy murder trial. Unfortunately for Alex, media giant CySat GmB reckon the evidence belongs to them. And they intend to take it. so does the Order of Antioch, a shadowy organization run by an 800-year-old Sicilian psychopath.
Bad news for prosecutor Clare Fabio, who's been set up but doesn't know it. Just as she doesn't yet know her only chance of getting out of Paris alive is to cut a deal with a ruthless, criminally inclined computer.
While on the other side of the world, wired into the Cy, sits Johnnie T, leader of the neoAddix, Japan's slickest street gang - who just may be able to do something to help them.
Or maybe not...
NEOADDIX, drawing on today's and tomorrow's developments in genetics, nanotechnology and computer hacking, is a dark, violent technoshocker that splices the thriller with Japanese traditions of manga to create cutting-edge cyber noir.
359 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1997
2 people are currently reading
118 people want to read
About the author
Jon Courtenay Grimwood
55 books203 followers'Tough, sexy and brutal, but leavened with sharp humour... Grimwood is a name to watch.' The Times
Jon Courtenay Grimwood was born in Malta and christened in the upturned bell of a ship. He grew up in the Far East, Britain and Scandinavia. Apart from novels he writes for magazines and newspapers. He travels extensively and undertakes a certain amount of consulting. Until recently he wrote a monthly review column for the Guardian.
Felaheen, the third of his novels featuring Asraf Bey, a half-Berber detective, won the BSFA Award for Best Novel. So did his last book, End of the World Blues, about a British sniper on the run from Iraq and running an Irish bar in Tokyo. He has just delivered the Fallen Blade, the first of three novels set in an alternate 15th-century Venice
His work is published in French, German, Spanish, Polish, Czech, Hungarian, Russian, Turkish, Japanese, Finnish and American, among others
He is married to the journalist and novelist Sam Baker, currently editor-in-chief of Red magazine. They divide their time between London and Winchester...
Jon Courtenay Grimwood was born in Malta and christened in the upturned bell of a ship. He grew up in the Far East, Britain and Scandinavia. Apart from novels he writes for magazines and newspapers. He travels extensively and undertakes a certain amount of consulting. Until recently he wrote a monthly review column for the Guardian.
Felaheen, the third of his novels featuring Asraf Bey, a half-Berber detective, won the BSFA Award for Best Novel. So did his last book, End of the World Blues, about a British sniper on the run from Iraq and running an Irish bar in Tokyo. He has just delivered the Fallen Blade, the first of three novels set in an alternate 15th-century Venice
His work is published in French, German, Spanish, Polish, Czech, Hungarian, Russian, Turkish, Japanese, Finnish and American, among others
He is married to the journalist and novelist Sam Baker, currently editor-in-chief of Red magazine. They divide their time between London and Winchester...
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
August 21, 2015
3/5 stars
This is a slightly difficult book to review. It was Grimwood's first book and it shows in the writing, which is a shame because it is actually quite a good book. This is clearly accepted by Grimwood himself; he provides a free download of the book in PDF format on his blog with the following 'warning':
"neoAddix was the book on which I learnt to write. (Well, began to learn to write.) And the only one which I've refused to let go back into print. So take that into account. This is, sadly, the cut-version I sent to NEL. Since I've lost the files for the original, longer book.
Note: Contains sex, violence, drugs, clichés, poor spelling, bad writing, DOS prompts, modems that beep at you and other things that may now be unacceptable. This is not an advertisement. Simply a warning."
This is a pretty fair description of what is an ambitious first book, enthusiastically written in the cyberpunk style. Its bad points are all classic faults of an inexperienced author: cyberpunk version of purple prose, lots of unnecessary detail included that couldn't help but become dated (and very quickly), plot points that weren’t convincing, characters that changed in ways not really consistent with events, and so on.
This was my second Grimwood book, my first being the very good End of the World Blues, and being aware that it was his first, and having read his comments from his blog, and have seen others’ comments I wasn’t expecting too much (although I do often find it fascinating reading some authors’ first books; seeing their early mistakes gives a bit of an insight into the development process of an author). But I was actually quite pleasantly surprised; yes, it suffered from the points already mentioned, but those aside this was actually a good well-paced cyberpunk adventure. The characters were very real and yet very weird, almost as if they were being played by a cast of actors taken from Mervyn Peake’s Gormenghast or China Mieville’s New Crobuzon. I can almost picture this story being made into a comic strip in the style of something like Tank Girl.
In the end I had little trouble setting aside the annoying mistakes of a first book and enjoyed a well told story. If I was being brutally impartial about those mistakes and not making allowances for it being a first book I would probably have only given two stars, but I think it genuinely deserves the three.
This is a slightly difficult book to review. It was Grimwood's first book and it shows in the writing, which is a shame because it is actually quite a good book. This is clearly accepted by Grimwood himself; he provides a free download of the book in PDF format on his blog with the following 'warning':
"neoAddix was the book on which I learnt to write. (Well, began to learn to write.) And the only one which I've refused to let go back into print. So take that into account. This is, sadly, the cut-version I sent to NEL. Since I've lost the files for the original, longer book.
Note: Contains sex, violence, drugs, clichés, poor spelling, bad writing, DOS prompts, modems that beep at you and other things that may now be unacceptable. This is not an advertisement. Simply a warning."
This is a pretty fair description of what is an ambitious first book, enthusiastically written in the cyberpunk style. Its bad points are all classic faults of an inexperienced author: cyberpunk version of purple prose, lots of unnecessary detail included that couldn't help but become dated (and very quickly), plot points that weren’t convincing, characters that changed in ways not really consistent with events, and so on.
This was my second Grimwood book, my first being the very good End of the World Blues, and being aware that it was his first, and having read his comments from his blog, and have seen others’ comments I wasn’t expecting too much (although I do often find it fascinating reading some authors’ first books; seeing their early mistakes gives a bit of an insight into the development process of an author). But I was actually quite pleasantly surprised; yes, it suffered from the points already mentioned, but those aside this was actually a good well-paced cyberpunk adventure. The characters were very real and yet very weird, almost as if they were being played by a cast of actors taken from Mervyn Peake’s Gormenghast or China Mieville’s New Crobuzon. I can almost picture this story being made into a comic strip in the style of something like Tank Girl.
In the end I had little trouble setting aside the annoying mistakes of a first book and enjoyed a well told story. If I was being brutally impartial about those mistakes and not making allowances for it being a first book I would probably have only given two stars, but I think it genuinely deserves the three.
December 29, 2013
Kyberpunk. Strašně moc nápadů na malém prostoru, takže nemůžou dýchat. Není to o postavách, ale spíš o prostředí. Není tam kdovíjak dobrá pointa, i když zápletka je zpočátku rozhodně napínavá. Děj se nikam nehrne a střídání perspektiv je důležité hlavně pro umístění dalších obrazů a scén. Škoda té detektivky, mohlo to být líp chycené, charaktery se mohly nějak při vzájemných setkáních nějak líp projevit. Největší sympaťák není člověk, pokud tam vůbec o nějakých sympatiích máme mluvit. Hodnotím vysoko pro množství nahozených udiček, ale celý text by si zasloužil prostě víc místa.
December 13, 2024
Ciekawe pomieszanie cyberpunka z horrorem. Z jednej strony niby bardzo brutalna przemoc, sex itp, ale wszystko to opisywane bardzo powierzchownie, o tam ktoś kogoś zabił albo przeleciał. Autor mógł sobie całkiem odpuścić takie wstawki albo jednak opisać je bardziej ... soczyście.
Na plus pomysł, na minus strasznie rwana narracja, dzikie przeskoki miejsca i akcji, bohaterowie od czapy nagle się łączą w jednym miejscu... dziwne to bardzo. Momentami miałem wrażenie jakby mi ktoś kilka stron z książki wyrwał bo nie wiedziałem co i dlaczego się dzieje.
Spodziewałem się, szczerze mówiąc, czegoś ciut lepszego, ale na solidne 3,5 zasługuje.
Na plus pomysł, na minus strasznie rwana narracja, dzikie przeskoki miejsca i akcji, bohaterowie od czapy nagle się łączą w jednym miejscu... dziwne to bardzo. Momentami miałem wrażenie jakby mi ktoś kilka stron z książki wyrwał bo nie wiedziałem co i dlaczego się dzieje.
Spodziewałem się, szczerze mówiąc, czegoś ciut lepszego, ale na solidne 3,5 zasługuje.
June 6, 2025
I have read and greatly enjoyed Jon Courtenay Grimwood’s post Cyber-punk novels of the late 90’s i.e. Lucifer’s Dragon, ReMix and Red Robe, multiple times. For some inexplicable and unknown reason, I had completely overlooked the first one called NeoAddix. Never read it, not even on my radar until a recent reread of ReMix led me to Wiki JCG. NeoAddix is where it all begins and eventually finding a second-hand copy, I devoured it.
NeoAddix begins with a much earlier and younger iteration of Clare Fabio who is a Paris prosecutor with links to France’s powerful elite. Several strange murders fall across her desk and she is too busy trying to piece the puzzle together to notice her own fall from grace as she first gets blamed for a lack of results and then unceremoniously sacked. Her newly found lack of status and indeed lack of income force her to make new liaisons and we get introduce to Alex Gibson.
This book gives great glimpses into the brilliance of future books but doesn’t quite deliver such a polished article. The book begins strongly with some great set pieces and I loved all the Clare Fabio stuff with glimpses of her future self in training, but by the last third of the book she is almost completely dropped from the story line with only a few references as other characters take over. As in follow up stories there are a huge number of varied personalities, but here I found it difficult to keep track of them all. I loved the arc of the plot except for Clare’s exclusion as I’d thought she was the principal character. The ending lacked something too as the final virtual reality fight for survival was confusing and not what it should have been.
Brilliant characters, great dialogue and stunning action and set pieces make this a real page turner, but not quite on the same level as the later three books. This is more than a three but doesn’t make a four in my mind, but a vital beginning to the three that quickly follow.
NeoAddix begins with a much earlier and younger iteration of Clare Fabio who is a Paris prosecutor with links to France’s powerful elite. Several strange murders fall across her desk and she is too busy trying to piece the puzzle together to notice her own fall from grace as she first gets blamed for a lack of results and then unceremoniously sacked. Her newly found lack of status and indeed lack of income force her to make new liaisons and we get introduce to Alex Gibson.
This book gives great glimpses into the brilliance of future books but doesn’t quite deliver such a polished article. The book begins strongly with some great set pieces and I loved all the Clare Fabio stuff with glimpses of her future self in training, but by the last third of the book she is almost completely dropped from the story line with only a few references as other characters take over. As in follow up stories there are a huge number of varied personalities, but here I found it difficult to keep track of them all. I loved the arc of the plot except for Clare’s exclusion as I’d thought she was the principal character. The ending lacked something too as the final virtual reality fight for survival was confusing and not what it should have been.
Brilliant characters, great dialogue and stunning action and set pieces make this a real page turner, but not quite on the same level as the later three books. This is more than a three but doesn’t make a four in my mind, but a vital beginning to the three that quickly follow.
August 29, 2020
I see why JCG disowned this book. As a cyberpunk novel in the vein of neuromancer, its actually very competent. Its a violent and sadistic world but the cyberpunk noir oozes off the pages. The main downfall is how the plot unfolds. It started off decent but I quickly lost any inkling of what was going on. Neoaddix devolves into a mere showcase of cyberpunk aesthetic rather than a coherent story.
I lost the will to finish once JCG spent like 3 chapters painstakingly describing the surgical procedure to giving Alex Gibson a new identity. I mean every single step. I get it, johnny T knows surgery, I dont need to know which fascial plane he's dissecting at a given moment. He also has this habit of doing lengthy flashbacks in line with the plot. So something will be happening and then a seamless transition into whatever happened many years ago. Great for character development and world building but by the time the narrative returns to the present, I forgot what actually was happening.
DNF at 80 percent. I may come back to it later.
I lost the will to finish once JCG spent like 3 chapters painstakingly describing the surgical procedure to giving Alex Gibson a new identity. I mean every single step. I get it, johnny T knows surgery, I dont need to know which fascial plane he's dissecting at a given moment. He also has this habit of doing lengthy flashbacks in line with the plot. So something will be happening and then a seamless transition into whatever happened many years ago. Great for character development and world building but by the time the narrative returns to the present, I forgot what actually was happening.
DNF at 80 percent. I may come back to it later.
July 9, 2024
Historia ciekawa, ale dokładne opisy brutalnego seksu oraz pedofilskich zapędów Alexa nie były czymś co chciałam przeczytać. Owszem, dodaje to zapewne smaku tej historii, ale myślę, że skupienie się na morderstwie, które samo w sobie było wystarczająco okropne, byłoby wystarczające.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 5, 2024
Not as good as #3 in the series but a gripping future thriller all the same and good enough to make me want to read #2 immediately.
Also, it's a pretty convincing vision of the future. Apart from the fact that we don't use modems anymore. 😅
Okay, on with the next in the series.
Also, it's a pretty convincing vision of the future. Apart from the fact that we don't use modems anymore. 😅
Okay, on with the next in the series.
March 17, 2025
Du cyberpunk 'à l'ancienne' (pre 21eme siécle) néo troisiéme empire, surprenamment lisible.
June 17, 2025
Jon Courtenay Grimwood disavowed this novel decades ago. You'd really have to be some kind of pathetic obsessive cyberpunk genre-completist weirdo to seek it out now (a battered copy cost me £10 on Ebay...).
NeoAddix is definitely the best alternate-history/cyberpunk/police procedural novel about
NeoAddix is definitely the best alternate-history/cyberpunk/police procedural novel about
June 29, 2011
This is the book that got me back into science fiction after a long fallow period. I loved it, even though it is very violent. I've since read all Jon Courtenay Grimwood's novels, and he's one of my favourite authors.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews