Wired (SHOMI) [Mass Market Paperback]

My Wife received a bag full of samples at a recent romance writer's conference. In it, there was a book called "Shomi." Having no idea what that was, and trying to help my Wife, I thought I'd try it and fill her in. It was supposed to be the "next big thing." So I began reading Wired. When I reached around page 30, the sample ended. I never read samples. They are a cheap marketing ploy. In this case, however, since I didn't know I was reading a sample until it cut off, I fell victim to the ploy. Yep, that's right, after a hearty "What the hell..." I ran to my computer, found the book on Amazon, and ordered with expedited delivery. I was totally hooked.

Wired is a Cyberpunk re-telling of "The End of Eternity" by Asimov. Liz Maverick does a good job with the cyberpunk genre, and the story is quite compelling, but there is a major flaw. The characters, particularly when interacting with each other, act in an almost completely unbelievable fashion. Normally, as one who does not like character driven stories, this would not be such an issue. In Wired, however, the story is clicking along, I find myself being drawn into the universe, and then the character does something completely unbelievable. For example, early in the book, after two strange guys who clearly pose a danger to her (or at least one of them does), each of these men do something such as blow on her ear or such, and she swoons with the attraction to the guy she thinks is out to kill her. Come on! A burgular breaks into your house and whispers into your ear; you (a) get hot with the prospect of sex, or (b) reach for your Glock? If you answered (b), you will not like the heroine of this book. If you answered (a), seek help.

Aside from being jarred out of the moment by unbelievable actions/thoughts of the characters, there is the occasional misused profanity. The "F-word" where the "S-word" should be, I guess because the "F-word" is more "edgy." Unfortunately, it just sounds like a 50 year old trying to be "dope to the max with his homies." Also, as a minor point, there are technological incongruities (ie. Her cordless phone is interfered with by her Wi-Fi network, when it actually works the other way round, since the phone transmitter is far more powerful than the WiFi transmitter. In reality, she would have noticed no difference on the phone, but her computers would have been knocked off the network. I don't hold this too much against her. After all, the father of cyberpunk, William Gibson, the man who coined the term "cyberspace" knows nothing about computers by his own admission.)

I had great hope for this book from the first 30 pages, and I have to admit that the story kept me going right to the end. I would probably have chosen to give this 3 stars rather than 2, if not for the fact that the characters detract from the story so much. So much potential, so little result.

I think I'll put the SHOMI line aside until it matures a bit. I would, however, still consder trying it again in the future.

Every person's life impacts numerous others in countless ways. Change a single action or circumstance and the ripples change reality as we know it. This is what's known as a parallel universe. Now imagine you are the focus of that change. Two men are manipulating you like a pawn on a chess board, changing your experiences to achieve their own outcome. Reality shifts and as you desperately try to cling to your sanity. Who can you trust, except yourself?

L. Roxanne Zaborovsky, a reclusive freelance computer programmer, alienated from her family, her closest friend having moved on without her, finds herself unaccountably compelled to visit the local 7-Eleven in the middle of the night. Her anxiety builds with each step, and just as she is debating returning home, she finds herself sandwiched between two ominous men each claiming her for himself.

They are Wire Crossers, people who manipulate reality to alter fate each with their own desired outcome. Both are after a code Roxy has yet to write and their goals are diametrically opposed. Roxy is the Major, the key player in the game. Those whose lives she impacts are Peripherals.

One of the men is already known to her. He is Mason Merrick, the ex-boyfriend of a former roommate, who Roxy once had a crush on. The other is Leonardo Kaysar who will stop at absolutely nothing to foil his adversary. Though she is attracted to both men in different ways, neither can be trusted, for with each Splice of wire, each shift in reality, she is becoming painfully aware that she is completely expendable.

When predestiny goes out the window, free will is the only option. Can agoraphobic Roxy muster the courage to take control of her fate and become the woman she'd always wanted to be?

Cyberpunk meets Romance in this thrilling action debut from Dorchester's new Shomi imprint. Unlike the typical romance, Roxy's adventure is told in the first person allowing the reader to experience the adventure right along with the cagey heroine. Her confusion and epiphanies will become one's own. Enjoy the twists and turns as Roxy's final fate comes down to the WIRE. This is a book you won't want to put down!

Reviewed by Leslie Tramposch for PNR Reviews

I'm a huge fan of cyberpunk and Wired does the job not just ably but most fabulously!

Roxanne finds herself walking to the convenience store in the middle of the night, not quite knowing why when her life is suddenly turned completely upside down. Repeatedly.

Wired keeps the reader guessing just as much as Rox is guessing. The first person POV lends an intimate air to the story, keeping you in Rox's head as she's trying very hard to figure out just what is going on and who to trust.

Maverick is clever and witty and her dialog and storytelling are even better than the very high bar she's set for herself in the past.

Shomi is off to a great start with Wired and I can only hope for more of this sort of breathless new world of novels when Marianne Mancusi's Moongazer comes out next month