The Three Poisons by John Molik
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I got this on Netgalley not having read the previous two books, but fortunately, I didn't have any problems enjoying this novel on its own. That being said, I think I'm going to have a hard time reviewing this novel because it is RICH with ideas, worldbuilding, themes, and characters. Where would I start?

It is equal parts technothriller and a character study. AI-assisted espionage, genetic enhancements, transhumanist movements, the push to the stars... all this is a huge part of the novel and it's very fun. But the novel shines when the AI becomes human-like and heavily augmented girls become a little more flesh and blood. And that's the point. So much of this novel is about transformation. It is certainly not limited to this example.

The world and the themes go from economic theory, the evils of greed, to paranoid blaming of shadow conspiracies (which are real here), to the hunt we all share to find peace and love in the middle of a near-future dystopia. We travel all over the world with a large handful of well-drawn characters, learning, fighting, striving, and surviving. There are a couple of plot threads that are very strong and exciting and a few others that are quiet and introspective. This makes reviewing the novel without a long diatribe on both kinda unwieldy, but suffice to say...

If you like rich and complex technothrillers with excitement, heart, humor, and a LOT to say, you won't go wrong with picking this up. :) I'm quite impressed with all of it.

Reminds me of a mix between Daniel Suarez, econopunk, and a Buddhist-flavored PKD. :)

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