A friend recently brought a British author to my attention. His name is Stephen Leather. Until hearing about his science fiction novel Dreamer's Cat, I had never heard of Stephen Leather. Now I've read three of his books, all on Kindle under the eBook format, naturally, and I thought I would take the opportunity to review these three stories here.
The first is Dreamer's Cat, since I read that first. If you have ever read any of Larry Niven's Known Space stories then you're familiar with the concept of being a wirehead, a person who has been fitted with an electronic brain implant to stimulate the pleasure centers of the person's brain. Stephen Leather has gone this concept a step further by creating a world where psi-discs are the most popular form of entertainment. People known as dreamers are hired to create the reality experienced within the psi-disc's embrace that has created a multi-billion dollar entertainment venue that puts the modern day craze of video gaming to shame. In this novel dreamers are dying or being killed while making their discs and another dreamer, the oldest among them, is chosen to discover why. This novel is filled with action, entertaining characterization and dialogue and enough sexual content to keep any youthful libido engaged throughout the length of the read. An excellent story.
In the second offering I read, Once Bitten, the author takes liberties with the vampiric mythos by introducing a psychologist who works for the Los Angeles Police Department. His job is to test recently apprehended suspects in order to decide whether they are sane or insane before going to trial. This role moves along fairly easily until the psychologist encounters a female brought in under suspicion of murder - with the victim's blood on her lips. Unfortunately the psychologist finds himself falling for this suspected murderer who may also be a suspected vampire - at least from his point of view. Learning the truth about her in every way may mean a complete disruption in this proper Englishman's life. A definite plus for those with an eye for the Gothic horror story. Leather treats this tale with enough imagination wrapping about the existent legends and tradition to spin a story well worth reading, regardless of the outcome.
In his third offering, The Basement, which was far too short for my tastes, but only because I wanted to continue reading when the story was nearing its ending, the author delves into the realm of crime drama by bringing us a story of a down-on-his-luck-would-be-writer living in New York City who becomes the prime suspect in a series of serial killings. The two detectives assigned to head up the task force searching for this killer, who has been abducting young women, begin looking at the erstwhile playwright, feeling as though he might fit the bill, seeing as how the profile on the unsub begins sounding more like him the deeper they dig. This story is well-written and like the previous two is very easy to follow with Leather's fluid approach to writing. The twists and turns in all his stories prove he has a frim grasp on how to conceive of, plot, and execute a beautifully scripted tale in any genre.
There is only one point I feel I must make that to some may be a detraction to Stephen Leather's writing - he seems not to be a proponent of the happy ending. Yes, I know, happy endings are a must for a perfect story - or are they? Leather certainly seems to feel otherwise and proves his point triply as he weaves his tales and brings each of these stories to a close quite efficiently and applaudingly satisfying and not one of them ends with a classically happy ending. The first one shocked me. The second one mystified me. The third one left me grumbling, "He must not have had a happy childhood". Regardless of the reason for Leather's penchant for ending his stories in the most twisted, wretched manner possible, he does so magnificnetly and leaves the reader with a sense of fulfillment and yearning for yet another of his treasures.
Let's see - what's the next book on his list..?
The first is Dreamer's Cat, since I read that first. If you have ever read any of Larry Niven's Known Space stories then you're familiar with the concept of being a wirehead, a person who has been fitted with an electronic brain implant to stimulate the pleasure centers of the person's brain. Stephen Leather has gone this concept a step further by creating a world where psi-discs are the most popular form of entertainment. People known as dreamers are hired to create the reality experienced within the psi-disc's embrace that has created a multi-billion dollar entertainment venue that puts the modern day craze of video gaming to shame. In this novel dreamers are dying or being killed while making their discs and another dreamer, the oldest among them, is chosen to discover why. This novel is filled with action, entertaining characterization and dialogue and enough sexual content to keep any youthful libido engaged throughout the length of the read. An excellent story.
In the second offering I read, Once Bitten, the author takes liberties with the vampiric mythos by introducing a psychologist who works for the Los Angeles Police Department. His job is to test recently apprehended suspects in order to decide whether they are sane or insane before going to trial. This role moves along fairly easily until the psychologist encounters a female brought in under suspicion of murder - with the victim's blood on her lips. Unfortunately the psychologist finds himself falling for this suspected murderer who may also be a suspected vampire - at least from his point of view. Learning the truth about her in every way may mean a complete disruption in this proper Englishman's life. A definite plus for those with an eye for the Gothic horror story. Leather treats this tale with enough imagination wrapping about the existent legends and tradition to spin a story well worth reading, regardless of the outcome.
In his third offering, The Basement, which was far too short for my tastes, but only because I wanted to continue reading when the story was nearing its ending, the author delves into the realm of crime drama by bringing us a story of a down-on-his-luck-would-be-writer living in New York City who becomes the prime suspect in a series of serial killings. The two detectives assigned to head up the task force searching for this killer, who has been abducting young women, begin looking at the erstwhile playwright, feeling as though he might fit the bill, seeing as how the profile on the unsub begins sounding more like him the deeper they dig. This story is well-written and like the previous two is very easy to follow with Leather's fluid approach to writing. The twists and turns in all his stories prove he has a frim grasp on how to conceive of, plot, and execute a beautifully scripted tale in any genre.
There is only one point I feel I must make that to some may be a detraction to Stephen Leather's writing - he seems not to be a proponent of the happy ending. Yes, I know, happy endings are a must for a perfect story - or are they? Leather certainly seems to feel otherwise and proves his point triply as he weaves his tales and brings each of these stories to a close quite efficiently and applaudingly satisfying and not one of them ends with a classically happy ending. The first one shocked me. The second one mystified me. The third one left me grumbling, "He must not have had a happy childhood". Regardless of the reason for Leather's penchant for ending his stories in the most twisted, wretched manner possible, he does so magnificnetly and leaves the reader with a sense of fulfillment and yearning for yet another of his treasures.
Let's see - what's the next book on his list..?
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