Strictly Analog

By: Richard Levesque

Narrated by: Steven Jay Cohen

Fans of William Gibson, Jonathan Letham, and Richard K. Morgan will enjoy Strictly Analog by Richard Levesque.

What's a private detective to do in a future where nothing is private? That's Ted Lomax's problem. In the new California, a corporation runs the government, electric cars have drive tones, and a new technology keeps everyone constantly connected to the Internet. Almost everyone.

Disabled in California's war for independence, Ted is locked out of the new tech. Living on the fringes of society for years, he's found a way to turn his disability into cash: finding clients who need their info kept off the grid.

But when his daughter is accused of murdering her boyfriend - an agent in California's Secret Police - Ted has to dig himself out of the hole he's been in. To save his daughter, he ventures into a shadow world of underground hackers, high-end programmers, and renegade gear-heads, all of whom seem to have a stake in California's future.

It soon becomes clear it's about more than one dead agent. Solving the case might save his daughter. And it might get him killed. And it just might open the door to secrets surrounding the attack that almost killed him eighteen years before.

One thing's certain, though. Ted Lomax will never be the same.

©2012 Richard Levesque (P)2014 Richard Levesque

Critic reviews

"...Fast-paced futuristic thriller..." ( Publishers Weekly)

Strictly Analog

Any additional comments?

I enjoyed this book.A good sci fi read.The storyline was interesting and the ending not as expected.The narrator,Jay Cohen ,did a fine job with the characters voice.

Interesting Story, Slow Narration

I enjoyed the story well enough but ended up setting the playback speed to 1.5x just to make listening to it bearable, otherwise it felt like it dragged on way too slowly.

Overall Great

Really just wow. I've had a difficult time finding books to hold my interest lately. This completely held my attention. I listened to it all in one day. I just couldn't walk away.

futuristic sci fi meets detective noir

This is a very solid and imaginative read. It's a love child of Raymond Chandler's noir hard-boiled detective story and the Philip K Dick or William Gibson cyberpunk/speculative science fiction genre. It has the best of both worlds, and yet doesn't feel contrived. It's post-apocalyptic in a way that fits the genre, playing on the scarcity of some resources in a world where people take their mind off the problems with prevalent and affordable technology that allows them to enjoy the virtual world. The author creates great concepts like the "eyes" (much like Google Glasses), which allow constant interaction with online information; electric cars can be programmed to make whatever drive tone you want them to, from cats purring to reggae; and "mixing" clubs that allow partiers to experience a drug-like synesthesia (tasting colors, feeling sounds). Enter Ted Lomax, a war veteran whose injuries exclude him from using technology, and so he does his private detective job the old-fashioned way: strictly analog, through research at the library, tailing suspects, and using his knowledge of human behavior. His daughter gets framed for murder and he has to figure out who the killer is to save her from exile from the city.

The mystery itself is good - complex, twisting, and revealed at a good pace. There's conflicts with bad cops, untrustworthy dames, and cocky tech-genius outlaws. There's lots of thrills and tension and danger, car chases, and some great seedy worldbuilding. The book is wonderfully atmospheric, gritty and still full of clever humor and insight into the human condition.

I got this audiobook free fromt he author in exchange for an honest review, and I loved it from start to finish. The narrator is good, but speaks a bit laconically for the story, so I sped it up to 1.25x speed. If you like noir, PIs, and speculative Science Fiction, check this out!

Interesting possible future

This book has interesting look at possible future technology and how it's used. Entertaining with a plausible storyline.

Matrix Noir

In a dystopian future, everyone logs in to the computer network through technologically integrated glasses. The catch is that you need both eyes for the signal to work, and Ted Lomax lost an eye years ago while fighting on California's side of the border war against a collapsed United States. Now he works as a private detective, making his handicap an asset. There are lots of people who don't want the attention that computer use would attract from the corporate government, so Lomax advertises his services with the slogan "strictly analog." But his life changes when his daughter is accused of murdering her Secret Police boyfriend. In order to clear her name, Lomax has to make a circuitous journey that takes him past every comfort zone in both reality and cyberspace.

Steven Jay Cohen's narration is flat and dry, which fits the noir tone of the book perfectly. I enjoyed listening to this book; I got through it in just a few days while commuting, and even found myself wanting to listen to it when I was home, a rare occurrence for me. If you enjoy noir-style mysteries and well-developed dystopian worlds, this book is for you.

Superb Read (Listen)

The story was very good. A mystery sci-fi, just what I like the most. The main characters were likable, I cared about them. The narrater was excellent. His accent evaded me but I loved it. Very, very pleased.

Cyberpunk Noir

Raymond Chandler meets William Gibson. If you are a fan of either genre you just might get a kick out of this story.

Sci Fi - Dystopian

Did Strictly Analog inspire you to do anything?

It's a fast moving fast paced thriller with lots of interesting twists and turns that are guaranteed to keep the listener pinned to the words and a memory of a good read long thereafter.It is entertaining enough for me to keep on listening.

good book....kepted me going till the end..

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

yes to had many twists and turns and kepted you guessing to the end

Any additional comments?

I listen to alot audio books and this is a keeper i will look for more by Richard Levesque