Review of eBook

Empathy tracker Judah Zorn . . . better known as Lion . . . is the first of his kind. His ability to see upcoming trends and cultural shifts make him an asset for companies such as Arctic Pharmaceuticals. Despite his ability to identify future actions, Lion says his job is to say “yes” or “no.”

When Sir Richard, the head of Arctic Pharmaceuticals, learns of a new drug that might be helpful in dealing with autism, he hires Lion to find the cult leader about to release Sietch Tabr to the market. But there’s another side to the drug . . . it also increases empathy toward other people as well as toward animals.

What will happen when a hunter takes the drug? And what is Sir Richard’s true motive for finding the drug?

=========

The blending of cultures makes for compelling world-building . . . a near-future world filled with futuristic technology. And Lion’s empathy and connection with ecosystems, plants, and animals makes him an intriguing character. The idea of a strong empathetic nature acts as a highlight for the narrative. Additionally, Lion’s quiet, somewhat introverted nature makes him an appealing protagonist.

There are a few disconnects in the telling of the tale, including all the vegan inculcation. Then, there are the bizarre bar codes on the necks of several characters and the author’s annoying predilection for describing a wide variety of marijuana . . . none contributed significantly to the overall narrative.

Nevertheless, the thought-provoking story holds the reader’s interest [and may spark interest in a re-reading of Frank Herbert’s “Dune”].

Recommended.

I received a free copy of this eBook from St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley
#LastTangoinCyberspace #NetGalley ( )

Reminiscent of Gibson's Pattern Recognition while extending his themes of biohacking and technology as consciousness expanders. It's all about the zeitgeist. Lion, the protagonist in this book has had empathy enhancement that allows him to sense how trends fragment and recluster various demographics - and create new opportunities. Animal activism is an added contemporary twist.

Drugs, clothes and cool all make the man in both books. Both books share a rapid pace and laser focus on how trends are driven by and drive culture. While the styles of both authors appear to be similar, Kottler uses a lot more exposition to keep readers up with him. Gibson simply puts you in the midst of his "brave new world" and let's you experience the future shock as you try catch up with him2/. ( )

I was so looking forward to reading this. I love the concept of using empathy as a kind of tool. And neuroscience in general fascinates me. I expected a great story. But I couldn't even finish this book. Forcing myself to do so would have put me in a foul mood.

Fifteen pages in, I wondered what the heck I was reading. We jump right into this ultra-modern world with no preamble whatsoever. I felt like I'd missed something. I stopped to check, thinking this had to be a second or third in a trilogy. Nope, it's a stand-alone. Back to reading.

At 22 pages in, I still had little idea of what exactly this main character was doing. Who were the people he kept referencing? This wasn't the kind of suspense that kept me turning pages, but the kind of ambiguous nonsense that simply irritated me.

But I kept reading and hoping for clarification. And, so, the main character, Lion, got really high, really often. I found myself tangled in meaningless details that didn't help orient me in time or place. The onslaught of pop culture references felt forced, as if everything a twentysomething might be remotely interested in and every cultural hot topic had to be used somewhere in this story, even if most of it was irrelevant to the story itself.

And then we went back to getting high. Because being high makes a person more empathetic? Or Lion just really loves being high.

I tried, really I did. But this book is just not for me.

*I received a review copy from the publisher, via Amazon Vine.* ( )

Last Tango in Cyberspace is a sort “the day after tomorrow” science fiction, taking us just enough into the future to disconcert us and put us off balance, while retaining so much that is familiar. Facebook, Google, Starbucks, Virgin Air, and many other corporations retain their power and influence in this step into the future. The most unfamiliar element of the future is the degree with which bio-hacking has become commonplace. This is not just implanting a credit card chip in your forearm, but more like hacking your brain to potentiate your natural talents.

Lion Zorn has developed his naturally empathic traits and become an em-tracker, a career as a trend spotter, but on a cultural level. He consults for various people and industries, identifying the next new thing, or more consequentially, the next new movement. He is hired by one of the world’s richest men, the CEO of Arctic Pharmaceuticals, to find someone, a quest that takes him around the globe. Along the way, he also tries to solve the bizarre murder of a big game hunter. “They are hunting the hunters,” he realizes and his past as an animal rights activist informs and fuels his search.

Steven Kotler drops us right in the story without long explication of how society has changed so the first chapter or two can be a bit disconcerting as readers acclimate, but after that, it’s an exciting thriller with plenty of intriguing characters and potential for a continuing series. Except that is not the point, the point is exploring the power of empathy and its value in saving us, as a species, if we can be saved. Much of the story is concerned obliquely with the rapid extinction of species and our role in it, encouraging greater empathy with nonhuman life on this planet we share. This is important and it’s encouraging to see it become a central theme in a sci-fi thriller.

The story is weakest when the conversation is used to educate, for example, on how humans became human, why we have values that other primates lack. It’s interesting, but the story is better showing rather than telling. Kotler tries to do this with dialogue, but it’s still telling and becomes a bit didactic, but then Zorn’s favorite book is “Dune” so what do you expect?

Last Tango in Cyberspace is thought-provoking and well-written. I found myself highlighting so much that was worthy of coming back to think about again. Because of this the reader often confronts opposing needs, wanting to stop and think about what Kotler just wrote and equally wanting to race through the propulsive plot. I generally chose the latter.

Last Tango in Cyberspace will be released on May 14th. I received an e-galley from the publisher through NetGalley.

Last Tango in Cyberspace at St. Martin’s Press | Macmillan
Steven Kotler author site

★★★★

https://tonstantweaderreviews.wordpress.com/2019/04/30/9781250202086/ ( )