Crossover

More love for Joel Shepherd’s Crossover, this one from Rob H Bedford over at SFFWorld:

“With this novel, Shepherd … joins the ranks of writers like Karen Traviss, Marienne de Pierres, and Elizabeth Bear…. The other balancing act Shepherd dances throughout the entire novel is between the thoughtful dialogue (both external and inner) and the slam-bang action sequences, the assassination attempt or the various skirmishes throughout the book. In many ways Crossover is a very visceral book, evoking strong and powerful thoughts and emotions, both of which Kresnov inspires in those who surround her…. What makes Crossover stand out is how plausibly and realistically Shepherd draws his characters. The dialogue between Kresnov and her new colleagues propel the narrative and plot very well. Their thought processes and reactions occur very logically and are on equal standing with the plot/action elements of the story. Crossover is a satisfying, engaging, and thought-provoking read from another great new voice from Pyr. The good thing is that Crossover is the first of three books. “

Paul at FantasyBookSpot.com calls Joel Shepherd’s Crossover “very enjoyable,” and says:

“The prominent theme of Crossover is what makes a human, well, human, and what better way to explore this than through the mind of a lifelike android. It’s been explored countless times in myriad mediums. What makes Shepherd’s take different? His characters, especially Cassandra, they are what’s worth reading for. Check out Crossover; it’s a fun sci-fi thriller that is brimming with ideas and questions.”

Paul also notes the similarities to Masamune Shirow’s excellent graphic novel, Ghost in the Shell. What always impressed me about Ghost, both manga and anime, was the seemless integration of digital telepathy into – not just one or two protagonist’s heads – but to every citizen of the entire world of the future. Shirow gave us a world where every conversation happened on multiple levels – digital images and text annotations popping up via wireless cyberbrain-to-cyberbrain communication in every dialogue. He managed to demonstrate what a paradigm shift even everyday communication becomes when we are all chipped. While much of the look and feel of Ghost in the Shell found its way into cinema in its appropriation by The Matrix, I’d not seen literary or cinematic SF deal with this singularity in verbal & nonverbal communication before. Without being derivative, Shepherd’s Crossover impressed me in being the first SF (to my knowledge) to really take this onboard. That the book is loaded with sex and action sequences certainly doesn’t hurt, and it’s got wonderful characters and great world-building, but this was the aspect that first impressed me.

Ryun Patterson of Bookgasm manages to nail exactly what I like about the book when he says, “Joel Shepherd has written a cool book in Crossover, both a kick-ass android political action tale and a deconstruction of humanity, with both aspects are equally rewarding.”

After praising the book for its “ass-whooping” (obligatory in books about hot androids, natch), Patterson says, “It turns out that Shepherd has a few interesting ideas about what it means to be human, and as character after believable character is introduced and becomes a part of the quilt of Crossover’s central message, the impossible happens, and the combat is made that much more powerful because you start caring about everyone.”

Which is further proof that butt-kicking and head-scratching need not be mutually exclusive.

Joel Shepherd is interviewed over on Pat’s Fantasy Hotlist concerning his hot new novel Crossover. They talk about his heroine Cassandra Kresnov, the “android cliche,” awards vs readers, genre vs literary snobbery, Masamune Shirow, and what’s wrong with Superman.

On the subject of writers he admires, Joel says: “CJ Cherryh was a big influence on me growing up, she was the first writer who demonstrated to me that head-burstlingly intelligent, and wickedly entertaining, were not mutually exclusive concepts.”

Amen.

And thanks to Pat for this comment: “Pyr Books are slowly but surely establishing themselves as a quality outfit in the publishing world. More and more, the Pyr logo is associated with quality products and great reading experiences.”

Thank you – that’s very nice to hear.