Lance Canela, a private detective who's a little too into his job, is just barely getting by in the dystopian city of Kindred. The book follows Lance as he deals with the case of a vanished hacker and his wealthy and beautiful sister, Fiona. When the mystery doesn't conform to his expectations, Lance winds up getting a taste of what the violent world of Hardboiled mysteries is really like. Scarred by the experience, he lays low for several months afterward, until an old woman leaves him with the hope of reuniting with her missing daughter. The investigation leads him into the Arcology, a massive building in the city's center. Failing to live up to promises, the Arcology's lowest floors have become a Wretched Hive of the exploited poor and homeless, while the top quickly became the glamorous, exclusive realm of the rich called Magmell. After reconnecting with Fiona as a bid to gain access to the top, Lance finds himself at a turning point: faced with violence once more, will he fight back? Or can this case be solved without bloodshed?
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This series provides examples of:
- Ascended Fanboy: Lance grew up reading classic Hardboiled Detective stories by authors like Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett, then became a private detective.
- City Noir: Kindred would certainly qualify.
- Corrupt Corporate Executive: Overton.
- Cyberpunk Is Techno: Lance's office is near a techno rave club, which cramps his old-fashioned style a bit.
- Cyberpunk with a Chance of Rain: There's a lot of rain, but other weather definitely shows up. The trenchcoat remains, even when less than practical.
- Dystopia: MegaCorps abound, high degrees of class separation and wealth inequality... the classic hallmarks.
- Does Not Like Guns: Part of Lance's Character Development is figuring out which side of this he comes down on.
- Femme Fatale: Lance mistakes Fiona for one, but she's really the farthest thing from it.
- Future Food Is Artificial: Implied by Lance during his first trip to Magmell.
- Gangbangers: Roaming the bottom of the Arcology.
- Hacker Cave: The phrase is used word-for-word to describe Logan's apartment, and Wyatt's hideout would be an even better example.
- Hardboiled Detective: Discussed. Lance wants to be one very badly, but the world around him doesn't agree, and he doesn't seem to have the "hard" part down. Fiona asks about this directly.
- Have You Told Anyone Else?: Asked by Overton; Lance says no, but he did.
- Layered Metropolis: The Arcology is effectively one, inside of another city.
- MegaCorp: again used by name, to describe Viacorp. Others seem to exist.
- Online Alias: Logan goes by "Void," while Lance's friend Wyatt uses the name "Sigil" for his hacking activities.
- Police Are Useless: If you leave the Arcology's bottom, they'll process you and dump you right back inside the walls.
- Private Eye Monologue: Lance's tendency towards these is his most hardboiled trait.
- 20 Minutes into the Future: The book is set in late-2052/mid-2053.
- Wretched Hive: The bottom of the Arcology is rampant with gangs and little legal employment exists.
