The best cyberpunk that nobody knows. The drug and sex crazy Middle Eastern setting of the Buyadeen sets this apart from the usual chrome and black leather crowd, while the tech level is accurately 'like today, but a little bit different.' Book 2 of the Marid Audran trilogy follows our now neuro-enhanced protagonist as responsibility is forced on him, as well as a deadly secret about his employer and the system of governance he controls.

***

I reread this when Amazon had a deal on the whole series. This is a definite step down from When Gravity Fails. I could remember that book vividly, but this one had a vague "oh yeah, that's when that happens." While the scenes are good, the over all plot just doesn't make sense. There's some kind of covert war between the two major crime bosses of the city, but it turns out there's an overall alliance over a covert plan to share organs to favor underlings. Marid is at the mercy of hardened kills and walks out a few too many times for me to believe it. And as an underling in an organization and new moddy enthusiast, he's much less fun than the hustler of the first book. Still, I'm excited for to see how the series ends.