Dervish Is Digital

______________________________________________ Picked this one up at the libe, after seeing a favorable comment somewhere. This will be an unusually disorganized "review", since I took some notes, browsed around online (finding nothing worthwhile), then witlessly returned the book before writing it up. So you'll be getting what was truly memorable... Anyway, this is a sequel to Tea from an Empty Cup (which I haven't read), and is further hijinx in VR (here AR), which to my great relief doesn't include the (to me) odious Post-apocalyptic Noo Yawk Sitty (sic, and sicker). This one involves one Hastings Dervish, who is stalking his ex in cyberspace, and running Lt. Konstantin of the AR Police around in circles in the bowels of the casinos of digital Hong Kong. It's an sfnal police procedural, and a nice one. Very crisp writing. Lots of lovely one-line zingers -- I'd quote you some, if I still had the book... "He morphs, he torques, he crawls on his belly like a reptile..." -- his ex, re the elusive Dervish, from a scribbled note to myself. The ending is one of those where the book just stops, which actually works pretty well here. And the book is blessedly short. Recommended. Incidentally, my fave Cadigan of all time is the wonderfully creepy short, "Roadside Rescue". Wham, bam, SLAM. Reprinted often, and worth looking for. Happy reading-- Pete Tillman

Dervish is Digital is one of my favorite sci fi books. Itis classified by some as "cyberpunk." I don't really know what that genre means, but I recommend Dervish for anyone who enjoys a fast-paced, technology-heavy, mystery story. Konstantin, the main character, is a woman all women can relate to. Tough yet sensitive, aware of her flaws, she is human and engaging.The world Cadigan created is mesmerizing. Nothing is what it seems. Her imagination is so fertile, her descriptive writing skills so honed, that you squirm with delight at each new incantation. This book is a puzzle, and not a breeze-through read, but it is immensely intriguing and has a smashing, powerful ending.

excellent cyberpunk ala VR. Reading her previous works is helpfull to get full enjoyment out of this book.

Once again Pat Cadigan shows why she is one of our finest science fiction writers in this elegant Chandleresque cyberpunk thriller. Lieutenant Dore Konstantin from "Tea From An Empty Cup" returns to help Susannah Ell, who insists she's being stalked by her ex-husband, Hastings Dervish. At first it seems like a rather implausible accusation since Dervish is one of the world's richest men. Yet Konstantin finds herself soon in a wild, rollercoaster ride through AR (Artificial Reality) contending not only with Dervish, but also with Goku, a Japanese policeman, looking for juvenile sexual AR deviants in Hong Kong. Those yearning for an exciting cyberpunk thriller will not be disappointed with Cadigan's latest novel.

Detective Dore Konstantine runs the three-person Techno Crime, AR (Artificial Reality) Division. Though swamped with work, as the net has become a copyright nightmare, Dore would not mind if they could win one once a while. Proof is difficult at best to find and justice is a cyber thought of the mundane realm. However, Dore is stunned when designer Susannah Ell claims her former spouse wealthy Hastings Dervish is stalking her via artificial reality. Stalking is a real world dangerous dilemma, not a cyberworld problem. Susannah wants Dore to make Hastings stop preferably by arresting him. A disbelieving Dore knows the world of cyberspace is filled with lies, misinformation, and deadly illusion. In this place, Dore seeks the truth amidst the cesspool of AR while Japanese police peer Goku believes her target is working the Hong Kong casinos. Is that in the real world or the artificial world? Either way, Dore is going to learn just how clever and dangerous Dervish really is. The return of Dore Konstantine, cyberspace police officer, is a joyful event for those readers who relish something quite different in their police procedurals. Like with its predecessor (see TEA FROM AN EMPTY CUP), DERVISH IS DIGITAL is a wild ride that never slows down for a moment even when the readers enter AR, a place that seems more authentic than our reality does at times. Talented Pat Cadigan takes the police procedural into places that few, if any, has gone before.Harriet Klausner