The Shift

Alex Munn is a sort-of-television producer for X-Corp., a Hong-Kong-financed major player in New York of a few years from now. Through unprecedented computer power, X-Corp. has developed an extremely lifelike virtual reality system, user access to which ranges from ordinary 2D television to immersion of the consumer and wide control of the story's development, depending on how much the consumer wants to spend. Alex considers himself an artist and he hasn't much use for "Real Life," the sappy product he's being paid to develop, but it's hard to give up the money -- though he's already lost his wife, a soap actress on one of his earlier projects. Alex has been working quietly on a much better application of the VR technology: "Munn's World," set in the New York of 1850. Where "Real Life" ignores plot in favor of showing off the technology, "Munn's World" is gritty and involving . . . and almost too real, for a Nativist killer who stalks the old city, butchering the hated Irish, seems to have edged over into the "real" New York. Foy is extremely knowledgeable about his city of the present and the past (or else he's really, really good at faking it), and he has a serious gift for characterization, intricate plotting, and descriptive writing generally -- and a teriffic ear for Nooyawkese. He puts you inside the protagonist, especially, and his take on Riker's Island is terrifying and unforgettable. I don't know how I managed to miss hearing about this when it came out, but I'm glad I found it!

This book is one of the best I have ever read. The plot grabs you and brings you into the life of Alexander Munn. I definatly suggest anyone who likes the cyberpunk genre, read this book. You will not be dissapointed.

"The Shift" is set in a vividly realized New York City of the near future and in the same neighborhoods in the year 1850. Alex Munn is a producer who has invented an interactive TV prototype program focused on crime in 1850 New York City. He wants to develop and produce the prototype but the bosses will not allow it. Someone hacks into his prototype, mimics the M.O. of the serial killer in it, and then starts murdering Munn's friends to set him up with the police. The book is very lively, intensely visual, and a fast, gripping read. I found a few coincidences too many later in the book, but the novel has many more virtues to recommend it

I am very picky about what science fiction novels I read, and George Foy's _The Shift_ is science fiction that is truly in the tradition of the great SF writers, such as William Gibson, Neal Stephenson, and Isaac Asimov. Rich characters, a strong plot, salient to the present time, and suspense that lasts until the last page are all combined fluidly to create a superior story that almost any SF fan would enjoy. Each of the characters is intricately described, from their outward appearances to their most annoying habits, without the lengthy page-long descriptions so common in lesser novels. I felt as if I knew each one intimately, and yet I could never predict their actions. In particular, Kaye Santangelo's character, developed over time, was excellent. Never actually offering a nice, neatly packaged description, Foy makes the reader think continually about what type of person Kaye is. Throughout the story, the reader never knows Kaye better than Alex Munn does himself. On that note, the choice of writing The Shift in the first person, from Alex Munn's perspective, was inspired, at the very least. And unlike other SF authors that tend to drift in their writing, or even change the perspective, to give the reader a more complete idea of exactly what is going on, Foy never once took that easy out to keep the reader's attention, and it was definitely not needed. The suspense generated from not knowing what was going on, and the desire to find out the truth compelled me to pick up the book at every spare moment. Suspense was one of the key elements in Foy's novel. By writing entirely in the first person, he was able to pull the reader into the story, and make the reader feel as if they and Alex Munn are one. Many stories, SF and other fiction alike, reveal the plot completely within the first part of the story, then build to a climax using the protagonist's movement towards a solution, and finally taper off in the last few pages. Foy has chosen a completely different route. He begins the story with action, and maintains a high level of intensity right up until the last page. And still, are the antagonists ever completely revealed, and is the conflict entirely resolved? Alex Munn thinks so. Overall, I whole-heartedly recommend this book to any connoisseur of good writing. Even those readers who are not traditionally science fiction fans will enjoy reading The Shift, as the SF elements do not overwhelm the story. This is not a story about future technology. This is a story about Alex Munn's struggle to survive and be heard.