Night, Rain, and Neon

Novelist Cobley (Splintered Suns) assembles a cyberpunk anthology that aims to show “how the root of Humanity’s being adapts when our perceptions are retooled by technology” and runs the gamut between silly and searing along the way. At its strongest, the work offers such delights as Callum McSorley’s voicey and vivid “Forever in Scotland,” in which the estranged descendant of a legendary hacker must steal precious data from her wealthy grandfather, and Louise Carey’s razor-sharp “The Still Small Voice,” which drops a protagonist with a brain-implant virtual assistant into a murder mystery with the ultimate unreliable narrator. Other standouts include Corey J. White’s heartfelt “Digital Salt,” about attempting to unionize a corporate artificial intelligence, and Al Robertson’s intricate “All the Precious Years,” which weaves touching observations on dementia into an international spy caper. While all the stories offer rich worldbuilding, several feel half-baked and unable to deliver on what they set out to achieve. Ian McDonald’s “Four Green Fields, and Fair” is the most egregious, letting down an exciting premise with a jarring, mean-spirited ending. Still, this anthology offers something to enjoy here for any cyberpunk enthusiast—especially those who like it urban, grimy, and dangerously plausible. (July)