Firebreak

Nicole Kornher-Stace

Pure Cyberpunk excellence with definite Snowcrash vibes. Set in a 22nd century world where New Liberty is a megacity created "inland" to avoid the massive climate change flooding that destroyed most existing cities. New Liberty is the primary front of the war between the two remaining corporations, Stellaxis (which owns all water) and Greenleaf (which controls all agriculture). In this world, Mallory is a war orphan who spends her time in the virtual game world chasing kills and trying to develop a following for her stream as her primary source of income. The game world is really a hyper-realistic simulation of real world (or at least that is what Stellaxis says), and much of the commerce related to the game is centered around the vat-grown SecOps superheroes who fight to protect Stellaxis citizens from the super-mech that Greenleaf operates in the war. As a Sci-Fi commentary on corporate greed gone wild, it is on the nose. Mallory becomes the catalyst for an opening of awareness and the possibility for change. What is perhaps missing here is the same thing that is missing in society. From the perspective of the narrative, Stellaxis has always existed, and as an entity of its own we don't really find any individual to fault. What I would love to see in a SciFi expose of corporations is some discussion/exploration of how to notice and prevent the scenario before it gets to the point of "too far gone". Maybe that is boring and just a political science dissertation? Maybe the prequel Flight and Anchor will get at some of this?

4 stars (out of 4)