Rating: 
Summary: One of the blackest futures ever conceived is aptly titled.
Review: Visiting the book store some time ago, I noticed that the author of this novel has busied himself converting Phil Dick's masterpiece into a franchise. Having read Noir, I am not too tempted to see how Jeter may have twisted Bladerunner's already dark milieu.Action in this novel starts out right away, but I had to read the first chapter over, because I could not picture Jeter's scene. Noir is brutal. It is the sickest and most perverse future vision I have ever read. Not that that is necessarily bad, but.. Imagine a world were even death is no escape from your creditors; where mysterious machines shoot down every aircraft that ever leaves the ground; where copyright infringement is punishable by means far, far worse than death... and it goes on and on. On the post-apocalyptic Earth human life is a worthless commodity. Sexuality is explored in many forms, but invariably they are sickly perverse and closely linked to death and mutilation. This did more to demonstrate the author's own inclinations than to present anything remotely plausible. The penalty for selling someone else's intellectual property in Jeter's world is to have one's brain and spinal chord forcefully removed and placed on life support. The offender's still-living, still-aware neural tissue is then used to make stereo cables or to control small household appliances for the personal amusement of the artist or author that was wronged. Doesn't take much analysis to see the author's own personal agendas being manifested here. The protaganist is an 'asp-head', and agent of the Collection Agency, the company that performs the torturous executions as described above. He is a non-dimensional character who is, of course, very darkly motivated. There is nothing good at all in McNihil's life, he has made sure of that. The hero has taken the steps to have his vision altered so that the world appears to be a darkened version of the world of 1930's cinema. There is no daytime in McNihil's world, a condition that suits well the otherwise flat character. All of Jeter's frequent cultural references, and his occasional use of German quotes are both totally incomprehensible. This may not be entirely bad though, as it does seem to add something, though certainly not authenticity. One thing is clear: Jeter's southern California is much different from any that anyone will ever see. Finally, Jeter calls into question his own knowledge of the use of the English language, using the word 'connect' as a direct replacement for our beloved 'f' word. I.e. You are such a connecting loser, and so on. That, sadly is his only attempt at modifying dialog to appear authentically futuristic, and it doesn't work at all. I finished Jeter's Noir, and found to my surprise that he managed to salvage a decent ending from this rather unredeemably twisted work.
Rating:
Summary: muddy, inept, confusing and stylistically impenetrable
Review: What the hell was this guy trying to do? I gave up after about 15 pages. I kept thinking, hope against hope, that it would get better. But it only got worse. Whatever you do, please stay as far away from this as possible
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