Under the Amoral Bridge: Amazon.ca: Gary A. Ballard: Books

Cyber-punk, near-future sci-fi, urban sci-fi, any one of those terms could describe Under the Amoral Bridge by Gary A. Ballard. It could also be described as a good yarn featuring an ambiguous, yet relatable, main character.

The plot centers around Artemis Bridge, a slightly shady go-between who can get you what you want, be it illegal or immoral. It is business as usual until one of his deals goes sour and he finds himself with killers on his tail and in possession of information he doesn't want.

The book is a fairly standard cyber-punk sci-fi novel, but it does have a nice touch of nihilistic cynicism set in a scruffy, corrupt future. The characters are well-rounded, with the focal character neither heroic nor completely indifferent; he is just a guy trying to get himself out of a bad situation in one piece. Also, the author does do a splendid job of painting his future world, a gritty, dark place full of people turned jaded, corrupt or apathetic.

Under the Amoral Bridge started life on the blogs as serial fiction, but it translates well to book form and it is a satisfying, entertaining read.

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com ^(beta)

Amazon.com: 4.1 out of 5 stars (25 customer reviews)

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Fast, enjoyable read, Mar 9 2010

By Frankie D. - Published on Amazon.com

I liked this, it was fast and fun. Ballard's writing style was relatively smooth, he did a good job building his world without drowning the reader in heavy-handed exposition, and the story was entertaining.

Artie Bridge operates in a grey zone, not necessarily breaking any laws as he connects the needy with their needs, but he certainly walks a fine line between living not-quite-like a criminal and dying like one. He gets embroiled in a connection which does not turn out as expected, needing to pull upon all his contacts and skills to make it out alive.

The story line was somewhat predictable, and some of the characters were sketchy, but overall this self-published work was well presented with few hitches. I would have liked to see it be a bit longer, fleshing out more of the interesting almost post-apocalyptic world the author builds, but at 99 cents it is not a disappointment.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars 4 3/4 Stars from "Red Adept Reviews", Sep 22 2010

By Lynn ODell "Red Adept Reviews - A Blog" - Published on Amazon.com

Plot/Storyline: 4 3/4 Stars

I found the plot to be surprisingly unique, along with its interesting setting of our future earth. The future in the novel is scarily realistic. I could actually see the U.S. turning into this world.

From the first paragraph, I was pulled into the story. The depiction of the very different futuristic society was seamlessly interwoven into the story. The cover states that this is a "Cyberpunk Novel." To be perfectly honest, I'm not really into all that new genre classification. I preferred to think of it as a science fiction novel, and a very good one at that.

Yes, there are a lot of references to computers and new technology. However, there was really only one scene that required any computer knowledge. Although, I didn't think that scene was done as well as the rest of the book. It was a bit convoluted with all of the "rules" not explained very well. The rest of the book is set outside of any "cyberspace" areas.

While I am not into political type books, this one had an entirely different take on politics and government. It was not an especially new concept, but it was introduced in an awesome way that kept me guessing until the very end.

Character Development: 4 1/2 Stars

Artemis, the main character, was really fun to read about. I loved his style. While I couldn't agree with his politics, or lack thereof, or his moral reasonings, he still remained sympathetic in my eyes. He wasn't particularly likable, yet I still found myself cheering him on.

Artemis' lady love was far less developed. She could have used qutie a bit more "page time."

The bodyguard was just a side character, yet he was my favorite by far.

Writing Style: 5 Stars

I really enjoyed the writing style of Mr. Ballard. The smooth sentence structure gave the story a good flow. The descriptions were excellent, with just enough detail. The dialogue was very realistic.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent first book, Oct 7 2009

By Corey Crawford - Published on Amazon.com

This review is from: Under the Amoral Bridge (Paperback)

Set in a future Los Angeles after the government has abandoned it's role in governing the city, a major corporation is in charge. With it's own agenda to attain, it leaves a dirty, less-than-secure, population to fend for themselves. Ballard takes us on a ride through the corruption and societal decay, as the main character fights to stay alive after unfortunate circumstances place him in the dangerous crosshairs of unknown assailants. With a foray into a whole body 'Net experience, digging into corrupt political agendas, and dodging would-be-assassins, you may not be able to put down the book until it's finished.

Not only is this novel well written and a joy to read, Ballard paints imaginative scenarios and environments that I can only hope are expounded on in future novels.

With a style that reminds me of one of my favorite books, Neuromancer, I can't wait to read the next installment.

› Go to Amazon.com to see all 25 reviews 4.1 out of 5 stars

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