Morgan stanley 2022 managing directors

Ex-Cons And Extremists Turn Media Debates Into 'Circus' Ahead Of Yet More Bulgarian Elections

2023.03.29 18:11 autotldr Ex-Cons And Extremists Turn Media Debates Into 'Circus' Ahead Of Yet More Bulgarian Elections

This is the best tl;dr I could make, original reduced by 82%. (I'm a bot)
An Alpha Research survey published on March 1 found that Petkov's We Continue The Change party and its coalition partners were leading with about 26.4 percent, just one percentage point ahead of the GERB party of former Prime Minister Boyko Borisov and its coalition partner, the Union of Democratic Forces.
Bulgarian Prime Minister Kiril Petokov, leader of the We Continue The Change party, addresses the media outside a polling station in Sofia on October 2, 2022.
With the stakes high, would-be voters turning to Bulgarian National Television and Bulgarian National Radio - both state-funded media behemoths - are being ill served, critics and experts have cautioned.
Concerns were first raised ahead of the October 2022 snap poll when Dimitar Mitev, a candidate for the Bulgarian Social Democracy - Euroleft party, and Svetlio Vitkov, leader of the populist People's Voice party, almost came to blows on BNT. 'Mental Health Of The Nation'.
Specifically, the party called for changes to Article 189 of the election law, inserting language that all registered parties "Have the right to equal participation" in campaign coverage by BNT and BNR. SEE ALSO: Special Investigation: Bulgarian Blasts, Russian Agents, And The War On Ukraine.
Milen Mitev, the general director of BNR, told RFE/RL's Bulgarian Service that more established parties are refusing to take part in debates involving extremists.
Summary Source FAQ Feedback Top keywords: party#1 election#2 Bulgarian#3 vote#4 candidate#5
Post found in /worldnews.
NOTICE: This thread is for discussing the submission topic. Please do not discuss the concept of the autotldr bot here.
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2023.03.29 18:08 vbutcher Experience with pregabalin ?

Has anyone taken pregabalin?
I’ve been prescribed them for anxiety/panic. I don’t tend to go right into panic meltdown mode but I get into a long period of anxiety which bubbles and builds as time goes on.
Triggers are things where i feel trapped or out of control, such as - dentists, cinemas, work meetings, sales meetings. i.e I will always be thinking what if my boss asks to speak to me right now? I feel unprepared… then I feel sick, then I have an irrational fear i’ll throw up but never have or will. It’s a fear of losing control.
I have therapy and seems to do nothing for it. My job is defo a trigger but I am very very well paid here so not a option to move really.
I have read very bad reviews on it and I can’t afford to feel space out and all of that at work because i’m a director and in a cutthroat industry.
If I get put into a scenario that gives me anxiety (which at the moment is most things, hasn’t always been this way) I will feel very anxious untill I go into the meeting or whatever, then when i’m in there have a panic moment, feel sick, struggle to concentrate and then start panicking as i have a fear of vomit and I worry I will be sick.
Exposure to it isn’t really helpful as the fear just keeps coming back every time.
It’s really ruining my life but I am scared to take the medicine as if I struggle with it I might get worse OR will struggle to do things such as work and I will have more stress from management in my business and it all just gets worse.
submitted by vbutcher to Anxiety [link] [comments]


2023.03.29 18:06 hatred-of-music Any idea on this one? The uppercase G it the most standout character I think

Any idea on this one? The uppercase G it the most standout character I think submitted by hatred-of-music to identifythisfont [link] [comments]


2023.03.29 18:05 T-11andCounting ROSES-23 Amendment 10: Due Date Delay and Town-Hall Meeting for B.7 Space Weather Science Application Research-to-Operations-to-Research.

ROSES-23 Amendment 10: Due Date Delay and Town-Hall Meeting for B.7 Space Weather Science Application Research-to-Operations-to-Research

B.7 Space Weather Science Application Research-to-Operations-to-Research (SWR2O2R) solicits proposals to improve application-oriented models and forecast tools that directly enable advances in the areas described below and, in doing so, could also lead to improved scientific understanding. Proposed work must have a clear path forward to benefit an identified end user (e.g., operational agencies or an industry with a well-established space weather need) and must establish both the value of the proposed work to the end user as well as the viability of delivering a usable capability within the lifetime of the R2O2R award. The single application-oriented focus area for this opportunity is Data Assimilation for Neutral Density Forecasting. In addition to this single focus area, SWR2O2R also invites submissions on any subject that is of demonstrable relevance to the program.
ROSES-2023 Amendment 10 delays the due dates for B.7 SWR2O2R to permit proposers time to submit their Step-1 proposals after the town-hall meeting April 12 regarding the R2O2R process and how to better engage with the operational agencies. Step-1 proposals are now due April 28, and Step-2 proposals are due June 28, 2023. Connect information for the April 12 town-hall meeting is posted under Other documents on the NSPIRES page for this program element.
On or about March 29 2023, this Amendment to the NASA Research Announcement "Research Opportunities in Space and Earth Sciences (ROSES) 2023" (NNH23ZDA001N) will be posted on the NASA research opportunity homepage at https://solicitation.nasaprs.com/ROSES2023 and will appear on SARA's ROSES blog at: https://science.nasa.gov/researchers/sara/grant-solicitations/roses-2023/
Questions concerning B.7 SWR2O2R may be directed to Jim Spann at [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected]?subject=B.7%20SWR2O2R).

You are receiving this email because you have subscribed, through NSPIRES, to the NASA Science Mission Directorate mailing list.
If you wish to unsubscribe from this mailing list, access your NSPIRES account, click on Account Management, then click the Email Subscriptions link.
If you need assistance, please contact the NSPIRES Help Desk at [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected]) or call 202-479-9376.
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2023.03.29 18:02 DoritosDewItRight Quote from today's WSJ article on the CPA shortage. Weird how it's always employers like this who insist that paying more wouldn't matter

Quote from today's WSJ article on the CPA shortage. Weird how it's always employers like this who insist that paying more wouldn't matter submitted by DoritosDewItRight to Accounting [link] [comments]


2023.03.29 18:01 thenameshamish Roast my CV/Resume Round 2. Looking for a graduate consulting role at a top-tier management consultancy

9 days ago I made the bold move of posting my CV online. I thought it was good. I expected high praise along with minor amendment suggestions. This was not the case. I got shredded. It was brutal.
After a couple of days of recovery, I faced up to my mistakes and worked on a new and improved CV. I changed everything, including replacing my Yahoo email with a Gmail account. I'm back, and ready to be posted. Let's see if I improve.
Original post
https://preview.redd.it/tl4i0f34bpqa1.png?width=1218&format=png&auto=webp&s=08183d5a0822473650ddd39babb50c209c40619e
submitted by thenameshamish to FinancialCareers [link] [comments]


2023.03.29 18:01 Big-Research-2875 Activation of Egg Metabolism

Activation of Egg

Although fertilization is commonly considered solely the suggests that to mix 2 haploid nuclei, however it's AN equally necessary role in initiating the processes that begin development.

Definition:

A series of morphological, physiological, and molecular changes that occur within the egg in response to fusion of the spermatozoon with the egg is named is named Activation.
Activation of Egg Metabolism

Mechanism of Egg Activation:

All the activation events happen within the protoplasm and occur while not the involvement of the nuclei. The mature egg may be a metabolically inactive cell that's activated by the spermatozoon.The spermatozoon act sort of a massive secretion, binding to receptors on the egg membrane in all probability via G macromolecule that activate Srckinas, that activate PLC, that via IP3 and DAG increase animate thing factor IV add increase hydrogen ion concentration (alkaline) severally that activate egg.This flux of Ca across the eggs starts a programmed set of metabolic events.

G Protein:

G macromolecule conjointly called G ester binding macromolecule, ar a family of macromolecule that acts as a molecular switches within cell and ar concerned in transmittal signal from a spread of stimuli outside the cell to its interior.

Srckinase Function;

It is non receptor macromolecule amino acid enzyme,that ar concerned within the management of a spread of cellular method like,Proliferation,Differentiation,Motility andAdhesion.

submitted by Big-Research-2875 to Thinkersofbiology [link] [comments]


2023.03.29 18:01 TheRealKuz GME Investments

I read GME's 10K. I found the investments part quite interesting. They parked about 250 million in short-term government treasuries that mature in 90 days or less. They have about 1.1 B$ in cash and equivalents. Why would they only put 250 million instead of 500 - 750 M$? They made this investment in August 2022. Coincidently, RC Ventures buy 9.99% of BoBBY and publishes an open letter to the Board of Directors in August 2022.
Here the quote from GME 10K: In August 2022, the Company opened investment portfolios consisting of U.S. government treasury notes and bills in an aggregate amount of $250.0 million. As of January 28, 2023, the investment portfolios aggregate balance was $252.6 million, of which $251.6 million are recognized in marketable securities and $1.0 million are recognized in cash and cash equivalents on our Consolidated Balance Sheets.
Speculation : In August 2022, GME wants to buy BABY from BoBBY. Therefore, they put the cash on the side in short term safe government treasuries. Now it's GME new fiscal year, having ended on a postive note, they use this cash to buy BABY. At the signing of the offering, the Holder of the BoBBY's warrants who I presume is GME paid 225 M$.
Thoughts?
submitted by TheRealKuz to GME [link] [comments]


2023.03.29 17:58 LoveMinaMyoi New companies founded by previous employees of other companies.

I know Cube was co-founded by a JYPE President, and MNH was founded by another JYPE manager, and ADOR is by Min Hee-Jin who worked as visual director for SM.
Ofcourses there artist founded companies too like Psy’s P-Nation, who was part of YG for a time, or like Rain’s J.Tune (subsidiary) and RAIN Company (outside company), who was a JYPE idol.
Any other companies you know are like this?
submitted by LoveMinaMyoi to kpophelp [link] [comments]


2023.03.29 17:57 Honest_Sky_1177 sdf

sdf submitted by Honest_Sky_1177 to u/Honest_Sky_1177 [link] [comments]


2023.03.29 17:54 Yorkshire80 Vax causes mass damage

Vax causes mass damage submitted by Yorkshire80 to EndTimers [link] [comments]


2023.03.29 17:51 Friendly_Giant04 I remember when people called us crazy for saying it’s eventually going to do more harm than good

I remember when people called us crazy for saying it’s eventually going to do more harm than good submitted by Friendly_Giant04 to conspiracy_commons [link] [comments]


2023.03.29 17:48 Emotional-Brief-1775 The perplexing case of Steve Tuomi

The perplexing case of Steve Tuomi
We know that Jeff was convicted of 16 cases of homicide from a total of 17 confessions.
Some of these included victims where no remains were recovered.
Here's an interesting link about convictions without a body. Check the drop-down for the list of US cases:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_murder_convictions_without_a_body

Some included witnesses, others didn't. Some even had victims turn up alive after the conviction.

With this case, there were a total of 5 victims with no remains:
James Doxtator, Richard Guerrero, Edward Smith, David Thomas and Steve Tuomi.
Why were there convictions for all of them apart from Steve? As mentioned in the link, circumstantial and forensic evidence are prominent in such convictions. Let's explore a couple of them.
Here's the circumstances and identification in the confession for Eddie Smith:

https://preview.redd.it/ij75ghldzoqa1.png?width=642&format=png&auto=webp&s=21451e12dbf6725c605d9f8a3c6f6d221b6c9663
https://preview.redd.it/1kueizkhzoqa1.png?width=642&format=png&auto=webp&s=9bbe66e59580b0311195f471cd09c979fa7cbd64
And likewise for Richard Guerrero:

https://preview.redd.it/gi2xkcsszoqa1.png?width=642&format=png&auto=webp&s=6acc48c02919190df2e96a249156589e887627b5

https://preview.redd.it/96id082vzoqa1.png?width=642&format=png&auto=webp&s=420412faff00f8fa811556f25dcf8d451e0b6531

https://preview.redd.it/3bmuo31xzoqa1.png?width=642&format=png&auto=webp&s=b8a59e4e9d2a68f43a7cb44d6776077dc591e929

https://preview.redd.it/lz6c8lazzoqa1.png?width=642&format=png&auto=webp&s=5e06d9ae35e3be69a562deb7f1ed2705adf0ce19
So they are relying on the suspect's confession only here.
Here's the incident report for Steve:

https://preview.redd.it/52xm3nyb0pqa1.png?width=642&format=png&auto=webp&s=35aa550d97b0ac2803a20484d5c12112e1884cc4

https://preview.redd.it/722g951d0pqa1.png?width=642&format=png&auto=webp&s=04b44ca39bd84ff8f04072c21519a5c1ea2ea90c
Notice it has the social security number of another person that is not Jeff.

Here's a couple of extracts about the circumstances provided in the confession. Note that Jeff states he met Steve about 1 week before Thanksgiving in 1987 - this would be around 20 November:

https://preview.redd.it/6m89bj711pqa1.png?width=641&format=png&auto=webp&s=a24ae8b7a0b9fd9f77fdaf97a4231f9593928fbe
https://preview.redd.it/jcmzioop0pqa1.png?width=642&format=png&auto=webp&s=2eaa23b6380bd29c7c5c2e67fb03f91afcc60851
This is how Jeff identified Steve:

https://preview.redd.it/8913qg4l1pqa1.png?width=642&format=png&auto=webp&s=521898bf71cb57c55dadaafd6621b78a56ddd12d
What is the difference between this identification and that for Eddie and Richard?

Here's an extract from USA today about why there was no conviction for the Steve Tuomi case:

https://preview.redd.it/kmt1vx952pqa1.png?width=463&format=png&auto=webp&s=7c4f9aa50cb51ea6dde63a1dee2c0f332629f82e
Here's Jeff's signature on the confession:

https://preview.redd.it/85z0pdft1pqa1.png?width=641&format=png&auto=webp&s=804dd96cc4f6efbb4f03d3bcf404941f99a84f30
Now consider that Jeff states he booked in a hotel, for 2 nights. Why was no investigation carried out into this missing person / homicide confession to back up Jeff's statement? To provide circumstantial evidence?
Why did the police feel there was no evidence? There were plenty of potential witnesses to call upon - more than for the other missing persons who also had no remains, yet resulted in homicide convictions.
For instance:
  • It was a hotel - evidence of the 2 night booking? Jeff mentions in the above confession that he had booked on previous occasions. Familiar customer?
  • There would have been hotel staff, cleaners, guests, the cab driver, all could be questioned. Did none of them recall seeing these two men?
  • The cab driver even helped to load the suitcase in the car. Setting aside the possibility of putting a fully grown man in a suitcase in the first place, this would have weighed around 60kg (if we go Jeff's estimate of 130 pounds given in the confession). I know what my suitcase feels like at 25kg, the typical airline maximum weight allowance.
  • Jeff describes a violent incident. Would any guests or staff have heard such a commotion? We are not even allowed to play loud music in a half decent hotel after-hours.
  • He mentions that Steve was bleeding. Did the cleaners not notice blood on the bedding or elsewhere? What about Jeff's clothes?
  • Did the booking staff not notice Jeff's bruised arms / hands when he booked another night? Or the cabbie for that matter.
  • What about obtaining proof that he purchased the suitcase? They managed to track down his receipt for the 1982 gun purchase (from the confession).
  • Steve was reported last seen on September 15 1987. Here's a link for that from USA Today Missing date and an extract from the 'first on the scene' crime reporter Anne Schwartz book, to confirm that missing date:

https://preview.redd.it/jfwk7s3w5pqa1.png?width=481&format=png&auto=webp&s=bfbf7a8cd43d97b169d7304cda5f1800bb00dbab

  • So what about the 2 months before Jeff met Steve in November? What happened then? Why was nobody questioned - friends, colleagues etc?
All this (and probably more) could have helped to back up Jeff's statement and provide circumstantial evidence. So why was none of this followed up?
Note Steve's address was mentioned in the confession as 1315 N. Cass Street. Here's the ancestry.com listing for that:

https://preview.redd.it/1smjxipi6pqa1.png?width=580&format=png&auto=webp&s=59382006bdcaffe74f53baf2d932a57ad65d5b5c
And then Steve moves less than 3 miles away to another address. Note his age matches as the same person:

https://preview.redd.it/3e4ivkpp6pqa1.png?width=615&format=png&auto=webp&s=a04448e2dd57d2eee6446da9510c9376f66f2524
And he was listed as resident there until 1991.
Less than 3 miles away.
https://preview.redd.it/lb1ws7cj7pqa1.png?width=1219&format=png&auto=webp&s=4782674131daae1ec0b0419f022753496594edf0
So perhaps this explains why there was no conviction.
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2023.03.29 17:48 DPVaughan Book Review: 36 Streets by T.R. Napper

Book Review: 36 Streets by T.R. Napper

https://preview.redd.it/79oveuet8pqa1.jpg?width=1000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=bfc4f3055875d28bdc9733c8ed276d5a4f1dddea
Today I’ll be reviewing the 2022 cyberpunk book 36 Streets by T.R. Napper.
DISCLAIMER: In the interest of full disclosure, the author of this book and I are both part of the same writer's guild, and I attended his book launch for 36 Streets last year.
The author, T.R. Napper is an Australian man who's had an interesting career prior to becoming an author: he was a diplomat and aid worker who delivered humanitarian programs in Southeast Asia, East Asia and Mongolia. But specifically relevant to this book, which is set in Vietnam, he lived in Hanoi for three years. He's won several awards, has had his works published in science fiction and speculative fiction magazines and received a creative writing doctorate with the thesis: Noir, Cyberpunk and Asian Modernity, all themes explored in this book. If you'd like to know more, his website is http://nappertime.com/ .
36 Streets is the debut novel of T.R. Napper. The book is an adult cyberpunk novel set in a dystopian future where Vietnam, or the north of it at least, has fallen under Chinese military rule. The eponymous 36 Streets is another name for the Old Quarter of Hanoi, where the Chinese authorities generally stay out and allow a Vietnamese crime gang to maintain order. The story deals heavily with the concept of memory, and the reliability or otherwise of it, in a world with ubiquitous neutral interfaces and hyperrealistic virtual reality.
The protagonist is Lin Thi Vun, a young woman who was born in Vietnam but grew up in Australia. Even though she speaks the language of her country of birth, her English is more natural and she doesn't trust her own Vietnamese language expertise and hasn't mastered a local accent. She feels self-conscious and like an outsider: she never felt truly Australian, but she doesn't really feel Vietnamese either. She's caught between worlds. Lin has worked her way up through the ranks of the criminal organisation that runs the 36 Streets, and spends her downtime getting drunk, high and picking up bar girls. She struggles with the murky morality of some of the jobs she has to do, not so much the breaking of kneecaps types of things, but like the job we see her doing in the opening chapter, of catching a member of the resistance against the Chinese occupation and handing him over to the Chinese authorities for the bounty which doesn't sit right with her.
The main thrust of the story kicks off when Lin is tasked by her boss to act as a private investigator and meet with a wealthy foreign businessman, the Englishman Herbert Molayson, who doesn't trust the official story of what happened to his two friends and business partners: one whose death was explained away too conveniently by the authorities for him to trust, and one who's gone missing and who no one can find any trace of. Lin chasing down leads and pulling on this thread, like an old-school hard-drinking noir detective, is what gets her involved in a conspiracy involving the regime and mega-corporations, a conspiracy that even learning about can lead to deadly consequences.
This book was great. Especially once the main private eye mystery arc began, I was hooked. I really can't understate how much I enjoyed the private investigation aspects of this story. I really enjoyed the pompous but shrewd Englishman Herbert Molayson who commissioned Lin to find his friend. However, I enjoyed the much rougher Hermann Hebb even more by comparison. Lin herself is an enjoyable protagonist to spend time with, although I'd be terrified to meet her in person. She's a flawed character who pushes people away and engages in self-destructive behaviour (like smoking, getting routinely blackout drunk and her addiction to the drug ice-seven), but when threatened doesn't back down or go down without a hell of a fight, even if she's outgunned. One thing I particularly enjoyed was that the first act we see her take, stunning and capturing a resistance member for a bounty, she almost completely screws up. She catches him, alright, but her nerves are on-edge because of her ice-seven addiction and instead of taking him down cleanly she misfires her stun gun and has to engage in hand-to-hand combat to get the job done, getting seriously injured in the process.
Having been to Vietnam on holiday, I could almost feel and smell the air of the streets as depicted by Napper in the book. It's probably a setting that is underexplored in English-language literature, especially in the cyberpunk genre. Other things I appreciated was that Lin, quite realistically, doesn't even start the book carrying a firearm: she's dangerous enough with a knife and stun gun. The technology of the world feels very feasible, like it's just out of reach of today's technological capabilities. The depiction of cybernetics are awesome (with a lot of information given via on-retinal display, for example). Little touches in the details show that this is a future where climate change has bitten in, with frequent mentions of vat-grown beef (as opposed to from cows on farmland), faux-wood tables and flexiscreens.
While the story overwhelmingly takes place within Vietnam, occasionally there are peeks and hints of just how dystopian the outside world has become: a mention of the "former" United States of America, Australia's gone full xenophobia like it's full of One Nation voters, Britain's described as "a despotic island off the coast of Europe", Pakistan appears to be a theocracy now, and so on. I haven't mentioned the virtual reality game that the investigation centres around, a re-creation of the Vietnam War from the perspective of an American soldier, and where the player always loses by being brutally killed) because that's best left to be explored in the book itself.
Pulling back from the details to a more meta perspective, the chapters were refreshingly short, which gave the book a quick pace. I never realised how much I love short chapters until I read this book. There was a flashback that the author held back until its reveal was perfectly timed in the plot. The violence is gritty and visceral, and the author is not shy about killing off named characters in the most brutal ways possible. For example, there's an antagonist with a BROADSWORD who is so violent and effective that it's terrifying any time he makes an appearance. The ending of the book felt very satisfying, and Lin makes a decision I didn't expect her to at the end.
Would I recommend this book? Of course! In fact, on Reddit alone I've recommended the book around 20 times. Well, once I’ve posted this review everywhere, it’ll be closer to 30 or 40 times.
I recommend this book to anyone looking for any combination of the following elements:
  • A cyberpunk book
  • A sci-fi book
  • A private eye / noir-like / mystery book
  • A standalone book (not part of a series)
  • Book with a culturally complex and bilingual protagonist (grew up with two different cultures)
  • Book written by an Australian
  • Book with a female protagonist
  • Book with a gay protagonist
  • Book set in Vietnam
  • Book set in an urban environment
  • Book set in a gritty future
  • Book for an adult audience
In summary, this book was a brutally visceral read and is such a shining example of the cyberpunk genre. It makes me think I need to read more cyberpunk, a genre I'd never actively sought out before, and if only because of that, I strongly recommend it.
And one final thought to leave on: As I neared the end of the book, I became painfully aware that I was going to miss Lin checking the time or reading messages via her on-retinal display when I moved onto other books. Especially given I normally read fantasy books, I knew I was really going to miss those little touches. I think that when I’m pre-emptively realising I’m going to miss an aspect of a book once I’ve finished reading it … well, that tells me I enjoyed it quite a bit. Easily one of the best books I’ve read in years.
Oh, and it has a glowing endorsement from Richard Morgan (author of Altered Carbon) on the front cover, in case that’s something you might find interesting.
submitted by DPVaughan to Fantasy [link] [comments]


2023.03.29 17:45 samptra_writer Our Dating Sim [Episodes 7 & 8]

submitted by samptra_writer to KDRAMA [link] [comments]


2023.03.29 17:43 DPVaughan Book Review: 36 Streets by T.R. Napper

Book Review: 36 Streets by T.R. Napper

https://preview.redd.it/7kmz6tn08pqa1.jpg?width=1000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a958da14daf2a6a444e85f6f7959669171df14bf
Today I’ll be reviewing the 2022 cyberpunk book 36 Streets by T.R. Napper.
DISCLAIMER: In the interest of full disclosure, the author of this book and I are both part of the same writer's guild, and I attended his book launch for 36 Streets last year.
The author, T.R. Napper is an Australian man who's had an interesting career prior to becoming an author: he was a diplomat and aid worker who delivered humanitarian programs in Southeast Asia, East Asia and Mongolia. But specifically relevant to this book, which is set in Vietnam, he lived in Hanoi for three years. He's won several awards, has had his works published in science fiction and speculative fiction magazines and received a creative writing doctorate with the thesis: Noir, Cyberpunk and Asian Modernity, all themes explored in this book. If you'd like to know more, his website is http://nappertime.com/ .
36 Streets is the debut novel of T.R. Napper. The book is an adult cyberpunk novel set in a dystopian future where Vietnam, or the north of it at least, has fallen under Chinese military rule. The eponymous 36 Streets is another name for the Old Quarter of Hanoi, where the Chinese authorities generally stay out and allow a Vietnamese crime gang to maintain order. The story deals heavily with the concept of memory, and the reliability or otherwise of it, in a world with ubiquitous neutral interfaces and hyperrealistic virtual reality.
The protagonist is Lin Thi Vun, a young woman who was born in Vietnam but grew up in Australia. Even though she speaks the language of her country of birth, her English is more natural and she doesn't trust her own Vietnamese language expertise and hasn't mastered a local accent. She feels self-conscious and like an outsider: she never felt truly Australian, but she doesn't really feel Vietnamese either. She's caught between worlds. Lin has worked her way up through the ranks of the criminal organisation that runs the 36 Streets, and spends her downtime getting drunk, high and picking up bar girls. She struggles with the murky morality of some of the jobs she has to do, not so much the breaking of kneecaps types of things, but like the job we see her doing in the opening chapter, of catching a member of the resistance against the Chinese occupation and handing him over to the Chinese authorities for the bounty which doesn't sit right with her.
The main thrust of the story kicks off when Lin is tasked by her boss to act as a private investigator and meet with a wealthy foreign businessman, the Englishman Herbert Molayson, who doesn't trust the official story of what happened to his two friends and business partners: one whose death was explained away too conveniently by the authorities for him to trust, and one who's gone missing and who no one can find any trace of. Lin chasing down leads and pulling on this thread, like an old-school hard-drinking noir detective, is what gets her involved in a conspiracy involving the regime and mega-corporations, a conspiracy that even learning about can lead to deadly consequences.
This book was great. Especially once the main private eye mystery arc began, I was hooked. I really can't understate how much I enjoyed the private investigation aspects of this story. I really enjoyed the pompous but shrewd Englishman Herbert Molayson who commissioned Lin to find his friend. However, I enjoyed the much rougher Hermann Hebb even more by comparison. Lin herself is an enjoyable protagonist to spend time with, although I'd be terrified to meet her in person. She's a flawed character who pushes people away and engages in self-destructive behaviour (like smoking, getting routinely blackout drunk and her addiction to the drug ice-seven), but when threatened doesn't back down or go down without a hell of a fight, even if she's outgunned. One thing I particularly enjoyed was that the first act we see her take, stunning and capturing a resistance member for a bounty, she almost completely screws up. She catches him, alright, but her nerves are on-edge because of her ice-seven addiction and instead of taking him down cleanly she misfires her stun gun and has to engage in hand-to-hand combat to get the job done, getting seriously injured in the process.
Having been to Vietnam on holiday, I could almost feel and smell the air of the streets as depicted by Napper in the book. It's probably a setting that is underexplored in English-language literature, especially in the cyberpunk genre. Other things I appreciated was that Lin, quite realistically, doesn't even start the book carrying a firearm: she's dangerous enough with a knife and stun gun. The technology of the world feels very feasible, like it's just out of reach of today's technological capabilities. The depiction of cybernetics are awesome (with a lot of information given via on-retinal display, for example). Little touches in the details show that this is a future where climate change has bitten in, with frequent mentions of vat-grown beef (as opposed to from cows on farmland), faux-wood tables and flexiscreens.
While the story overwhelmingly takes place within Vietnam, occasionally there are peeks and hints of just how dystopian the outside world has become: a mention of the "former" United States of America, Australia's gone full xenophobia like it's full of One Nation voters, Britain's described as "a despotic island off the coast of Europe", Pakistan appears to be a theocracy now, and so on. I haven't mentioned the virtual reality game that the investigation centres around, a re-creation of the Vietnam War from the perspective of an American soldier, and where the player always loses by being brutally killed) because that's best left to be explored in the book itself.
Pulling back from the details to a more meta perspective, the chapters were refreshingly short, which gave the book a quick pace. I never realised how much I love short chapters until I read this book. There was a flashback that the author held back until its reveal was perfectly timed in the plot. The violence is gritty and visceral, and the author is not shy about killing off named characters in the most brutal ways possible. For example, there's an antagonist with a BROADSWORD who is so violent and effective that it's terrifying any time he makes an appearance. The ending of the book felt very satisfying, and Lin makes a decision I didn't expect her to at the end.
Would I recommend this book? Of course! In fact, on Reddit alone I've recommended the book around 20 times. Well, once I’ve posted this review everywhere, it’ll be closer to 30 or 40 times.
I recommend this book to anyone looking for any combination of the following elements:
  • A cyberpunk book
  • A sci-fi book
  • A private eye / noir-like / mystery book
  • A standalone book (not part of a series)
  • Book with a culturally complex and bilingual protagonist (grew up with two different cultures)
  • Book written by an Australian
  • Book with a female protagonist
  • Book with a gay protagonist
  • Book set in Vietnam
  • Book set in an urban environment
  • Book set in a gritty future
  • Book for an adult audience
In summary, this book was a brutally visceral read and is such a shining example of the cyberpunk genre. It makes me think I need to read more cyberpunk, a genre I'd never actively sought out before, and if only because of that, I strongly recommend it.
And one final thought to leave on: As I neared the end of the book, I became painfully aware that I was going to miss Lin checking the time or reading messages via her on-retinal display when I moved onto other books. Especially given I normally read fantasy books, I knew I was really going to miss those little touches. I think that when I’m pre-emptively realising I’m going to miss an aspect of a book once I’ve finished reading it … well, that tells me I enjoyed it quite a bit. Easily one of the best books I’ve read in years.
Oh, and it has a glowing endorsement from Richard Morgan (author of Altered Carbon) on the front cover, in case that’s something you might find interesting.
submitted by DPVaughan to mysteryfiction [link] [comments]


2023.03.29 17:42 DPVaughan Book Review: 36 Streets by T.R. Napper

Book Review: 36 Streets by T.R. Napper

https://preview.redd.it/ocneohhv7pqa1.jpg?width=1000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c8c9e5df8808f89190ac53d1e0b7acfa340dc7a1
Today I’ll be reviewing the 2022 cyberpunk book 36 Streets by T.R. Napper.
DISCLAIMER: In the interest of full disclosure, the author of this book and I are both part of the same writer's guild, and I attended his book launch for 36 Streets last year.
The author, T.R. Napper is an Australian man who's had an interesting career prior to becoming an author: he was a diplomat and aid worker who delivered humanitarian programs in Southeast Asia, East Asia and Mongolia. But specifically relevant to this book, which is set in Vietnam, he lived in Hanoi for three years. He's won several awards, has had his works published in science fiction and speculative fiction magazines and received a creative writing doctorate with the thesis: Noir, Cyberpunk and Asian Modernity, all themes explored in this book. If you'd like to know more, his website is http://nappertime.com/ .
36 Streets is the debut novel of T.R. Napper. The book is an adult cyberpunk novel set in a dystopian future where Vietnam, or the north of it at least, has fallen under Chinese military rule. The eponymous 36 Streets is another name for the Old Quarter of Hanoi, where the Chinese authorities generally stay out and allow a Vietnamese crime gang to maintain order. The story deals heavily with the concept of memory, and the reliability or otherwise of it, in a world with ubiquitous neutral interfaces and hyperrealistic virtual reality.
The protagonist is Lin Thi Vun, a young woman who was born in Vietnam but grew up in Australia. Even though she speaks the language of her country of birth, her English is more natural and she doesn't trust her own Vietnamese language expertise and hasn't mastered a local accent. She feels self-conscious and like an outsider: she never felt truly Australian, but she doesn't really feel Vietnamese either. She's caught between worlds. Lin has worked her way up through the ranks of the criminal organisation that runs the 36 Streets, and spends her downtime getting drunk, high and picking up bar girls. She struggles with the murky morality of some of the jobs she has to do, not so much the breaking of kneecaps types of things, but like the job we see her doing in the opening chapter, of catching a member of the resistance against the Chinese occupation and handing him over to the Chinese authorities for the bounty which doesn't sit right with her.
The main thrust of the story kicks off when Lin is tasked by her boss to act as a private investigator and meet with a wealthy foreign businessman, the Englishman Herbert Molayson, who doesn't trust the official story of what happened to his two friends and business partners: one whose death was explained away too conveniently by the authorities for him to trust, and one who's gone missing and who no one can find any trace of. Lin chasing down leads and pulling on this thread, like an old-school hard-drinking noir detective, is what gets her involved in a conspiracy involving the regime and mega-corporations, a conspiracy that even learning about can lead to deadly consequences.
This book was great. Especially once the main private eye mystery arc began, I was hooked. I really can't understate how much I enjoyed the private investigation aspects of this story. I really enjoyed the pompous but shrewd Englishman Herbert Molayson who commissioned Lin to find his friend. However, I enjoyed the much rougher Hermann Hebb even more by comparison. Lin herself is an enjoyable protagonist to spend time with, although I'd be terrified to meet her in person. She's a flawed character who pushes people away and engages in self-destructive behaviour (like smoking, getting routinely blackout drunk and her addiction to the drug ice-seven), but when threatened doesn't back down or go down without a hell of a fight, even if she's outgunned. One thing I particularly enjoyed was that the first act we see her take, stunning and capturing a resistance member for a bounty, she almost completely screws up. She catches him, alright, but her nerves are on-edge because of her ice-seven addiction and instead of taking him down cleanly she misfires her stun gun and has to engage in hand-to-hand combat to get the job done, getting seriously injured in the process.
Having been to Vietnam on holiday, I could almost feel and smell the air of the streets as depicted by Napper in the book. It's probably a setting that is underexplored in English-language literature, especially in the cyberpunk genre. Other things I appreciated was that Lin, quite realistically, doesn't even start the book carrying a firearm: she's dangerous enough with a knife and stun gun. The technology of the world feels very feasible, like it's just out of reach of today's technological capabilities. The depiction of cybernetics are awesome (with a lot of information given via on-retinal display, for example). Little touches in the details show that this is a future where climate change has bitten in, with frequent mentions of vat-grown beef (as opposed to from cows on farmland), faux-wood tables and flexiscreens.
While the story overwhelmingly takes place within Vietnam, occasionally there are peeks and hints of just how dystopian the outside world has become: a mention of the "former" United States of America, Australia's gone full xenophobia like it's full of One Nation voters, Britain's described as "a despotic island off the coast of Europe", Pakistan appears to be a theocracy now, and so on. I haven't mentioned the virtual reality game that the investigation centres around, a re-creation of the Vietnam War from the perspective of an American soldier, and where the player always loses by being brutally killed) because that's best left to be explored in the book itself.
Pulling back from the details to a more meta perspective, the chapters were refreshingly short, which gave the book a quick pace. I never realised how much I love short chapters until I read this book. There was a flashback that the author held back until its reveal was perfectly timed in the plot. The violence is gritty and visceral, and the author is not shy about killing off named characters in the most brutal ways possible. For example, there's an antagonist with a BROADSWORD who is so violent and effective that it's terrifying any time he makes an appearance. The ending of the book felt very satisfying, and Lin makes a decision I didn't expect her to at the end.
Would I recommend this book? Of course! In fact, on Reddit alone I've recommended the book around 20 times. Well, once I’ve posted this review everywhere, it’ll be closer to 30 or 40 times.
I recommend this book to anyone looking for any combination of the following elements:
  • A cyberpunk book
  • A sci-fi book
  • A private eye / noir-like / mystery book
  • A standalone book (not part of a series)
  • Book with a culturally complex and bilingual protagonist (grew up with two different cultures)
  • Book written by an Australian
  • Book with a female protagonist
  • Book with a gay protagonist
  • Book set in Vietnam
  • Book set in an urban environment
  • Book set in a gritty future
  • Book for an adult audience
In summary, this book was a brutally visceral read and is such a shining example of the cyberpunk genre. It makes me think I need to read more cyberpunk, a genre I'd never actively sought out before, and if only because of that, I strongly recommend it.
And one final thought to leave on: As I neared the end of the book, I became painfully aware that I was going to miss Lin checking the time or reading messages via her on-retinal display when I moved onto other books. Especially given I normally read fantasy books, I knew I was really going to miss those little touches. I think that when I’m pre-emptively realising I’m going to miss an aspect of a book once I’ve finished reading it … well, that tells me I enjoyed it quite a bit. Easily one of the best books I’ve read in years.
Oh, and it has a glowing endorsement from Richard Morgan (author of Altered Carbon) on the front cover, in case that’s something you might find interesting.
submitted by DPVaughan to noir [link] [comments]


2023.03.29 17:42 Remotive [Hiring] 20 Full Remote jobs at tech companies - Mar 29, 2023

Job Title Company Salary Full Remote in...
Head of Product (Mobile) OBRIO - Ukraine
Database Analyst Shuvel Digital - USA
Infrastructure Engineer Crossvale - Spain
Senior Federal Proposal Writer Enterprise Horizon Consulting Group - USA
Head of People Partnering (HRBP) (f/m/x) refurbed - Europe
Unreal Game Client Engineer Tidal Flats $24k - $48k Worldwide
Director of Finance Inspectorio - Worldwide
People Business Consultant Perceptyx - USA
Executive Virtual Assistant The Badass Babe Squad - Honduras
🇩🇪 Bilanzbuchhalter / Steuerfachangestellte oder gleichwertig in Tierschutzorganisation Tier- und Naturschutzbund Berlin-Brandenburg e.V. - Tierlebenshof Nauen €36k -€55k Germany, Switzerland, Austria
Frontend Developer SportyBet $40k-$80k Americas, LATAM
Fullstack Software Engineer Vervegroup - Spain
Near Shore Python Developer JBS Solutions - Costa Rica
Customer Success Manager Regrow Ag - USA
General Manager, Customer Advocacy Icertis - USA
People Operations Coordinator [bench] - Canada
Full Stack Engineer Mediavine - USA
Head of Marketing Waterplan - USA
Account Executive Sequence - UK
Sentinel Cybersecurity Architect Higher Frog Ltd - UK
submitted by Remotive to remotivejobs [link] [comments]


2023.03.29 17:41 DPVaughan Book Review: 36 Streets by T.R. Napper

Today I’ll be reviewing the 2022 cyberpunk book 36 Streets by T.R. Napper.
DISCLAIMER: In the interest of full disclosure, the author of this book and I are both part of the same writer's guild, and I attended his book launch for 36 Streets last year.
The author, T.R. Napper is an Australian man who's had an interesting career prior to becoming an author: he was a diplomat and aid worker who delivered humanitarian programs in Southeast Asia, East Asia and Mongolia. But specifically relevant to this book, which is set in Vietnam, he lived in Hanoi for three years. He's won several awards, has had his works published in science fiction and speculative fiction magazines and received a creative writing doctorate with the thesis: Noir, Cyberpunk and Asian Modernity, all themes explored in this book. If you'd like to know more, his website is http://nappertime.com/ .
36 Streets is the debut novel of T.R. Napper. The book is an adult cyberpunk novel set in a dystopian future where Vietnam, or the north of it at least, has fallen under Chinese military rule. The eponymous 36 Streets is another name for the Old Quarter of Hanoi, where the Chinese authorities generally stay out and allow a Vietnamese crime gang to maintain order. The story deals heavily with the concept of memory, and the reliability or otherwise of it, in a world with ubiquitous neutral interfaces and hyperrealistic virtual reality.
The protagonist is Lin Thi Vun, a young woman who was born in Vietnam but grew up in Australia. Even though she speaks the language of her country of birth, her English is more natural and she doesn't trust her own Vietnamese language expertise and hasn't mastered a local accent. She feels self-conscious and like an outsider: she never felt truly Australian, but she doesn't really feel Vietnamese either. She's caught between worlds. Lin has worked her way up through the ranks of the criminal organisation that runs the 36 Streets, and spends her downtime getting drunk, high and picking up bar girls. She struggles with the murky morality of some of the jobs she has to do, not so much the breaking of kneecaps types of things, but like the job we see her doing in the opening chapter, of catching a member of the resistance against the Chinese occupation and handing him over to the Chinese authorities for the bounty which doesn't sit right with her.
The main thrust of the story kicks off when Lin is tasked by her boss to act as a private investigator and meet with a wealthy foreign businessman, the Englishman Herbert Molayson, who doesn't trust the official story of what happened to his two friends and business partners: one whose death was explained away too conveniently by the authorities for him to trust, and one who's gone missing and who no one can find any trace of. Lin chasing down leads and pulling on this thread, like an old-school hard-drinking noir detective, is what gets her involved in a conspiracy involving the regime and mega-corporations, a conspiracy that even learning about can lead to deadly consequences.
This book was great. Especially once the main private eye mystery arc began, I was hooked. I really can't understate how much I enjoyed the private investigation aspects of this story. I really enjoyed the pompous but shrewd Englishman Herbert Molayson who commissioned Lin to find his friend. However, I enjoyed the much rougher Hermann Hebb even more by comparison. Lin herself is an enjoyable protagonist to spend time with, although I'd be terrified to meet her in person. She's a flawed character who pushes people away and engages in self-destructive behaviour (like smoking, getting routinely blackout drunk and her addiction to the drug ice-seven), but when threatened doesn't back down or go down without a hell of a fight, even if she's outgunned. One thing I particularly enjoyed was that the first act we see her take, stunning and capturing a resistance member for a bounty, she almost completely screws up. She catches him, alright, but her nerves are on-edge because of her ice-seven addiction and instead of taking him down cleanly she misfires her stun gun and has to engage in hand-to-hand combat to get the job done, getting seriously injured in the process.
Having been to Vietnam on holiday, I could almost feel and smell the air of the streets as depicted by Napper in the book. It's probably a setting that is underexplored in English-language literature, especially in the cyberpunk genre. Other things I appreciated was that Lin, quite realistically, doesn't even start the book carrying a firearm: she's dangerous enough with a knife and stun gun. The technology of the world feels very feasible, like it's just out of reach of today's technological capabilities. The depiction of cybernetics are awesome (with a lot of information given via on-retinal display, for example). Little touches in the details show that this is a future where climate change has bitten in, with frequent mentions of vat-grown beef (as opposed to from cows on farmland), faux-wood tables and flexiscreens.
While the story overwhelmingly takes place within Vietnam, occasionally there are peeks and hints of just how dystopian the outside world has become: a mention of the "former" United States of America, Australia's gone full xenophobia like it's full of One Nation voters, Britain's described as "a despotic island off the coast of Europe", Pakistan appears to be a theocracy now, and so on. I haven't mentioned the virtual reality game that the investigation centres around, a re-creation of the Vietnam War from the perspective of an American soldier, and where the player always loses by being brutally killed) because that's best left to be explored in the book itself.
Pulling back from the details to a more meta perspective, the chapters were refreshingly short, which gave the book a quick pace. I never realised how much I love short chapters until I read this book. There was a flashback that the author held back until its reveal was perfectly timed in the plot. The violence is gritty and visceral, and the author is not shy about killing off named characters in the most brutal ways possible. For example, there's an antagonist with a BROADSWORD who is so violent and effective that it's terrifying any time he makes an appearance. The ending of the book felt very satisfying, and Lin makes a decision I didn't expect her to at the end.
Would I recommend this book? Of course! In fact, on Reddit alone I've recommended the book around 20 times. Well, once I’ve posted this review everywhere, it’ll be closer to 30 or 40 times.
I recommend this book to anyone looking for any combination of the following elements:
In summary, this book was a brutally visceral read and is such a shining example of the cyberpunk genre. It makes me think I need to read more cyberpunk, a genre I'd never actively sought out before, and if only because of that, I strongly recommend it.
And one final thought to leave on: As I neared the end of the book, I became painfully aware that I was going to miss Lin checking the time or reading messages via her on-retinal display when I moved onto other books. Especially given I normally read fantasy books, I knew I was really going to miss those little touches. I think that when I’m pre-emptively realising I’m going to miss an aspect of a book once I’ve finished reading it … well, that tells me I enjoyed it quite a bit. Easily one of the best books I’ve read in years.
Oh, and it has a glowing endorsement from Richard Morgan (author of Altered Carbon) on the front cover, in case that’s something you might find interesting.
submitted by DPVaughan to books [link] [comments]


2023.03.29 17:41 DPVaughan Book Review: 36 Streets by T.R. Napper

Book Review: 36 Streets by T.R. Napper

https://preview.redd.it/u0utrgcl7pqa1.jpg?width=1000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5f7be2db6195c3b2d475e33100e43ec79d7c3370
Today I’ll be reviewing the 2022 cyberpunk book 36 Streets by T.R. Napper.
DISCLAIMER: In the interest of full disclosure, the author of this book and I are both part of the same writer's guild, and I attended his book launch for 36 Streets last year.
The author, T.R. Napper is an Australian man who's had an interesting career prior to becoming an author: he was a diplomat and aid worker who delivered humanitarian programs in Southeast Asia, East Asia and Mongolia. But specifically relevant to this book, which is set in Vietnam, he lived in Hanoi for three years. He's won several awards, has had his works published in science fiction and speculative fiction magazines and received a creative writing doctorate with the thesis: Noir, Cyberpunk and Asian Modernity, all themes explored in this book. If you'd like to know more, his website is http://nappertime.com/ .
36 Streets is the debut novel of T.R. Napper. The book is an adult cyberpunk novel set in a dystopian future where Vietnam, or the north of it at least, has fallen under Chinese military rule. The eponymous 36 Streets is another name for the Old Quarter of Hanoi, where the Chinese authorities generally stay out and allow a Vietnamese crime gang to maintain order. The story deals heavily with the concept of memory, and the reliability or otherwise of it, in a world with ubiquitous neutral interfaces and hyperrealistic virtual reality.
The protagonist is Lin Thi Vun, a young woman who was born in Vietnam but grew up in Australia. Even though she speaks the language of her country of birth, her English is more natural and she doesn't trust her own Vietnamese language expertise and hasn't mastered a local accent. She feels self-conscious and like an outsider: she never felt truly Australian, but she doesn't really feel Vietnamese either. She's caught between worlds. Lin has worked her way up through the ranks of the criminal organisation that runs the 36 Streets, and spends her downtime getting drunk, high and picking up bar girls. She struggles with the murky morality of some of the jobs she has to do, not so much the breaking of kneecaps types of things, but like the job we see her doing in the opening chapter, of catching a member of the resistance against the Chinese occupation and handing him over to the Chinese authorities for the bounty which doesn't sit right with her.
The main thrust of the story kicks off when Lin is tasked by her boss to act as a private investigator and meet with a wealthy foreign businessman, the Englishman Herbert Molayson, who doesn't trust the official story of what happened to his two friends and business partners: one whose death was explained away too conveniently by the authorities for him to trust, and one who's gone missing and who no one can find any trace of. Lin chasing down leads and pulling on this thread, like an old-school hard-drinking noir detective, is what gets her involved in a conspiracy involving the regime and mega-corporations, a conspiracy that even learning about can lead to deadly consequences.
This book was great. Especially once the main private eye mystery arc began, I was hooked. I really can't understate how much I enjoyed the private investigation aspects of this story. I really enjoyed the pompous but shrewd Englishman Herbert Molayson who commissioned Lin to find his friend. However, I enjoyed the much rougher Hermann Hebb even more by comparison. Lin herself is an enjoyable protagonist to spend time with, although I'd be terrified to meet her in person. She's a flawed character who pushes people away and engages in self-destructive behaviour (like smoking, getting routinely blackout drunk and her addiction to the drug ice-seven), but when threatened doesn't back down or go down without a hell of a fight, even if she's outgunned. One thing I particularly enjoyed was that the first act we see her take, stunning and capturing a resistance member for a bounty, she almost completely screws up. She catches him, alright, but her nerves are on-edge because of her ice-seven addiction and instead of taking him down cleanly she misfires her stun gun and has to engage in hand-to-hand combat to get the job done, getting seriously injured in the process.
Having been to Vietnam on holiday, I could almost feel and smell the air of the streets as depicted by Napper in the book. It's probably a setting that is underexplored in English-language literature, especially in the cyberpunk genre. Other things I appreciated was that Lin, quite realistically, doesn't even start the book carrying a firearm: she's dangerous enough with a knife and stun gun. The technology of the world feels very feasible, like it's just out of reach of today's technological capabilities. The depiction of cybernetics are awesome (with a lot of information given via on-retinal display, for example). Little touches in the details show that this is a future where climate change has bitten in, with frequent mentions of vat-grown beef (as opposed to from cows on farmland), faux-wood tables and flexiscreens.
While the story overwhelmingly takes place within Vietnam, occasionally there are peeks and hints of just how dystopian the outside world has become: a mention of the "former" United States of America, Australia's gone full xenophobia like it's full of One Nation voters, Britain's described as "a despotic island off the coast of Europe", Pakistan appears to be a theocracy now, and so on. I haven't mentioned the virtual reality game that the investigation centres around, a re-creation of the Vietnam War from the perspective of an American soldier, and where the player always loses by being brutally killed) because that's best left to be explored in the book itself.
Pulling back from the details to a more meta perspective, the chapters were refreshingly short, which gave the book a quick pace. I never realised how much I love short chapters until I read this book. There was a flashback that the author held back until its reveal was perfectly timed in the plot. The violence is gritty and visceral, and the author is not shy about killing off named characters in the most brutal ways possible. For example, there's an antagonist with a BROADSWORD who is so violent and effective that it's terrifying any time he makes an appearance. The ending of the book felt very satisfying, and Lin makes a decision I didn't expect her to at the end.
Would I recommend this book? Of course! In fact, on Reddit alone I've recommended the book around 20 times. Well, once I’ve posted this review everywhere, it’ll be closer to 30 or 40 times.
I recommend this book to anyone looking for any combination of the following elements:
  • A cyberpunk book
  • A sci-fi book
  • A private eye / noir-like / mystery book
  • A standalone book (not part of a series)
  • Book with a culturally complex and bilingual protagonist (grew up with two different cultures)
  • Book written by an Australian
  • Book with a female protagonist
  • Book with a gay protagonist
  • Book set in Vietnam
  • Book set in an urban environment
  • Book set in a gritty future
  • Book for an adult audience
In summary, this book was a brutally visceral read and is such a shining example of the cyberpunk genre. It makes me think I need to read more cyberpunk, a genre I'd never actively sought out before, and if only because of that, I strongly recommend it.
And one final thought to leave on: As I neared the end of the book, I became painfully aware that I was going to miss Lin checking the time or reading messages via her on-retinal display when I moved onto other books. Especially given I normally read fantasy books, I knew I was really going to miss those little touches. I think that when I’m pre-emptively realising I’m going to miss an aspect of a book once I’ve finished reading it … well, that tells me I enjoyed it quite a bit. Easily one of the best books I’ve read in years.
Oh, and it has a glowing endorsement from Richard Morgan (author of Altered Carbon) on the front cover, in case that’s something you might find interesting.
submitted by DPVaughan to SciFiAndFantasy [link] [comments]


2023.03.29 17:40 DPVaughan Book Review: 36 Streets by T.R. Napper

Book Review: 36 Streets by T.R. Napper

https://preview.redd.it/gi4snp4f7pqa1.jpg?width=1000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=492808faa5ae9eb5d88393957286331ab5ec4143
Today I’ll be reviewing the 2022 cyberpunk book 36 Streets by T.R. Napper.
DISCLAIMER: In the interest of full disclosure, the author of this book and I are both part of the same writer's guild, and I attended his book launch for 36 Streets last year.
The author, T.R. Napper is an Australian man who's had an interesting career prior to becoming an author: he was a diplomat and aid worker who delivered humanitarian programs in Southeast Asia, East Asia and Mongolia. But specifically relevant to this book, which is set in Vietnam, he lived in Hanoi for three years. He's won several awards, has had his works published in science fiction and speculative fiction magazines and received a creative writing doctorate with the thesis: Noir, Cyberpunk and Asian Modernity, all themes explored in this book. If you'd like to know more, his website is http://nappertime.com/ .
36 Streets is the debut novel of T.R. Napper. The book is an adult cyberpunk novel set in a dystopian future where Vietnam, or the north of it at least, has fallen under Chinese military rule. The eponymous 36 Streets is another name for the Old Quarter of Hanoi, where the Chinese authorities generally stay out and allow a Vietnamese crime gang to maintain order. The story deals heavily with the concept of memory, and the reliability or otherwise of it, in a world with ubiquitous neutral interfaces and hyperrealistic virtual reality.
The protagonist is Lin Thi Vun, a young woman who was born in Vietnam but grew up in Australia. Even though she speaks the language of her country of birth, her English is more natural and she doesn't trust her own Vietnamese language expertise and hasn't mastered a local accent. She feels self-conscious and like an outsider: she never felt truly Australian, but she doesn't really feel Vietnamese either. She's caught between worlds. Lin has worked her way up through the ranks of the criminal organisation that runs the 36 Streets, and spends her downtime getting drunk, high and picking up bar girls. She struggles with the murky morality of some of the jobs she has to do, not so much the breaking of kneecaps types of things, but like the job we see her doing in the opening chapter, of catching a member of the resistance against the Chinese occupation and handing him over to the Chinese authorities for the bounty which doesn't sit right with her.
The main thrust of the story kicks off when Lin is tasked by her boss to act as a private investigator and meet with a wealthy foreign businessman, the Englishman Herbert Molayson, who doesn't trust the official story of what happened to his two friends and business partners: one whose death was explained away too conveniently by the authorities for him to trust, and one who's gone missing and who no one can find any trace of. Lin chasing down leads and pulling on this thread, like an old-school hard-drinking noir detective, is what gets her involved in a conspiracy involving the regime and mega-corporations, a conspiracy that even learning about can lead to deadly consequences.
This book was great. Especially once the main private eye mystery arc began, I was hooked. I really can't understate how much I enjoyed the private investigation aspects of this story. I really enjoyed the pompous but shrewd Englishman Herbert Molayson who commissioned Lin to find his friend. However, I enjoyed the much rougher Hermann Hebb even more by comparison. Lin herself is an enjoyable protagonist to spend time with, although I'd be terrified to meet her in person. She's a flawed character who pushes people away and engages in self-destructive behaviour (like smoking, getting routinely blackout drunk and her addiction to the drug ice-seven), but when threatened doesn't back down or go down without a hell of a fight, even if she's outgunned. One thing I particularly enjoyed was that the first act we see her take, stunning and capturing a resistance member for a bounty, she almost completely screws up. She catches him, alright, but her nerves are on-edge because of her ice-seven addiction and instead of taking him down cleanly she misfires her stun gun and has to engage in hand-to-hand combat to get the job done, getting seriously injured in the process.
Having been to Vietnam on holiday, I could almost feel and smell the air of the streets as depicted by Napper in the book. It's probably a setting that is underexplored in English-language literature, especially in the cyberpunk genre. Other things I appreciated was that Lin, quite realistically, doesn't even start the book carrying a firearm: she's dangerous enough with a knife and stun gun. The technology of the world feels very feasible, like it's just out of reach of today's technological capabilities. The depiction of cybernetics are awesome (with a lot of information given via on-retinal display, for example). Little touches in the details show that this is a future where climate change has bitten in, with frequent mentions of vat-grown beef (as opposed to from cows on farmland), faux-wood tables and flexiscreens.
While the story overwhelmingly takes place within Vietnam, occasionally there are peeks and hints of just how dystopian the outside world has become: a mention of the "former" United States of America, Australia's gone full xenophobia like it's full of One Nation voters, Britain's described as "a despotic island off the coast of Europe", Pakistan appears to be a theocracy now, and so on. I haven't mentioned the virtual reality game that the investigation centres around, a re-creation of the Vietnam War from the perspective of an American soldier, and where the player always loses by being brutally killed) because that's best left to be explored in the book itself.
Pulling back from the details to a more meta perspective, the chapters were refreshingly short, which gave the book a quick pace. I never realised how much I love short chapters until I read this book. There was a flashback that the author held back until its reveal was perfectly timed in the plot. The violence is gritty and visceral, and the author is not shy about killing off named characters in the most brutal ways possible. For example, there's an antagonist with a BROADSWORD who is so violent and effective that it's terrifying any time he makes an appearance. The ending of the book felt very satisfying, and Lin makes a decision I didn't expect her to at the end.
Would I recommend this book? Of course! In fact, on Reddit alone I've recommended the book around 20 times. Well, once I’ve posted this review everywhere, it’ll be closer to 30 or 40 times.
I recommend this book to anyone looking for any combination of the following elements:
  • A cyberpunk book
  • A sci-fi book
  • A private eye / noir-like / mystery book
  • A standalone book (not part of a series)
  • Book with a culturally complex and bilingual protagonist (grew up with two different cultures)
  • Book written by an Australian
  • Book with a female protagonist
  • Book with a gay protagonist
  • Book set in Vietnam
  • Book set in an urban environment
  • Book set in a gritty future
  • Book for an adult audience
In summary, this book was a brutally visceral read and is such a shining example of the cyberpunk genre. It makes me think I need to read more cyberpunk, a genre I'd never actively sought out before, and if only because of that, I strongly recommend it.
And one final thought to leave on: As I neared the end of the book, I became painfully aware that I was going to miss Lin checking the time or reading messages via her on-retinal display when I moved onto other books. Especially given I normally read fantasy books, I knew I was really going to miss those little touches. I think that when I’m pre-emptively realising I’m going to miss an aspect of a book once I’ve finished reading it … well, that tells me I enjoyed it quite a bit. Easily one of the best books I’ve read in years.
Oh, and it has a glowing endorsement from Richard Morgan (author of Altered Carbon) on the front cover, in case that’s something you might find interesting.
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2023.03.29 17:39 Codenamehumble At what point does advocating for trans people to arm themselves with deadly firearms become its own form of trans genocide?

At what point does advocating for trans people to arm themselves with deadly firearms become its own form of trans genocide? submitted by Codenamehumble to Destiny [link] [comments]