Due to a sudden, unexpected passing in the family a few years ago and another more recently and my subsequent (mental) health issues stemming from that, I was unable to download this book in time to review it before it was archived as I did not visit this site for several years after the bereavements. This meant I didn't read or venture onto netgalley for years as not only did it remind me of that person as they shared my passion for reading, but I also struggled to maintain interest in anything due to overwhelming depression. I was therefore unable to download this title in time and so I couldn't give a review as it wasn't successfully acquired before it was archived. The second issue that has happened with some of my other books is that I had them downloaded to one particular device and said device is now defunct, so I have no access to those books anymore, sadly.

This means I can't leave an accurate reflection of my feelings towards the book as I am unable to read it now and so I am leaving a message of explanation instead. I am now back to reading and reviewing full time as once considerable time had passed I have found that books have been helping me significantly in terms of my mindset and mental health - this was after having no interest in anything for quite a number of years after the passings. Anything requested and approved will be read and a review written and posted to Amazon (where I am a Hall of Famer & Top Reviewer), Goodreads (where I have several thousand friends and the same amount who follow my reviews) and Waterstones (or Barnes & Noble if the publisher is American based). Thank you for the opportunity and apologies for the inconvenience.

I was not sure if I would enjoy reading Neon Empire. I was pleasantly surprised and glad I had the chance to read this ARC. A well-written story and characters that kept me entertained until the very end.

Synopsis:
This multiple-POV novel follows three characters as they navigate the city’s underworld. Cedric Travers, a has-been Hollywood director, comes to Eutopia looking for clues into his estranged wife’s disappearance. What he finds instead is a new career directing—not movies, but experiences. The star of the show: A’rore, the city’s icon and lead social media influencer. She’s panicking as her popularity wanes, and she'll do anything do avoid obscurity. Sacha Villanova, a tech and culture reporter, is on assignment to profile A’rore—but as she digs into Eutopia’s inner workings, she unearths a tangle of corporate corruption that threatens to sacrifice Cedric, A’rore, and even the city itself on the altar of stockholder greed.

I was really excited to read Neon Empire and it did not disappoint. I'm very into books that deal with technology and the future. This reminded me of Orwell and similar authors in that the visionary world Minh created is quite imaginative and unique. Set in the near future, Neon Empire is a dystopian sci-fi novel based in a high-tech city called Eutopia. The place is a latter-day combination of European cities, including Paris and London. Eutopia’s population are embroiled in a social media frenzy; an all-consuming obsession with superficial attention — likes, followers etc. The world-building and story were enough to keep me turning pages. Jaded, manipulative, self-centered, and self-promoting, the characters were appropriate, in keeping with life in Eutopia, though not necessarily agreeable to read.

i'm someone who has a hard time with imagining characters and locations, because i have difficulties in creating images in my mind. with this book, however, this was definitely not a problem. the writing was vivid, almost technicolor, and i could visualize the city the author was describing very vividly.

i liked this a lot. fast-paced, engaging, well-written and executed, and pretty short. this is the ideal read to get out of a reading slump, especially if you're a dystopian fan (i feel like we haven't been getting the adequate dystopian stories we deserve for these past few years). it's an original tale, even if the plot isn't exactly that out of the park, and i'll definitely check out more from this author in the future.

Neon Empire is a dystopian novel set in a not-too-distant future where the world’s increasing obsession with social media status has developed to the next level and a whole city has been constructed where popularity and social media influence are the sole currency and where flocks of people gather to pursue fame and fortune and hedonism. But the maintenance of status becomes all-consuming, and people’s desire to achieve or maintain their position drives them to further and further extremes and the corporations in control go to ever more desperate lengths to monetise experience to the last degree, regardless of the danger to human life. This all leads to a tautly-wound society that is only ever seconds away from violence and civil disobedience and it is only going to take one wrong move for the tinder-box to erupt.

The pace of the book is frenetic, and the story arc is spliced and jumbled and told by different voices and all angles, to reflect the fast, constantly-changing, crazy world of utopia, where things move and change from second to second and everyone is constantly reacting to changing stimuli and running to catch up. The world-building is detailed and evocative, in my mind Eutopia is a cross between Las Vegas on acid and Minority Report and, for some reason, a place where it is permanently night. Sometimes the text provides too much information to take in, and your brain is chasing the detail, unable to keep up, but again this is deliberate, to reflect the reality that the book presents, which makes for an exciting read, but it is not remotely relaxing!

This is an interesting exploration of where our society could go, given the trajectory we are on at the moment. Bearing in mind the scandals there have been with regard to data-mining and social media influencing of our decision-making in recent years, of how susceptible we all are to online marketing and rumour, how we know that the internet seems to predict our every move by monitoring our online interactions, the world portrayed here is no so far-fetched as to be unimaginable. It is not, however, a pretty or comfortable picture and should give us all pause for thought.

A future of online manipulation, superficiality and artifice is not a place I want to live, or for my children to grow up in. This book made me want to get out in the fresh air and touch something real.

Neon Empire was pretty good. I enjoyed the technology aspect and the commentary it opens up in regard to today's social media use.

Set in a vibrant dystopian world reminiscent of Ready Player One and 1984, Neon Empire follows three characters as they navigate through Eutopia, a pulsating and energetic city where social media coverage and thrillseeking popularity run rampant.

Cedric Travers: a has-been director searching for his missing wife

A'rore: a celebrity desperately trying to maintain fame in an age where attention spans have greatly diminished

Sacha Villanova: a reporter profiling A'rore but her search leads to the discovery of corruption within Eutopia infrastructure

I loved the worldbuilding and the commentary Minh makes on this setting. Eutopia represents the promise of fame and fortune, a golden age in a sense, but underneath all the glitter lays the dangers of social media, drugs that last for weeks, and other unsavory ventures. Social media has been raised to a new level of awareness, attention seekers and celebrity-wannabes obsess over the limelight in hopes of making it big, while current celebrities struggle to maintain their followings in an oversaturated battlefield of stardom. It also delves in deeper and explores corporations monetizing profits from these deadly thrillseeking enterprises. If you couldn't tell, I loved this alternative universe because of how thought-provoking and well-developed it was in presenting its ideas.

I wasn't so fond of the plot though. I wasn't completely sure what was happening most of the time but the characters were easy enough to follow though I wasn't very engaged in their plotlines. I'm still confused about the ending... is there going to be a sequel or something because there was very little closure and the novel ends at an odd time.

*Thank you to NetGalley and California Coldblood Books publishers for providing a free ARC

This was one wild ride. I'm struggling to find words to adequately convey the effect of this novel. But here's my best attempt.

Eutopia is a city that's more than a city. Built on Navajo Nation territory, far-seeing developers have recreated all the highlights of Europe. Thus an exact replica of the Eiffel Tower shares the city with Buckingham Palace, the Coliseum, and the like. All replicas, of course.

Being built on confiscated Navajo land has financial benefits. Gambling and prostitution are legal. But that's not all. The entire city is high tech. Based on information from all the digital devices carried by residents and tourists, outdoor advertisements target those nearby. Financial incentives persuade people to live-broadcast their lives.

A chance to make money while having fun. What could be better?

But with their altered realities, both physical and virtual, and interactions with the city's commerce and social media, the humans have created another character: Eutopia.

It's not just a setting that comes to life and "feels" like a character, but a city that is a character. Moreover, it's a dynamic, malevolent character, one with an agenda that goes against human will. Eutopia exploits the humans. 

Like Dr. Frankenstein with his famous creature, the humans have set something in motion that they cannot control. Even the ones who believe that they are controlling Eutopia really aren't; the city spirals out of control like a person on a downward cycle into mental chaos, and it takes the humans with it.

I hope this makes sense. Several reviewers have noted that they felt distanced from the human characters or that the humans weren't fully developed. I sensed this, too.

But I also think this was intentional. This isn't a novel where the reader likes the characters. We aren't supposed to like them or dislike them; whether we do or don't doesn't matter. They are entirely shaped by the environment, which is the true protagonist/antihero.

It's easiest to see with this Cedric, who comes to Eutopia to find information on his missing wife and is sucked into the altered realities of the city. He claims to be working in "grey areas," yet it's clear (to us, at least) that he's lost perspective, integrity, and humanity.

Minh has plenty to say about social media, including how it affects sex, violence, reality, and the value of a human being. Brace yourself: some of it is downright sickening. One chapter title is "Sex is violence." It's a theme that Minh returns to multiple times. A'rore, Sacha, Cedric, police officer Monteiro: all participate in some version of this sickening theme.

It's even more sickening when you consider that this vision of Eutopia is a logical endpoint for where our culture's current direction.

This was a rich, rewarding read. Visiting the not-yet-existent Eutopia was a harrowing experience, even through the pages of a book. I'm glad that I don't live there! 

Thanks again to ColdBlood Books and Netgalley for a copy of Neon Empire in exchange for an honest review. 
(Note: this review will appear on my blog on September 20, 2019.)

The city of Eutopia is very flashy, Billboards with ads promoting sex or anything else you may want abound. The city is filled with European attractions. Museums, streets, monuments and restaurants. Drugs are easy to get and aren't illegal. Influencers are all the rage and they compete fiercely for ratings.

Cedric Travers comes to Eutopia in search of answers. His estranged wife has disappeared and he is hoping to find out what really happened. He ends up meeting A'rore who is a top influencer and is fighting to stay on top. Sasha Villanova, is a reporter assigned to profile A'rore. Sasha starts digging and find more than any of them expected.

Neon Empire has some very cool world building. It's easy to imagine ourselves going down this road in the not so distant future. Black Mirror fans will like this book.

I requested and received a copy for honest review, thanks to Netgalley and the publisher

Eutopia is a single city based on the landmarks of Europe. It is effectively a near future Vegas on steroids setting, fully integrated with social media and influencer culture as part of the basic function of the city. Tourists come and stream their experiences, a generation of "transactionals" trading their lifestyles as advertising to keep living in the city. However it prompts ever more desperate/intense measures to keep the attention of a social media audience.

We follow quite disparate pov characters; Cedric a one hit wonder director, A'rore the aging starlet at the top of the influencer pyramid in Eutopia, and investigative journalist Sasha. Cedric is a bit of a curmudgeon, well beyond the target age for the city and not even on social media, he's only there trying to find out what happened to his estranged wife after she disappeared in a supposed attack on a landmark. A'rore is driven, always pushing for the next drama or deal to keep her popularity up, but she's quickly nearing her expiration date as a hot young thing with the novelty of her as a disabled model (she has a prosthetic leg) that she managed to swing in her favor as unique, is now all too common with transhumanism being embraced and younger influencers who have tried to emulate her, she can't help but grapple with the fact she is losing hold of the only life she knows. Sasha is in a secret relationship with A'rore, while having a few secrets of her own, she's digging into the seedy underbelly of the city looking for a scoop that winds up connecting her to Cedric's own search for his missing wife.

Over all I really enjoyed this, however I have to say it really buried the lede. The first half was just alright for me, it took it's time at building up the world and characters (quite a bit of which ended in loose threads), sort of meandering with the plot, then suddenly over halfway through it absolutely took off. Cedric on his search for information is pulled into a position covertly directing viral social media events. The planning, the execution, discussion of data science and using analytics to assure success and influence... was fantastic! This is really the hook for the story, that should make you want to pick it up, but it takes it's time getting there so stick with it.

***ARC provided by Netgalley and California Coldblood Books & Rare Bird Books in exchange for an honest review***

DNF at 30%

I wanted to DNF it sooner but I thought I'd give it a better chance. I just can't. I have a hard time getting into the story as I find it pretty confusing. The synopsis of it make it sound very interesting and I love the idea of it completely as I can see social media actual taking over every little bit of our world and what we do, think and say in a near (not so near?) future.

I would probably like to give this a try at some point but I guess right now is not that time.

Will recommend to fans of Black Mirror, Neal Stephenson & William Gibson. Will also rec to those ready for darker fare after MT Anderson's Feed and Ernest Cline's Ready Player One.

Neon Empire by Drew Minh is a curious book which I felt did not know what it wanted to be. Starting off with Cedric Travers visiting the city of Eutopia, a place entirely and knowingly indebted to Las Vegas, to collect his dead wife's belongings our protagonist is drawn into the mystery of what actually happened to his wife and the potential underground revolutionaries she might have been involved with.

Unfortunately after that, the mystery dies away and we are left with Cedric becoming a part the world of A'rore, a figurehead of the city and Sacha, an investigative reporter. Among this is a large amount of name dropping of current celebrity children and famous products which after a while becomes more distracting rather than making the story more convincing.

Following completion I feel this was the first of a series or trilogy about the characters and city, given a couple of loose ends and little strands in the story which did not go anywhere. The only problem is these areas should have been more prominent, helping to balance out and enhance the rest of the novel.

Neon Empire is well written and Drew Minh is one to look out for but there was not enough to draw me in or even return for any sequel.

I love this book! It's almost American Psycho for digital age. An important influencer and a revitalised film maker searching for reasons his dead wife skirted edges of criminality, take on a slippery lethal artificial world, and attempt to crack it .. it's more complicated than that, but the world and its characters' dilemmas absolutely draws you in . I could not put it down.

Well, it can’t bode well for the book that it took me this long to remember it, coming to review it just two days after reading it. Or maybe it says more about…nah, can’t be my memory. Can it? Ok, I don’t want to consider it, ideally I would be reviewing books immediately upon finishing them, reviewing in bulk is practical, but challenging. But yeah, back to the book…it grabbed my attention with its dystopianish plot, like these things tend to do. It isn’t really a dystopia, though, and not quite steampunk either, but it is a commentary of a society all too reliant on its digital connections and gadgets and that doesn’t exactly spell out happy future, does it. The novel takes place in Eutopia (notice the spelling), a sort of hyperVegas, a place where European attractions have been recreated for the American tourists after Europe, shaken by nationalist uprisings, became too volatile to visit. Eutopia, bathed in neon and its own specific sort of desperation, never sleeps. It’s too hyperaware to even rest. It’s populated by attention seekers lacking attention spans. This world is only as exciting as the new hot thing, revolving screens of likes and followers, the mindless meaningless bright and shiny city. In a way Eutopia is a personification of the internet and it’s a scary one at that. Or maybe it’s the portrait of itself the internet stashes away in its attic. But at any rate Eutopia and its vivid representation are the real stars of the show here. Which is conceptually intriguing, but insufficient for a novel. The novel needs so much more to work and plot wise, the story just never lives up to its setting. There are several main characters, a movie director who comes to the city to finds out about his estranged wife’s disappearance, a superpopular social media celebrity and an investigative reporter. Those three interact as their lives intersect, but the main idea behind it all are the wizards behind the Eutopia curtains and their nefarious greed driven motivations. And the characters leave a lot to be desired, it seems they are never given the dimensionality the city around them has and their narratives don’t really follow any sort of traditional or even a nontraditional arc, they just exist. If Eutopia’s frantic neon appeal resembles all too strongly a video game, the players too seem to be mere video game characters. Not substantial enough to rest the story upon. In fact, only in death does one of them actually registers as a person and even then it’s mostly of a reactionary thing. So yeah, an interesting concept, great world building, insufficient characterizations. Quick read, flash, but not emotionally engaging. Much like Eutopia. Thanks Netgalley.

I am a big fan of dystopian/dysfunctional social media society novels. I was very excited by the idea of the novel and the society created here does not disappoint. The world is a beautiful (in its own way!), amazing creation and the descriptions are so vivid and active it truly does put you in the world.

The unfortunate thing for me was that the main character lacked any emotion at all, there was no way to make a connection with the characters in the novel. They lacked any kind of depth and could have been shadow puppets. Perhaps this was the point, but it made for hard reading.

As a functional world, it does have so many tie ins with our world and use of social media that it could be a bit of a wake-up call for many people...which is kind of the point with dystopian fiction, anyway, isn't it?

I loved this book. The use of terms to explain some of the future tech were clever, the characters were flawed and well thought out, and the story was scarily believable to a future that we know is coming.

I thank Netgalley for e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Welcome to Eutopia, a city modelled on Europe, built on the American desert, where ad revenue is everything. This city is fuelled by social media, influencers and scandals. Robberies and car chases are faked, and streamed for all to see. Why? To generate revenues of course. Neon Empire is set in a near future, where hashtags and media frenzy are augmented versions of our own present. It is almost Orwellian, except people want to be watched. Fear of losing followers and trying anything to maintain the image on the billboards is everything. Like I said before, it is our present but in brighter and bolder colours.

The description is vivid. You will feel as if you are inside the city itself. It was almost psychedelic. Drew Mihn creates a world where virtues are few and vices are treasured, a world where reality and virtuality has a symbiotic relationship, a shallow world where being fake comes naturally, treasured even. Its scary to watch, for it can be very real in our world. Numbers are the gods seated upon neon thrones.

Inspite of such a detailed description, the characters were lackluster and had no depth. The narration seemed dry and unemotional. I couldn't figure out the plot. At times it did feel like I was wading through an ocean of information. The ending was strange and some mysteries were left unsolved. Is there going to be a sequel? I have no idea.

Overall, it was an interesting read. Sci-fi, dystopia and cyberpunk- a great combo. I wish it were less of a data dump and had more emotional elements. But I did get Altered Carbon vibes from it. If you are a hardcore fan of scifi and dystopian settings, you can try this. I rate it a 3.3 out of 5 stars.

The premise of Neon Empire was promising. I love reading about various interpretations of how the future might turn out and the vision presented in this book sounded plausible. It is written well, but it didn't really grab me. The characters all felt the same - jaded, manipulative, and only working towards their own goals. The world is described well, but I don't think I would want to know any of the people who live in it. They seem to lack emotions, which might have been intentional, but it made me connect to the characters less.

The central plot was intriguing and it did keep me engaged. Once you get used to the world of Eutopia, it's easier to follow what's happening. However, I was not a fan of the ending.

I really wanted to like this book and I'm sure many will, but this wasn't for me.

-

I'm not sure whether this was because there are still changes left to be made in the book, but another thing that made me give a low rating was this: It takes a couple of paragraphs before it is mentioned whose POV the chapter is from. It was fine in the introductory chapters when I didn't know the characters and it's a little useful to maintain some intrigue, but this got annoying when almost every chapter I have to keep guessing who it is until the name is mentioned after a couple of paragraphs.

A Cyberpunk-ish book about influencers in the future!
The story is set in a future version of our world - and the author really hits you over the head with this in the beginning. Autonomous cars, surveillance system, drones, technology we don’t know, mesh network, cryptocurrencies - WE CYBERPUNK NOW!
The story plays in the new city "Eutopia", which has different areas modeled after famous cities in europe. It's a city designed by media companies to generate maximum ad revenue profit and attract lots of people interested in europe, which apparently is overrun by immigrants (ooookay then).
Cedric Travers, an ex-hollywood director arrives in Eutopia after his wife dies in a weird and unclear way connected to a robbery in the Louvre. He meets other people in the city, tries to find out what happened to her and gets more and more involved with the city's celebrities until he finally works with the media team to further improve the cities ratings.

Overall I liked the concept of the book and it felt believable enough, even though all the buzzwords in the beginning REALLY threw me off. The story is established as a kind of mystery/detective storyline where we get to know this new city and its inhabitants. The writing style was pleasant and everything felt exiting and interesting in the beginning. After a while though, the storyline was almost suspended - I barely felt intrigued to get to the truth of Cedric's wifes death - which was good, because we never really found out for sure.
The ending itself was ok, but I feel like there was something missing that really made me love the book.

Still, some interesting characters, a unique setting and story and a pleasant writing style made this book enjoyable enough to read.

Youtube review coming on my channel closer to release.