Cyberpunk as a subgenre of science fiction has been around since the 1980s. While originally seen as a critique of the consumer-based high technology society of its day, it has evolved as our society has evolved. Unlike many science fiction subgenres, the relevance of cyberpunk has only grown as humankind confronts problems related to technology, income inequality, corporate dominance of society, and environmental degradation.

SIGHTSEER, the first book in the Plastic Fantastic Trilogy by Dean Vale, is a funhouse ride in a stylized cyberpunk Chicago (“Shytown”) set in an unspecified future. The main character of the story is named Cam Sexton, who is a Looker by trade. After losing his parents in a corporate murder plot, Cam has traded his real eyes for cybereyes and is effectively a professional voyeur who engages in risky, ostensibly illegal activities for the titillation of his viewing audience who pay for the privilege of watching his adventures and misadventures and even feeling what Cam feels via sensory links.

Cam’s associations with certain underworld figures, including a Yakuza boss name Oniyaki, lead Cam into being forced to participate in a three-day cat and mouse game with a notorious cyberclown named Stabbo. The object of the competition is for Cam to survive or be killed by Stabbo, with a lot of gambling, taking place as to who will or will not survive.

The odds against Cam are very steep, given that the cyberclown is a very accomplished killer, and SIGHTSEER revolves around Cam’s struggles to stay alive against a superhuman adversary in Stabbo.

That is the core pursuit plot of this novel. I greatly enjoyed the worldbuilding in this book, which offers a whirlwind tour of Shytown at all levels, from the poorest areas to the richest. There is a lot of detail and cultural and political and economic commentary rooted in this story, as well as a ton of fun, slyly whimsical characters who embody all sorts of cyberpunk archetypes (Moxie Monocle, Abby Normal, Serpentina, and so on).

Cam is a charming roguish character, the kind of antihero hustler who is representative of cyberpunk. He does not deviate from those cyberpunk norms, but instead, embodies them fluently. In this way, he reminds me of characters in caper stories or crime stories in that he is not necessarily a good person, while not being a bad person either. He carries some trauma with him and his life reflects that.

Stabbo the cyberclown is a fascinating antagonist in that he barely qualifies as human, owing to all of the body modifications he has, but I found him in many ways to be far more humane than I expected him to be. As such, he offers a contrast to the conniving Cam. Despite his almost cyborg-like body and history as a former super soldier, Stabbo remains in touch with an aspect of his human spirit, and this proves vital.

Dean Vale uses a snappy, ironically hip narrative style that uses a lot of cyberslang, while explaining what it means for the benefit of the reader. As an immersive world, this story has a lot to offer and is a worthwhile addition to cyberpunk literature that fans of this subgenre should both understand and relish.

There are so many details and hints and teases in this book that it makes me want to explore more of it. The fact that it is set in the Midwest, specifically Chicago, is an interesting touch. There is a very real sense that East and West Coasts are a mess and, perhaps more relevant to the present, the impact of global warming is very apparent in ways that it was not heavily explored in the original cyberpunk.

Since this is the first of a trilogy, I am very excited to see what Vale does with the next two books.” —C., on Goodreads 

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