Book Review: Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Thomas Sweterlitsch
Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Thomas Sweterlitsch
Genre: Science Fiction
Series: Stand Alone
Publisher: Putnam (July 10, 2014)
Author Information: Website | Twitter
Mogsy’s Rating: 3.5 of 5 stars
Cyberpunk is another one of those science fiction subgenres that have been more miss than hit with me in the past, but that hasn’t stopped me from giving more of it a try, hoping to find something that’s more my liking. So even after my inability to get into William Gibson’s Neuromancer – a book considered a seminal work in the cyberpunk field – I still decided to check out Tomorrow and Tomorrow, which has been described as leading in the next wave following in the footsteps of Gibson.
Indeed, in the classic cyberpunk tradition, the book has its setting in a near-future dystopian with elements of hard-boiled detective film noir and overall a very bleak worldview. The city of Pittsburgh is a pile of rubble and ash after its destruction by terrorists in a nuclear blast. Ten years later, survivor John Dominic Blaxton still mourns his wife and unborn child while most of the world has moved on. Our protagonist is a marginalized loner, addicted to drugs as much as he is addicted to his memories of his lost life by immersing himself in the Archive where he can relive moments with his wife in a fully interactive digital reconstruction of Pittsburgh.
Dominic’s work also involves investigating deaths recorded in the Archive for insurance companies. One day, while pursuing a claim, he becomes obsessed with the apparent murder of a young woman when he discovers that her records have been tampered with, evidence that someone is trying to cover up the circumstances of her death. His digging around doesn’t go unnoticed. Like many cyberpunk protagonists, John finds himself manipulated by higher forces and trapped into a situation where he has little control.
Thomas Sweterlitsch has created a future where technology runs rampant. Everyone has an adware implant in their head and access to information is near ubiquitous. People have become wholly dependent on the computer chips in their brains, and the result is a dehumanized society with a strong sense of disenchantment and nihilism. Feeds run continuously in an endless stream, with up-to-the-second news updates. Grisly details of accidents or crime scenes are made public at the speed of an eye blink, along with the darker secrets of the victims’ lives. The society eats up their sex tapes as voraciously as they revel in the graphic violence.
It’s this brutal, emotionally numbing aspect of cyberpunk that makes it so hard for me to click with this genre. Strangely enough, I can handle most kinds of gritty, dark fantasy without issue, but these near-futures and the negative effect of technology on human society have a way of cutting too close for comfort. All everyone seems to care about anymore is pornography and violence, and it is so off-putting not to mention mentally draining. The themes of grief and loss are also at the forefront of this novel, which makes reading it a real struggle if you’re not feeling in the mood for something so despairing. It’s hard to watch Dominic go through life relying so heavily on the Archive; instead of helping, the technology has pretty much halted his healing all together, and he hangs on to his grief like his wife died yesterday instead of a decade ago.
This wasn’t a bad novel, however. I thought the world-building was fantastic and the mystery, hardboiled noir and crime thriller elements were done very well. This is a story about a man destroyed by tragedy and the events that ultimately pulled him out of his funk and allowed him to move on, but it is for the most part a very stark, very depressing and sometimes disturbing book. I don’t regret reading it and I would recommend this to cyberpunk fans, but consider holding off if you’re in the mood for something lighter.
A review copy of this book was provided to me by the publisher via First to Read in exchange for an honest review. My thanks to Putnam Books!
The BiblioSanctum 
I’m also reading this one soon, and I heard that it was pretty depressing, but I’ve read some rave reviews too. I guess it just depends what you’re in the mood for. I have to admit I was never able to finish Neuromancer (much to the disgust of my boyfriend at the time, who loved it), so I guess we’ll see!
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I could barely finish Neuromancer, but I did, LOL! It’s one of those books that I can understand why it received such acclaim, but I couldn’t get on board with it. Tomorrow and Tomorrow is much easier to get into.
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I never tried a cyberpunk novel or I don”t think so and if you had told me before your review if it was for me I would have said no, but maybe… I’m curious about the world and the mystery. Maybe one day.
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There are different kinds of cyberpunk novels…I think the “dark, gritty” trend originated with William Gibson, but in recent years there have been books that are more action/thriller oriented. Try Nexus by Ramez Naam from Angry Robot Books, and the sequel Crux 🙂
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I avoid cyberpunk, too…not sure I could take on this one. Good review!
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I think I’ll still check out more cyberpunk, but I’ll have to pay more attention to what I might be getting into and making sure I’ll have to be in the mood!
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I don’t really do dark & depressing, so I’m thinking that cyberpunk probably isn’t the genre for me. Thanks for keeping it real!
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No worries! Like I said though, there are cyberpunk novels out there that do more than just the dark and gritty, so maybe those would be more to your liking 🙂
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I didn’t like Neuromancer either, honestly. All of the Japanese words started to frustrate me because I had to look each one up as I went along. Only finished it because it was required reading for a class. This one sounds a bit more palatable, but I’m not feeling the cultural obsession with pornography and violence. I think I’ll pass on this one.
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I personally found this book more palatable and MUCH more enjoyable than Neuromancer. The society with its obsession with porn and violence irritated and depressed me, though. There didn’t seem to be much brightness or any good, decent people left in this future, but that’s more of a personal preference 🙂
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Hmmm. I *might* like this one (if I’m in the mood). None of your negatives are points that would ever keep me from enjoying a book. And maybe its one of those dark ones where you can’t quite say “enjoy”, but maybe intrigued by or engaged with a book, without regret of reading it.
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Yeah, you’ll probably like this! Like I said, maybe I just needed to be in a better mood to enjoy this more. It was well written, story was great, but I was admittedly not feeling too well and was a little bit irritable – definitely doesn’t help when I’m reading about an unsympathetic character or society.
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I have read Neuromancer, but no cyberpunk over that
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Neuromancer was my first “real” cyberpunk as well, but I figured some of my issues with it were based on the time it was written, and tried some more recent stuff after that.
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I generally have liked cyberthrillers but I’m curious about cyberpunk. I haven’t read Neuromancer but I’ve seen it around a lot and it’s been recc’ed to me a lot by Amazon, lol! I’m curious about Neuromancer and now I’m curious about this as well. I’m glad that you mentioned that it does deal with a lot of grief and emotional issues – so I have to be in the proper mood to want to take super emotional books on like that – like The Fault in Our Stars I put off forever (and just recently read) despite hearing overwhelming hype and awesomeness about it . Just because I knew it’d be sad and emotional – and it was, but totally worth the read when that particular mood strikes. And it had enough funny and witty parts to make the sad parts worth it.
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Actually, based on some of the books I know you’ve enjoyed (sci-fi thrillers and mysteries, etc.) I actually think cyberpunk could be right up your alley!
And I agree, TFiOS was a very emotional book, but it was hope and wit and so I didn’t mind the sad themes — especially since I went in expecting them.
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I have basically enjoyed one cyberpunk novel, Moxieland. Some subgenres just don’t do it for me.
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Is that the Lauren Beukes book from Angry Robot? I may give that one a try, I’ve had good luck with another AG cyberpunk book (Nexus by Ramez Naam).
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I’ll read Nexus and the Lauren Beukes ones tho too since I own them both.
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You know I don’t think I’ve read much if any cyberpunk and now you make me think I wouldn’t like it much either. I don’t want to always think that technology advancements are going to be bad and it be all doom and gloom. Indeed a little light.
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I think that’s one of the hallmarks of cyberpunk right there – the use of technology for doom and gloom. It was why I couldn’t get into Neuromancer and why I was sort of meh on books like Altered Carbon. But those that have a more hopeful view, of people with good intentions, I can handle a bit better.
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I think this one is a bit dark for my tastes, but I’m glad you were able to enjoy it, despite your issues. I don’t think I could have. Between the obsession with pornography and violence and the inevitable feeling of despair . . . yeah, not for me. Great review though 😉
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Like I said, gotta be in a certain mood, and I’m not sure I was exactly in one of them! I was definitely mentally prepared though, knowing what kind of book I was in for. Man, but that society was MESSED UP though.
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