I finished the 2 book compilation of The Bridge Chronicles a couple of weeks ago. All in all, I think it is an excellent compilation, but I had some complaints about the second novel The Know Circuit.
Below is the review I left on Smashwords.
Quote:
You can read the reviews for Ballard's first entry in the Bridge Chronicles, they are spot on. Over The Amoral Bridge is a fun, exciting read with memorable characters and enjoyable noir cyberpunk feel.
The second entry The Know Circuit starts off much the same. Bridge is drawn personally (through his loyal body guard Aristotle)into the strange happenings in Boulder Co, which coincides with some equally strange happenings in the Net.
The first half of the Know Circuit promises the same enjoyable noirish thrill ride of The Amoral Bridge, but the second half gets bogged down with some ancillary characters (the scientists behind the strange happenings) and their back story which I found to be duller than dishwater. These characters held no interest, and their dialogue and actions were campish and starkly out of place in the world Ballard had so successfully created. I wanted these charaxters to die quickly so that we could get back to Bridge, Aristotle and the entourage of streetwise fellow travelers.
I give the 2-in-1 volume a four, but the first book deserves a 5 and the second a 2 1/2.
I look forward to Ballard's next entry in the Bridge Chronicles, and I hope he can get back to the heart of the world without the less interesting "super hero" distractions found in The Know Circuit.
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The issues I had with the second half of The Know Circuit will not dissuade me from getting the third novel. Ballard does have great ear for noir style cyberpunk. I have great hopes he will have the next novel stick more with the main characters.