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Rachel Peng #1
Digital Divide
Rachel Peng misses the Army. Her old life in Criminal Investigation Command hadn’t been easy, but she had enjoyed it. Now, as the first cyborg liaison to the Washington D.C. Metropolitan Police, Rachel is usually either bored senseless or is fighting off harassment from her coworkers. When she and her partner, Detective Raul Santino, stumble into a murder investigation with ties to Rachel and the other cyborgs, she realizes their many enemies will not allow them to quietly pick up the pieces of their lives.
351 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 2, 2013
66 people are currently reading
935 people want to read
About the author
K.B. Spangler
24Ìýbooks121ÌýfollowersK.B. Spangler lives in North Carolina with her husband and two completely awful dogs. They live in the decaying house of a dead poet. She is the author and artist of the webcomic, "A Girl and Her Fed," and author of novels and short stories. All projects include themes of privacy, politics, technology, civil liberties, the human experience, and how the lines between these blur like the dickens.
If you enjoy mysteries, you want to read the RACHEL PENG books.
If you enjoy fantasy adventures, thrillers, and necromancers with ADHD, you want to read the HOPE BLACKWELL books.
If you enjoy sexy romances with sexy people who solve unsexy crimes, you want to read the JOSH GLASSMAN books.
And if you enjoy coming-of-age stories with intergalactic intelligences, you want to read STONESKIN.
If you enjoy mysteries, you want to read the RACHEL PENG books.
If you enjoy fantasy adventures, thrillers, and necromancers with ADHD, you want to read the HOPE BLACKWELL books.
If you enjoy sexy romances with sexy people who solve unsexy crimes, you want to read the JOSH GLASSMAN books.
And if you enjoy coming-of-age stories with intergalactic intelligences, you want to read STONESKIN.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 93 reviews
August 31, 2021
This is a crime story with a twist—one of the investigators working with the police is a cyborg. Rachel Peng has an implant in her head, that allows her to be a walking privacy violation, as she, and all the other individuals who opted for the implant program managed by the government-funded Office of Adaptive and Complementary Enhancement Technologies (OACET), can skip past firewalls and other electronic security with ease. Rachel can also see people’s emotions as colours, which differs from the various unique and specific skills her OACET colleagues all have.
The case involves murders, bombs, kidnappings, and also shows how frightened and opposed people are to the OACET contingent.
This was a surprisingly enjoyable read—I’ve had this on my shelves for years, and picked it up when a GR buddy mentioned she was reading it.
I liked Rachel Peng, and her relationship with her police partner, Raul. Raul Santino is a bit of an implant fanboy, and respects Rachel and her colleagues as people and for their abilities.
Spangler deals with people’s reactions to the cyborgs and the new technologies and possible directions for many different fields: discomfort, fear, revulsion, and a desire for control, and all these are at play in the police investigation, which ends up exposing government culpability and duplicity.
I liked this book enough to be tempted to check out book two.
The case involves murders, bombs, kidnappings, and also shows how frightened and opposed people are to the OACET contingent.
This was a surprisingly enjoyable read—I’ve had this on my shelves for years, and picked it up when a GR buddy mentioned she was reading it.
I liked Rachel Peng, and her relationship with her police partner, Raul. Raul Santino is a bit of an implant fanboy, and respects Rachel and her colleagues as people and for their abilities.
Spangler deals with people’s reactions to the cyborgs and the new technologies and possible directions for many different fields: discomfort, fear, revulsion, and a desire for control, and all these are at play in the police investigation, which ends up exposing government culpability and duplicity.
I liked this book enough to be tempted to check out book two.
September 8, 2021
Very enjoyable with good food for thought
This is the kind of SF that I really enjoy. This is a near future police procedural, which explores the implications of controversial technology looking at it from several angles, but clearly coming down on the side of those directly affected. Themes of consent, corruption, privacy, proprietary technology, also moral standings as it pertains to those things and also disability and mental health. Plus a very interesting look at a collective mind where it isn’t “evil� (a la the Borg in Star Trek) but also decidedly not desirable. I’m looking forward to the next books in the series. Mustn’t waste too much time before I get to them though!
This is the kind of SF that I really enjoy. This is a near future police procedural, which explores the implications of controversial technology looking at it from several angles, but clearly coming down on the side of those directly affected. Themes of consent, corruption, privacy, proprietary technology, also moral standings as it pertains to those things and also disability and mental health. Plus a very interesting look at a collective mind where it isn’t “evil� (a la the Borg in Star Trek) but also decidedly not desirable. I’m looking forward to the next books in the series. Mustn’t waste too much time before I get to them though!
March 31, 2017
This was a very fun book. It had some ups and downs for me, but this roller coaster was much more about ups than downs.
First of all, I love this world. It's been five years since every cyborg in the world - all 350 of them - came out and said they were here, they were made by an act of Congress, no other country has people with computer chip brains, they came in peace but oh, by the way, no information is beyond their grasp.
How great is that?
It carries through, too. We get lots of delicious moments in which the cyborgs just accidentally stop acting like people: laughing at jokes no one else can hear (because they're basically on the phone constantly with 349 best friends) or staring too long at nothing, because they're looking through walls at something happening two rooms over. I loved the unintended creepiness of existing beyond human capability. I also love the constant fight against doing illegal things. If you could look through walls just by thinking about it, how hard would it be not to do that without being asked first? But if you're a cop, that'd be illegal search unless you came with a valid warrant, and even then, you'd have to limit your scope to the things mere humans would consider when agreeing to the warrant. Spangler did a lot of research on 4th Amendment law, and it shows.
The main character is both non-white and gay, which is very refreshing to see, and to see handled (what seemed to me at least!) honestly and openly.
And the story. There were so many little twists and turns and details that I never quite saw what was coming next. Definitely a fun read, and parts were quite riveting.
I do wish it had been a little heavier, though. Thinking about the implications for society, the law, interpersonal relationships, including romantic ones...those were the things that had me re-reading bits that wow-ed me. Spangler really thought things out, and I wanted more of that. Also, I am a little sensitive to how the law and police procedures work, as well as mental health considerations. As with most procedurals, this one wasn't entirely accurate, but it was better than most! And there was a throwaway bit about OCD and cleanliness which just happens to hit my own obsessive buttons. It is possible that this is something she experiences and this is how she experiences it, but it read in a way that played into a narrative I find a little flat and possibly dismissive.
These were minor moments, however, and did not detract overmuch from my enjoyment of this book. I will absolutely be reading the next one, and have already recommended Digital Divide to several people for the wonderful atmosphere it builds and maintains.
First of all, I love this world. It's been five years since every cyborg in the world - all 350 of them - came out and said they were here, they were made by an act of Congress, no other country has people with computer chip brains, they came in peace but oh, by the way, no information is beyond their grasp.
How great is that?
It carries through, too. We get lots of delicious moments in which the cyborgs just accidentally stop acting like people: laughing at jokes no one else can hear (because they're basically on the phone constantly with 349 best friends) or staring too long at nothing, because they're looking through walls at something happening two rooms over. I loved the unintended creepiness of existing beyond human capability. I also love the constant fight against doing illegal things. If you could look through walls just by thinking about it, how hard would it be not to do that without being asked first? But if you're a cop, that'd be illegal search unless you came with a valid warrant, and even then, you'd have to limit your scope to the things mere humans would consider when agreeing to the warrant. Spangler did a lot of research on 4th Amendment law, and it shows.
The main character is both non-white and gay, which is very refreshing to see, and to see handled (what seemed to me at least!) honestly and openly.
And the story. There were so many little twists and turns and details that I never quite saw what was coming next. Definitely a fun read, and parts were quite riveting.
I do wish it had been a little heavier, though. Thinking about the implications for society, the law, interpersonal relationships, including romantic ones...those were the things that had me re-reading bits that wow-ed me. Spangler really thought things out, and I wanted more of that. Also, I am a little sensitive to how the law and police procedures work, as well as mental health considerations. As with most procedurals, this one wasn't entirely accurate, but it was better than most! And there was a throwaway bit about OCD and cleanliness which just happens to hit my own obsessive buttons. It is possible that this is something she experiences and this is how she experiences it, but it read in a way that played into a narrative I find a little flat and possibly dismissive.
These were minor moments, however, and did not detract overmuch from my enjoyment of this book. I will absolutely be reading the next one, and have already recommended Digital Divide to several people for the wonderful atmosphere it builds and maintains.
October 7, 2016
Digital Divide is a police procedural mystery with a twist. Rachel, the protagonist, is assigned to a police division in Washington, D.C. and is met with hostility and prejudice. But it's not because she's female, or Chinese , it's because she's a cyborg.
Most cyborgs in fiction have superhuman strength, healing, or other physical enhancements, but the cyborgs in Spangler's world are enhanced primarily with the ability to interface with technology and the digital world, and it's not exactly an entirely or even mostly positive thing. While each cyborg theoretically has the same potential abilities, Rachel's specialties are seeing people's emotions in colors and seeing through solid objects, the reason behind these specialties revealed partway through the story. The cyborgs also can interface with and affect technology like cell phones, computers, and security systems, an ability that understandably provokes concerns and not a little paranoia in the public. Rachel's job is to promote acceptance of cyborgs and show how useful they can be. A series of assaults and then a murder in which there are weird inconsistencies with digital vs. human observation finally give her a chance to prove herself, especially when fellow cops and cyborgs are implicated.
Rachel is a unique and interesting protagonist, and the supporting characters from her partner to her fellow cyborgs and her fellow cops likewise are well-developed and appealing. The mystery is a bit different than the usual and works well to highlight the world the author has created. The story drags at times and the prose sometimes does not flow smoothly to flesh out and connect scenes. When I discovered that the author is known for her webcomic A Girl and Her Fed and that this is her first foray into novel form, the small kinks made sense. They do not detract much from the story, though.
A Girl and Her Fed apparently introduces the cyborgs, how they were developed, and the problems they face, centered on one of the side characters from this novel. I found the premise and characters of Digital Divide engrossing, enough so that I may check out the backstory in the webcomic and certainly enough to induce me to seek out the next novel in the series.
Most cyborgs in fiction have superhuman strength, healing, or other physical enhancements, but the cyborgs in Spangler's world are enhanced primarily with the ability to interface with technology and the digital world, and it's not exactly an entirely or even mostly positive thing. While each cyborg theoretically has the same potential abilities, Rachel's specialties are seeing people's emotions in colors and seeing through solid objects, the reason behind these specialties revealed partway through the story. The cyborgs also can interface with and affect technology like cell phones, computers, and security systems, an ability that understandably provokes concerns and not a little paranoia in the public. Rachel's job is to promote acceptance of cyborgs and show how useful they can be. A series of assaults and then a murder in which there are weird inconsistencies with digital vs. human observation finally give her a chance to prove herself, especially when fellow cops and cyborgs are implicated.
Rachel is a unique and interesting protagonist, and the supporting characters from her partner to her fellow cyborgs and her fellow cops likewise are well-developed and appealing. The mystery is a bit different than the usual and works well to highlight the world the author has created. The story drags at times and the prose sometimes does not flow smoothly to flesh out and connect scenes. When I discovered that the author is known for her webcomic A Girl and Her Fed and that this is her first foray into novel form, the small kinks made sense. They do not detract much from the story, though.
A Girl and Her Fed apparently introduces the cyborgs, how they were developed, and the problems they face, centered on one of the side characters from this novel. I found the premise and characters of Digital Divide engrossing, enough so that I may check out the backstory in the webcomic and certainly enough to induce me to seek out the next novel in the series.
September 11, 2021
Overall enjoyable, and I found the set-up (cyborgs and the background of OACET) very engaging, but for me the police procedural format was a detriment. First just because I find it increasingly difficult to enjoy fiction where the protagonists are police, but also because it made the story feel a little formulaic despite how creative I thought other elements were.
April 8, 2013
As someone who makes her living off writing, I don't have a lot of time for leisure reading, like maybe a new book squeezed in every 2-3 months. So when I do make the time for a fresh story, I'm hoping it will be good. I'm praying it'll be worth my time.
DIGITAL DIVIDE is that good.
I was already familiar with Spangler (aka Otter) and her work through her webcomic, A Girl And Her Fed. While the artwork started out literally sketchy (she has been slowly updating the original archive of pages with her much-improved new style), her overall story, plotting, characterization, setting and sense of humor have all been engagingly good in the webcomic. So when she released DIGITAL DIVIDE (blame my editor on making me type book titles in all-caps), I took a chance on it and paid the $5.00 for a .pdf version that would work on my Nook.
Worth every penny...except for the last two, which I'll toss in here:
Because she has a dayjob and a webcomic to update on a regular basis, it's going to take Spangler a while to come up with the next Rachel Peng novel...and the wait is going to suck. But that's my two cents' worth.
In her ebook, Spangler dives the reader straight into her take on an alternate universe in which various bright, young members of various branches of the government were given cyborg implants that would give them access to anything electronic that could communicate. But in the world of AGAHF (discussed enough in the book to understand what's going on, but more fully fleshed in the webcomic which has the greater backstory), the Agents were tricked. It was given to them by those who wanted the technology, but not the moral imperatives and values of the biological components needed to run the new machinery. After five years of attempted brainwashing and personality breakdowns, the Agents finally cast off the shackles of their electronic oppressors and went public.
This is where DIGITAL DIVIDE picks up, with the story of Rachel Peng, former Army specialist on a fast-track to West Point, and now after five-plus years of hell, OACET Agent liaison to the Washington, D.C. P.D. She's finally free in her own head, with great power...but as Uncle Ben reminded us, it comes with great responsibility. Public opinion is divided on what she and her fellow Agents can do, and even the police at First Metro aren't sure if they can trust someone like her. Worse, if she crosses the law even once, the legal sharks will devour not only her, but all her fellow Agents...those that survived the last five years, that is.
Of course, it wouldn't be a good book without an antagonist to poke and prod at our protagonist, and the set-up is fantastic: Muggings, beatings, and a murder all point to the cyborg Agents, because while the eye-witnesses report one side of the story, all the security cameras and electronic evidence point to a completely different side, one that paints cyborg tampering as the only possible means.
Fortunately for the good guys, and unfortunately for the bad guys, the Agents have a few tricks up their digital sleeves. They might not always know what is going on--Rachel and her fellow Agents are still very human at the end of the day--but they are determined to take this technology they cannot remove from their heads and do good with it.
Since the murder, beatings, and electronic surveillance tamperings are only the tip of the iceberg that Rachel, the police, and her fellow Agents have to face, they have a steep hill ahead of them. Spangler's witty, colorful writing makes it worth the climb.
At least, I found it worth the climb. Not only on a first reading, but on a re-read, too.
DIGITAL DIVIDE is that good.
I was already familiar with Spangler (aka Otter) and her work through her webcomic, A Girl And Her Fed. While the artwork started out literally sketchy (she has been slowly updating the original archive of pages with her much-improved new style), her overall story, plotting, characterization, setting and sense of humor have all been engagingly good in the webcomic. So when she released DIGITAL DIVIDE (blame my editor on making me type book titles in all-caps), I took a chance on it and paid the $5.00 for a .pdf version that would work on my Nook.
Worth every penny...except for the last two, which I'll toss in here:
Because she has a dayjob and a webcomic to update on a regular basis, it's going to take Spangler a while to come up with the next Rachel Peng novel...and the wait is going to suck. But that's my two cents' worth.
In her ebook, Spangler dives the reader straight into her take on an alternate universe in which various bright, young members of various branches of the government were given cyborg implants that would give them access to anything electronic that could communicate. But in the world of AGAHF (discussed enough in the book to understand what's going on, but more fully fleshed in the webcomic which has the greater backstory), the Agents were tricked. It was given to them by those who wanted the technology, but not the moral imperatives and values of the biological components needed to run the new machinery. After five years of attempted brainwashing and personality breakdowns, the Agents finally cast off the shackles of their electronic oppressors and went public.
This is where DIGITAL DIVIDE picks up, with the story of Rachel Peng, former Army specialist on a fast-track to West Point, and now after five-plus years of hell, OACET Agent liaison to the Washington, D.C. P.D. She's finally free in her own head, with great power...but as Uncle Ben reminded us, it comes with great responsibility. Public opinion is divided on what she and her fellow Agents can do, and even the police at First Metro aren't sure if they can trust someone like her. Worse, if she crosses the law even once, the legal sharks will devour not only her, but all her fellow Agents...those that survived the last five years, that is.
Of course, it wouldn't be a good book without an antagonist to poke and prod at our protagonist, and the set-up is fantastic: Muggings, beatings, and a murder all point to the cyborg Agents, because while the eye-witnesses report one side of the story, all the security cameras and electronic evidence point to a completely different side, one that paints cyborg tampering as the only possible means.
Fortunately for the good guys, and unfortunately for the bad guys, the Agents have a few tricks up their digital sleeves. They might not always know what is going on--Rachel and her fellow Agents are still very human at the end of the day--but they are determined to take this technology they cannot remove from their heads and do good with it.
Since the murder, beatings, and electronic surveillance tamperings are only the tip of the iceberg that Rachel, the police, and her fellow Agents have to face, they have a steep hill ahead of them. Spangler's witty, colorful writing makes it worth the climb.
At least, I found it worth the climb. Not only on a first reading, but on a re-read, too.
October 6, 2017
A lot of reviewers have made reference to 'A Girl and Her Fed,' which tells other parts of this story from different perspectives, as a web comic. I haven't read it, though I may go take a look. You don't need to know the background to enjoy this book.
I like detective stories with a technological twist. I enjoy the Eve Dallas 'In Death' books. This one should be a shoe-in. I was pleased to discover it was. I wasn't sure how it was going to be, but the character of Rachel Peng and the story dragged me in and I had to force myself to stop reading it to get other stuff done. I'll have probably bought the second in the series soon after writing this (or I'll have nothing to read tonight).
The technology is... magic. I couldn't help thinking of an ill-fated TV series 'Intelligence' (I think) about an agent with an internet-connected chip in his head, but I think K.B. Spangler has done a better job of making something out of such technology, and thrown in enough technobabble to make the ridiculous things her Agents can do seem more plausible. Whatever, that's what suspension of disbelief is for.
Good read. Not a bad detective story. And a bunch of interesting characters.
I like detective stories with a technological twist. I enjoy the Eve Dallas 'In Death' books. This one should be a shoe-in. I was pleased to discover it was. I wasn't sure how it was going to be, but the character of Rachel Peng and the story dragged me in and I had to force myself to stop reading it to get other stuff done. I'll have probably bought the second in the series soon after writing this (or I'll have nothing to read tonight).
The technology is... magic. I couldn't help thinking of an ill-fated TV series 'Intelligence' (I think) about an agent with an internet-connected chip in his head, but I think K.B. Spangler has done a better job of making something out of such technology, and thrown in enough technobabble to make the ridiculous things her Agents can do seem more plausible. Whatever, that's what suspension of disbelief is for.
Good read. Not a bad detective story. And a bunch of interesting characters.
November 30, 2019
Good (and quick) read. Don’t buy the first Agents being an initial round of FIVE HUNDRED of them, vs just a couple preliminary test subjects, or that they’d be the best of the best given how (presumably) experimental - but putting that aside, decent enough cyberthriller.
October 14, 2017
I'll be honest: I picked this book up because I liked Spangler's posts on Twitter. Yes, social media CAN make a difference, at least some times!
I liked the writing in this book very much. The author's style is compulsively readable. It is, however, one of those books where a sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic. I had a few moments where I just had to cling tightly to my WSOD, and was sorely tested. But I liked the story and the characters well enough to let it all go.
I have some personal issues that make the idea of a powerful secret sub-set of humanity (in this case cyborgs) that is nonetheless basically BENIGN or even just helpful a little problematic. I just don't trust humans to behave well in those circumstances. But again, I just went with the story and hoped for the best.
It looks like a lot of Spangler's fiction is related to the cyborgs and their organization. I'll definitely read more. I'll just have to see if my doubts about humanity throw me out of the story. :/
I liked the writing in this book very much. The author's style is compulsively readable. It is, however, one of those books where a sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic. I had a few moments where I just had to cling tightly to my WSOD, and was sorely tested. But I liked the story and the characters well enough to let it all go.
I have some personal issues that make the idea of a powerful secret sub-set of humanity (in this case cyborgs) that is nonetheless basically BENIGN or even just helpful a little problematic. I just don't trust humans to behave well in those circumstances. But again, I just went with the story and hoped for the best.
It looks like a lot of Spangler's fiction is related to the cyborgs and their organization. I'll definitely read more. I'll just have to see if my doubts about humanity throw me out of the story. :/
May 11, 2018
An intriguing start to the book which held my interest for nearly half-a-dozen chapters, but I found the story began to drag after a while. At times it felt like there was too much detail and too little story. I also felt like I was missing things, I suspect I needed to have read the online comic A Girl and her Fed to fully understand some of the background to the story. Fortunately once the investigation got into full swing the pace picked up again.
As the story progressed we find out a lot more about Rachel and the OACET, some of this is quite fascinating, but a bit long-winded. Occasionally the interaction with the police and FBI was also interesting, especially the way Rachel has to manipulate them to try to get anything done.
As for the actual case, this started well, but it just slowly slipped away and towards the end I suspected there wasn’t going to be a satisfactory conclusion. In fact the ending was fairly annoying.
I considered giving 2 stars, but I think the whole concept was interesting enough to raise this to 3 stars.
As the story progressed we find out a lot more about Rachel and the OACET, some of this is quite fascinating, but a bit long-winded. Occasionally the interaction with the police and FBI was also interesting, especially the way Rachel has to manipulate them to try to get anything done.
As for the actual case, this started well, but it just slowly slipped away and towards the end I suspected there wasn’t going to be a satisfactory conclusion. In fact the ending was fairly annoying.
I considered giving 2 stars, but I think the whole concept was interesting enough to raise this to 3 stars.
August 24, 2020
Really clever SF/mystery, with a kick-ass half-Asian heroine who has no interest in hooking up with her partner (thank heavens). The pacing is all over the place, which is why I'm knocking it down to 4 stars. Also, you'll do better in this book if you've read her free webcomic, A Girl and her Fed, which is very good in its own right.
August 18, 2021
This was engaging. I always enjoy a thriller with a criminal mastermind who has a multi-layered evil plan. That and the interesting take on technology in procedural investigation definitely means I'll keep reading the series. There are some darker emotional elements and violence, but I felt they were suited to the story.
November 18, 2022
I enjoyed this book for the characters and how they interacted with each other! The story itself was interesting, but it got bogged down in the middle, almost losing me. The ending was a disappointment.
April 7, 2013
I've been a fan of the author's web comic
for some time, so I was already versed in the lore of this world and the group of digitally-enhanced people trying to find their way in it. But this is the author's first novel. Can she tell her stories in this format as well?
The answer for me has been a resounding yes. I'm having some trouble doing this review because the book's got that you-can't-put-it-down quality, and I'm up far too late to be writing as a result.
Rachel Peng, the protagonist, has a unique perspective (due to her, ah, condition), and it's certainly interesting to see the world through her eyes. So there's that, and some other neat cyborg tricks, mystery, suspense, action, a bit of wit, and characters with emotional lives and character development. Absolutely a satisfying novel all around.
(It is not, though, hard sci-fi. It's a detective story and yes, a story about the impacts in culture and society that a massive leap in technology might have, but we play pretty fast and loose with the laws of physics here.)
At first I was a little put off, wondering "where are my familiar AGAHF characters? Where's the AGAHF story?" But this isn't a AGAHF story, it's a Rachel Peng story (though a few of AGAHF's characters do show up in supporting roles). I think the novel format allows us to get in the head of the protagonist much more than AGAHF's four-panel style does, and though they say a picture's worth a thousand words, the novel brings us to many places we might never get to see if we had to wait for someone to draw them.
I'm hooked, and very much looking forward to more.
The answer for me has been a resounding yes. I'm having some trouble doing this review because the book's got that you-can't-put-it-down quality, and I'm up far too late to be writing as a result.
Rachel Peng, the protagonist, has a unique perspective (due to her, ah, condition), and it's certainly interesting to see the world through her eyes. So there's that, and some other neat cyborg tricks, mystery, suspense, action, a bit of wit, and characters with emotional lives and character development. Absolutely a satisfying novel all around.
(It is not, though, hard sci-fi. It's a detective story and yes, a story about the impacts in culture and society that a massive leap in technology might have, but we play pretty fast and loose with the laws of physics here.)
At first I was a little put off, wondering "where are my familiar AGAHF characters? Where's the AGAHF story?" But this isn't a AGAHF story, it's a Rachel Peng story (though a few of AGAHF's characters do show up in supporting roles). I think the novel format allows us to get in the head of the protagonist much more than AGAHF's four-panel style does, and though they say a picture's worth a thousand words, the novel brings us to many places we might never get to see if we had to wait for someone to draw them.
I'm hooked, and very much looking forward to more.
November 16, 2016
I've long enjoyed KB Spangler's webcomic (A Girl and Her Fed) so these books based on characters from the comic seemed like a shoe-in for enjoyment. And they are! Rachel Peng is not a major character in the webcomic, so it was nice get to meet new characters, though my true loyalty will always lie with Hope and Speedy. Yeah, Speedy, not Sparky. If you read the comic, you'll know who the really dangerous ones are. If you haven't read the comic, go do so! What're you waiting for? It's easily available online!
After reading this series (including Brute Force, as a pre-release proofreader, which was a blast! I know authors don't usually read reviews, but if you happen by, thank you so much for letting me do that!) I think my next dream book is a team-up between Rachel and Hope, because the ensuing chaos would be amazing.
Oh, right, what are the books about? Very briefly, these books are set in the fall-out of a secret government-funded program which created cyborgs for use in spying and infiltration missions. "Not the clankity-clank pneumatic gun-arm variety of cyborg, but the type that was otherwise completely human except for the tiny chip in their brain which allowed them to take control of any networked machine. (If she had been given the option, Rachel probably would have chosen the gun arm, or the rocket legs, or any other heavy artillery to augment her own natural stopping power instead of the implant. But those were the stuff of science fiction; she had no idea how a piece of technology as complex as her implant could have been invented before the scientists perfected flamethrower fingers. Different priorities, she supposed. Still. Flamethrower fingers.)" Digital Divide is a murder mystery/conspiracy frame-job story.
After reading this series (including Brute Force, as a pre-release proofreader, which was a blast! I know authors don't usually read reviews, but if you happen by, thank you so much for letting me do that!) I think my next dream book is a team-up between Rachel and Hope, because the ensuing chaos would be amazing.
Oh, right, what are the books about? Very briefly, these books are set in the fall-out of a secret government-funded program which created cyborgs for use in spying and infiltration missions. "Not the clankity-clank pneumatic gun-arm variety of cyborg, but the type that was otherwise completely human except for the tiny chip in their brain which allowed them to take control of any networked machine. (If she had been given the option, Rachel probably would have chosen the gun arm, or the rocket legs, or any other heavy artillery to augment her own natural stopping power instead of the implant. But those were the stuff of science fiction; she had no idea how a piece of technology as complex as her implant could have been invented before the scientists perfected flamethrower fingers. Different priorities, she supposed. Still. Flamethrower fingers.)" Digital Divide is a murder mystery/conspiracy frame-job story.
February 16, 2017
I haven't seen her webcomic so I figure I'll check it out.
As far as the book? I liked it. A lot. I was quite taken with her smart ass protagonist and the sparkling bitter humor is nicely in line with my own.
Off to procure #2 in the series now.
As far as the book? I liked it. A lot. I was quite taken with her smart ass protagonist and the sparkling bitter humor is nicely in line with my own.
Off to procure #2 in the series now.
January 26, 2016
Nice story and nicely written. Nothing exceptional though and somehow very similar to the X-men set-up where misunderstood super humans (with implanted chip instead of mutation granting superpowers) fight against crime and for their acceptance into society.
June 5, 2017
I have a lot of fun describing the webcomic to friends and coworkers - "Oh, it's a comic set in today's post-9/11 world. He's a government agent with an implant that lets him access police databases through an Augmented Reality user interface that looks like a chibified George W. Bush. She is a millionaire martial artist who cares deeply about civil rights and talks to the spirit of Benjamin Franklin. Then things get weird." - even though my track record in keeping up with it on a regular basis is unfortunately less than optimal. Still, when I visited it again this time, I noticed that the author has also written books about one of the characters that fill in a five-year gap in the comic continuity.
Digital Divide is a police procedural, and it explores a trend that has been popping up here and there in the real world: the way laws and procedures hold up - or don't - when a new technology comes along that completely changes the game. In this case, there are people - the Agents - who can search even protected databases with a thought or go out-of-body to search a house without entering it (or being anywhere close to it), and the laws have had zero chance to catch up with that. Agent Rachel Peng, who has an implant just like the titular Fed in the webcomic, has to find a way to balance her new abilities with what the law allows as she serves as a liason between the police and her agency, all while solving a case that slowly turns out to be more important than it initially appears.
Police procedurals aren't high on my list of favorite genres. This is not because I dislike it - my interest just usually goes off in different directions. Still, this was a fun read for me, probably because of the high-tech angle, but also because the characters feel alive. Rachel is the POV character throughout the entire book, and we can really feel how she struggles to keep several houses of cards from collapsing - she has her own secrets she doesn't want to get out just now, her agency is still struggling politically, oh, and that whole crime thing is also there. The other characters are also well-written and quite unique. Take away the names in virtually any scene, and you still know who is doing what. The author has also done a great job of writing and describing the people we know from the comic (especially Pat, but also Josh and Mako); the experience is seamless - whenever Pat is talking or acting, it feels like I'm reading the comic proper.
I'm not sure when I'll get around to reading the second book, but I will read it. This has been a thoroughly enjoyable ride, and I'm looking forward to experiencing more.
Just a word of warning: I am genuinely unsure how well the book would hold up for someone who hasn't read at least the pre-timeskip comic. I think the book explains everything that needs to be known, but I'd imagine that the first few chapters might be a tad confusing, what with all the talk about emotional colors, interfacing with technology and what-not.
Digital Divide is a police procedural, and it explores a trend that has been popping up here and there in the real world: the way laws and procedures hold up - or don't - when a new technology comes along that completely changes the game. In this case, there are people - the Agents - who can search even protected databases with a thought or go out-of-body to search a house without entering it (or being anywhere close to it), and the laws have had zero chance to catch up with that. Agent Rachel Peng, who has an implant just like the titular Fed in the webcomic, has to find a way to balance her new abilities with what the law allows as she serves as a liason between the police and her agency, all while solving a case that slowly turns out to be more important than it initially appears.
Police procedurals aren't high on my list of favorite genres. This is not because I dislike it - my interest just usually goes off in different directions. Still, this was a fun read for me, probably because of the high-tech angle, but also because the characters feel alive. Rachel is the POV character throughout the entire book, and we can really feel how she struggles to keep several houses of cards from collapsing - she has her own secrets she doesn't want to get out just now, her agency is still struggling politically, oh, and that whole crime thing is also there. The other characters are also well-written and quite unique. Take away the names in virtually any scene, and you still know who is doing what. The author has also done a great job of writing and describing the people we know from the comic (especially Pat, but also Josh and Mako); the experience is seamless - whenever Pat is talking or acting, it feels like I'm reading the comic proper.
I'm not sure when I'll get around to reading the second book, but I will read it. This has been a thoroughly enjoyable ride, and I'm looking forward to experiencing more.
Just a word of warning: I am genuinely unsure how well the book would hold up for someone who hasn't read at least the pre-timeskip comic. I think the book explains everything that needs to be known, but I'd imagine that the first few chapters might be a tad confusing, what with all the talk about emotional colors, interfacing with technology and what-not.
December 10, 2018
Not recommended - promising series goes downhill.
If the government modified a group of people so that they could trivially break into computer systems and compromise all security and privacy standards, what would the reaction be? If these people were all willing volunteers but also were deliberately not informed about the devastating side effects, how would that change society's obligation to them? If some of these people joined the police, how would we deal with their powers that are blatantly illegal but oh so tempting for the police to abuse?
And what if after a promising first book these interesting bits get more and more ignored, and these computer powers turn into magic powers that can do anything and we start getting ghosts and mysterious ancient civilizations and the supposed good guys start running assassination squads but no one cares and the series just goes to shit? In that case, we must recommend against even starting the series.
If the government modified a group of people so that they could trivially break into computer systems and compromise all security and privacy standards, what would the reaction be? If these people were all willing volunteers but also were deliberately not informed about the devastating side effects, how would that change society's obligation to them? If some of these people joined the police, how would we deal with their powers that are blatantly illegal but oh so tempting for the police to abuse?
And what if after a promising first book these interesting bits get more and more ignored, and these computer powers turn into magic powers that can do anything and we start getting ghosts and mysterious ancient civilizations and the supposed good guys start running assassination squads but no one cares and the series just goes to shit? In that case, we must recommend against even starting the series.
August 22, 2021
Lots of fun! Rachel, a vanguard for a group of augmented humans (or cyborgs, as the book refers to them) recently exposed to the world, works with the DC police by unlocking phones. When she is consulted on a seemingly-impossible murder, one in which cyborgs are being set up, a game of cat-and-mouse begins that is heavily influenced by issues with technology, privacy, political corruption, and legal procedure.
Great characters and character interactions, and a believable and interesting near-future scifi. The story occasionally was a bit bogged down by the writing - I think I can tell the author writes webcomics, if that makes sense? - and there was inconsistency in editing, both of which threw me off. I am excited to read the next in the series for the characters, and interested to see if the writing smooths out with practice.
Great characters and character interactions, and a believable and interesting near-future scifi. The story occasionally was a bit bogged down by the writing - I think I can tell the author writes webcomics, if that makes sense? - and there was inconsistency in editing, both of which threw me off. I am excited to read the next in the series for the characters, and interested to see if the writing smooths out with practice.
June 5, 2018
Kind of a review for the series, attached to the first book:
I came from the webcomic audience, and while this series is fairly different in tone from the comic, and has a bit more of a narrow-scope plot (not too much narrower, but enough to make the story really feel personal) I find Rachel's perspective to be just wonderful and honestly the narration in the books suits my sense of humor even more perfectly than the comic does, while of course being balanced by serious moments as the story calls for them
in any case, for readers of the comic there are occasional allusions to things that Pat knows but Rachel does not (yet), but none of them should prevent a reader unfamiliar with the comic from understanding the books
I came from the webcomic audience, and while this series is fairly different in tone from the comic, and has a bit more of a narrow-scope plot (not too much narrower, but enough to make the story really feel personal) I find Rachel's perspective to be just wonderful and honestly the narration in the books suits my sense of humor even more perfectly than the comic does, while of course being balanced by serious moments as the story calls for them
in any case, for readers of the comic there are occasional allusions to things that Pat knows but Rachel does not (yet), but none of them should prevent a reader unfamiliar with the comic from understanding the books
February 25, 2023
This one was unexpectedly good, in that it sucked me in and made me really feel for the characters especially the cyborgs who didn't ask for all the extra shit heaped on them.
I know this is only a part of a larger whole. I know this is a spin off from the comic "A Girl and Her Fed" and I know there are two other spin-off series as well, that I am currently less interested in. (that might change)
But it holds up mostly ok as a stand alone thing so I don't need to know all about a comic i've only read a bit of and don't quite follow. I probably should go back and read it properly but It's been around for a rather long time and I don't really want to.
time for the next book! i'm so glad that at least some of the books are already out.
I know this is only a part of a larger whole. I know this is a spin off from the comic "A Girl and Her Fed" and I know there are two other spin-off series as well, that I am currently less interested in. (that might change)
But it holds up mostly ok as a stand alone thing so I don't need to know all about a comic i've only read a bit of and don't quite follow. I probably should go back and read it properly but It's been around for a rather long time and I don't really want to.
time for the next book! i'm so glad that at least some of the books are already out.
August 3, 2023
There was a lot going on in this book, which is understandable since it is the first in the series (so you have a lot of world building, characterization, etc.). The main character has an implant that allows her to connect with technology, see through objects, and read people like a mood ring. I found Rachel Peng (the main character) to be very likeable, relatable, and funny. She works as a cyborg liaison with the police, and ends up working on a murder case that is more than it appears. I liked that I could not figure out where the book was headed, and that there were some interesting twists.
October 12, 2017
I liked this a lot. I still like A Girl and her Fed the best, but I think that's because of Hope & Sparky's ah-may-zing chemistry, and also the charming visuals. I'm garbage at strategy, so I don't guess things in advance , so I didn't really try to piece things together. In a story about very smart people saying to other very smart people the equivalent of "do you know what this means?!" that's a liability, but I still really enjoyed it.
January 11, 2022
This is a good sci-fi police procedural, if your suspension of disbelief can cope with a cybernetic brain implant that can wirelessly connect to electronics, can allow users to perceive reality using all the electro-magnetic spectrum, and magically bypass any encryption. It’s the last part that’s a challenge for anyone who works with computer security. If you can do that, it’s a good read. While it ties in with A Girl and Her Fed webcomic, it’s probably best read before reading the webcomic, as the webcomic spoils some of the plot twists.
October 24, 2022
3.5 better and better stars. This needed another polish edit, but that's just a quibble. The rising tension worked very well because the MC and crew became more and more important to me. There seemed to be some internal conflict about the implants, but I could've missed a point. That's less important to me than the characters themselves. Three stars are for the author delivering on the promise to entertain me. The half star rounded up on sites too dim to allow half-stars is because this is the kind of superhero story I want, but am too impatient to write myself. On to book 2.
December 23, 2019
Learn about Rachel’s background
I read the entire comic before I found these books, so I had some spoilers. But it’s really cool to get more of Rachel’s background, and see the events from another point of view. Plus, the book really stands alone too, though I recommend the comic if you aren’t reading it already.
I read the entire comic before I found these books, so I had some spoilers. But it’s really cool to get more of Rachel’s background, and see the events from another point of view. Plus, the book really stands alone too, though I recommend the comic if you aren’t reading it already.
May 18, 2021
Very good!
Clever and intricate but not overworked.
Full of interesting people and we get to learn so much about them because of the nature of Peng's abilities.
I loved the lack of romance, the portrayal of partnerships and friendships that are purely platonic, strong and deep.
Well written and fun, occasionally funny.
Clever and intricate but not overworked.
Full of interesting people and we get to learn so much about them because of the nature of Peng's abilities.
I loved the lack of romance, the portrayal of partnerships and friendships that are purely platonic, strong and deep.
Well written and fun, occasionally funny.
January 26, 2023
Fast and full of ideas
I like Spangler's voice in tight 3rd person as Rachel Peng. Wry and intelligent, not cynical, but pragmatic and willing to be good natured. She avoids info dumps, but as with Agent Peng, there can be overloads that must be sorted out. I began with the comic A Girl and Her Fed, and this is in that universe. Definitely getting more of these!
I like Spangler's voice in tight 3rd person as Rachel Peng. Wry and intelligent, not cynical, but pragmatic and willing to be good natured. She avoids info dumps, but as with Agent Peng, there can be overloads that must be sorted out. I began with the comic A Girl and Her Fed, and this is in that universe. Definitely getting more of these!
April 26, 2020
I’ve read and finished the book, and still I’m not sure if I really got “into� the story. It was a nice read, but it just didn’t hook me and I can’t really say why. It was not a bore at all, good pacing.
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