Fate’s Mirror by M.H. Mead

“Cut off from home and friends, Morris Payne faces a hacker’s worst nightmare—an artificial intelligence with access to every computer on the planet. The AI wants freedom and power, but mostly she wants Morris Payne dead.”

When the co-authors of Fate’s Mirror told me that after looking through my reviews, they thought I’d like their novel, I was skeptical. Was this going to be another political time travel satire? Or like the time when an author asked the Jedi Canary to read his psychological thriller?

I flexed my canary claws, read the sample…and then realized I’d downloaded the book and was already racing through chapter five, loving every minute of it.

Turns out, Fate’s Mirror is science fiction fun on a stick. It’s a Robert Ludlum meets Neuromancer in a future near enough to be recognizable, but far enough that the writing team that is M.H. Mead has its hands full creating a high tech world in all its 3D glory.

But let’s back up. So there’s this hacker virtuoso whose panic attacks make it impossible for him to leave his house. That’s all fine and dandy as far as he’s concerned…right up ’til someone goes and blows up his home.  Morris discovers that someone really is out to get him as he tries to figure out what happened, who’s behind it, and whether it has anything to do with his ex’s job in the government–and her sudden and brutal death.

Once I got past the first few pages (slightly rough, ignore them), it was a fast-paced ride. The authors aren’t afraid to change setting and direction by taking out characters and keeping me guessing.  Written in third person limited, we gain glimpses into the minds of most of the actors, seeing the characters from a delightful range of perspectives.

The narrative is one part cyberpunk fun, one (small) part romance, and one part myths-meet-virtual-naval-battles. To that effect, the story uses the possibilities of virtual reality to open the doorway to more fantastical world-building (think Tad Williams and his Otherland series).

Indeed, I pronounce Fate’s Mirror to be Cyber Opera (a la space opera, my favorite genre).

It takes a lot to get me to rave.

And, defying my expectations, this book had it.

“Morris Payne just might save the world. If only he can gather the courage to leave his house.”

Try the free sample on Smashwords and see what you think:

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Check out our other reviews in our Independent Authors Series here.