2019 B.R.A.G. Medallion Honoree 2019 Eric Hoffer Award Honorable Mention – eBook Fiction
2019 Montaigne Medal Finalist for the year’s most thought-provoking books In 2068 St. Louis, Missouri, Dr. Douglas (Doug) Michaels finds his lifelong friend, Josh Unger, dead in his home. When law enforcement concludes his death was a suicide, Doug and his wife, Ali, are dumbstruck; they wonder what could … enforcement concludes his death was a suicide, Doug and his wife, Ali, are dumbstruck; they wonder what could explain such a needlessly violent and lonely death in a future where such actions are unimaginable. Trying to unearth a killer, be it either flesh and blood or the cumulative stress of life, Doug creates a mental landscape of Josh’s past, a retroscape, starting in the mid-2030s.
more
This sci-fI mystery really got me thinking. In the investigation of the untimely death of his friend, Doug gigs in to find the shocking explanation.
Bruce M. Perrin certainly did his research. Building upon the technological advancements that we have undergone, he puts forth a very plausible future scenario. Great story with a fantastic twist at the end.
I enjoyed Denver C. Risley’s performance. I thought he was consistent throughout, and I didn’t encounter any issues that detracted from the story.
I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and I have voluntarily left this review.
Wow This one really makes a person think. So much is referenced regarding now a day events.
This is a fictional possible future American and the different things brought about by cause and effect that could be possible.
This review is for the audio book.
I enjoyed this book. I love a good mystery and although this is a little different to what I am use to listening to, the blurb sounded interesting enough that I have it ago. Glad I did because I really enjoyed it and once I started I didn’t want to stop until the end. With everything going on at the moment it really resonated with me and definitely have you thinking about the story long after it has finished. The story does jump about as the main character looks back on his memories to see if he can find a clue to the murder of his friend, so you need to concentrate and it is not the type of book that you want lots of interruptions during (so lock the door and enjoy). The author has a very good imagination and a great way with words, this meant you never felt left behind when things got technical and I enjoyed the authors vision for the future, especially the way the main character interacted with the robots. The characters were also good and well rounded. So over all a great mystery with a futuristic twist.
Doug has lost contact with his best friend but when his ex wife asks him to check up on Josh because she is unable to get in contact, he had no idea of what he would find. His new wife, a high Tec robot, turned off and his dead body in the garage. The police believe it to be suicide of a reclusive man but Doug thinks otherwise and so sets out to visit the last they both shared to find a clue why his friend might have ended up dead. They survived the zombie pandemic but life for everybody would never be the same. The technology world took off as a result, could that have something to do with the dramatic change in his friend over the last few months of his life? Or could it have been a more human cause?
I liked the narrator and thought he did well with both make and female voices.
I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.
In St. Louis, Missouri in 2068 Dr. Doug Michaels, a computer technologist, who investigates the death of his old friend, Josh Unger. A recluse like many people became after the pandemic of 2030, the authorities believe it was a suicide, but Doug has a hard time believing it so he decides to revisit his past memories using a technology/methodology called Retroscape. His memories slowly unravel the mystery only to be faced with a truth about the future of humanity.
I’ve read a number of Mr. Perrin’s books and this is my favorite so far. It’s a fun and engaging techno-thriller with well-developed characters in both the humans and the AIs. Published in 2018, it nevertheless captures the anxiety and fear that runs rampant during the medical, economic, and social crisis we face today. It’s also really nice to see older characters being proactive in a novel instead of leaving all the fun for those under thirty-five. I also enjoyed how he depicted the evolution of AI in the not so far future.
Well done.
Received as a review copy, this an honest review. This brilliantly layered mystery will keep you guessing who and why Josh Unger was murdered. Sad and enthralling; filled with intriguing futuristic technologies that are completely realistic. Highly recommended.
I received a copy of “Killer in the Retroscape: A Near-Future Mystery” by Bruce M. Perrin in exchange for my honest review, and here it is. This story is one of a kind that once you start reading you will not want to put the book down. It is a well written book with great word-building that leaves you wanting more. Talk about mystery meet sci-fi and mix in fragile humanity and you get Perrin writing another great book with great characters. You cannot help to fall in love with the chemistry the characters have, and the dedication of Doug to find out the truth to what happened to his best friend. I do not know about you but as I read this book, I can totally see how it can apply to us now and that is eerie. If you like mystery and science this book is definitely for you. I on the other hand cannot wait to see what Bruce Perrin comes out with next.
I’ve read all of Bruce Perrin’s books, and when I saw he had a new one, I immediately checked it out through Unlimited. Every time I read a new book by him, I think it’s the best one so far. This time is no exception. Killer in the Retroscape is different from his other books in that this one takes place in the year 2068 with flashbacks to 2035, 2046, and 2054. However, the book’s theme is much the same as in his earlier books—advances in technology, people’s increasing dependence on it, and the good and bad that goes with it.
The world building in Killer in the Retroscape is amazing. The author has applied his technological knowledge to imagining where our world is heading, and his conclusions seem very believable–especially considering the pandemic we’re now living through. In the world of the book, people have become more isolated from physical contact with each other, preferring instead to socialize via an advanced version of the web.
Just taking a tour through the world of the future would make reading this book worthwhile, but the author also manages to populate that world with believable characters, some of whom aren’t even human. Two of my favorites were the machine intelligences, Suze and Censere. Loved their sense of humor—Censere could take his show on the road! When we finally have machine intelligences that advanced (and I have little doubt we will one day), can we still look at them as “only” machines? Killer in the Retroscape seems to say “no.”
The human characters are also well drawn. Doug and Ali, a married couple in their seventies, are the main characters. They are people old enough to remember a different world than the one they’ve grown into. When a friend of Doug’s dies from an apparent suicide—something that is extremely rare since euthanasia is available to all—Doug is sure there’s more to the story. He embarks on an investigation into what led to his friend’s death. I’ll leave it at that rather than chance giving away any spoilers. I’ll just say that if you enjoy intelligent science fiction, this is a book you’d probably enjoy.
“Once you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth.”Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
This is a fascinating mystery thriller of a near future. I was hooked right from the beginning, so immersive is the story! And not only because of the mystery, also of the technology described in a near future, how automation effects our lives, and the mental, social and psychological reactions it causes. It’s a daunting, frightening and challenging insight. A gripping plot, with an excellent story development with realistic characters. Great world building. The outcome is so unexpected and harsh.I highly recommend this book!