BOOK REVIEW: The Hermes Protocol by Chris M. Arnone

An action packed cyberpunk adventure.

Thank you to BookishFirst for gifting me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. 

I was drawn to this book because it was listed as cyberpunk, and ever since I read Bubbles in Space last year, I have been fascinated by this little subgenre of sci-fi. It’s all about world building, technological advancements and human ‘modifications.” 

The world building of Jayu City in this one is done effectively. Taking an off Earth settlement and establishing a sense of political, economic and social dynamics to support the plot is an essential element to the overall success of the novel. Our main character, Elise, is an intel operative for the Corto Corporation. Corto is one of the five boroughs that make up Jayu City which is established early on.

Basically, she’s a fancy burglar and thief who gets assignments from and paid by the government. She is presently tasked with stealing back a stolen microchip. Which she does, only to have it stolen yet again as soon as she drops it off in the Corto Vaults. Why is this chip a big deal? Because the chip continues an illegally created AI.

My favorite character in the book is this illegal AI, Bastion. For the entirety of the book, he is simply just a shell of his true coding since the chip is missing and he exists essentially through space on the web. What is interesting about artificial intelligence is how they present human emotion and logic, which, when paired with Elise’s oftentimes illogical and spontaneous behavior, creates some great moments of dialogue. Elsie has no regard for her personal safety, and Bastion is too cautious.

The story in general was slow to get started, but I will say that once Elise is on the clock and has limited time to find and retrieve that chip, the pacing picks up and I found myself thoroughly engaged. Elise herself is a pretty flat, static character and remains the same throughout, so I wouldn’t say that this is a character driven story. It is all about the plot which is impacted by the characters she has to interact with at different stages along this journey.

The chunking of the action scenes were well placed between the down moments which allowed for an easy reading experience. There was just enough stress in the urgency of the time limit to make those down moments a little more stressful because the clock was ticking. I absolutely loved the ending on the Saga Freya. Having Quynn involved was beneficial to see her as a “real” character versus what was more like just a peripheral one. There is more depth to her than we got to see since the focus was always on Elsie. 

Echo and Roxy are the two characters that I think are the most unique, especially Echo who is an off-the-radar man who is your go to if you need anything. I felt he was more of that black market guy you contact when you need the illegal or difficult to get weapons or supplies. Roxy is just a technologically enhanced assassin who doesn’t take no for an answer. Even with Echo’s superior equipment, Roxy gives Elsie some difficulty and leaves a line of bodies in her wake.

The one thing that got a little annoying was the focus on mentioning every character’s pronouns. I appreciate the inclusivity and recognition of it, but how it was presented, it was almost like there was too much effort. It didn’t flow naturally into the scenes and the moment. I totally respected knowing certain aspects of Elsie and Quynn’s characters because it helped to understand their reactions to certain situations they found themselves in or conversations they were having, but again, it was a little overwhelming and distracting.

Apparently, there is the potential for a sequel based on the conclusion of the book. Sometimes it’s not always a good thing to be in the back pocket of the most powerful people in the government. There is that constant concern about when and why you will be called upon and that is exactly where Elise finds herself on the final pages of the book. It seems only time will tell.

Where does it land on my bookshelf?

I would probably place it on the middle shelf. I feel that there was a lot of potential that wasn’t necessarily tapped into. Hopefully in the coming books, more can be developed when it comes to the characters. I want to see how  they grow and evolve and not just go through the motions that the setting and circumstances place them in. Bastion has such a pivotal role in this happening, and I love the interaction and conversations that he has with Elise. The world building is effective and there again is so much more that can be done there now that the foundation is set. Overall, I was happy I read this, especially after about chapter 6 when the action picked up. I’m fascinated by the whole cyberpunk genre, so that helped add to my enjoyment of the book.

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