by M.H. Mead
Genres: Science Fiction
Source: Author
Morris Payne is the world's best viker--a hacker with the greed of a pirate and the morals to match. Many know his name. Few know who he is. Agoraphobia, with its uncontrolled panic attacks, has left him housebound and friendless. But someone, somehow, has connected his virtual life to his real one. Now he has to brave physical reality and all its dangers to stop a killer who was never supposed to exist. She calls herself the Triple Goddess of Fate. The most powerful AI ever created, she wants freedom, power, and the assurance of her own safety. Mostly she wants Morris Payne dead.No one, no matter how well equipped, has survived a confrontation with Fate, and all Morris has are his legendary hacking skills and a virtual pirate ship loaded with defensive weapons.Morris Payne just might save the world. If only he can gather the courage to leave his house
Earlier this year I read M.H. Mead’s novel The Caline Conspiracy and commented on how cool I thought Morris the hacker was and that I’d love to read more about him. The author gifted me Fate’s Mirror and I finally got his story. Filled with conspiracy, a little romance and some cool sci-fi that had me questioning humanity this was a fun read for me.
Morris is attempting to hack into a system when suddenly there is a fire and his home is destroyed. He is paranoid, scared and has nowhere to hide. He decides to go to private investigator Aidra’s house. He has assisted her on cases but the two have never actually met. Morris needs to figure out what happened and fast because his friend has turned up dead too and the police think he is a prime suspect. All of this is compounded by the fact that Morris suffers from severe agoraphobia. People are searching for him whether they trying to help him or not is unclear. The tale that unfolds has an intense plot and a case of who-dun-it.
Morris Payne or one of his many aliases thought to be one of the most gifted vipers out there. From his computer in the comfort of his humble abode, he is Mr. Cool, the guy with all the answers. Everyone in the computer world and government knows of him but few have actually met him. Mead did an incredible job of fleshing out Morris and his condition added to the tale. I loved his snarky attitude and his geek was spot on. I loved the character development throughout the novel. Aidra is back and once she realizes what is going on steps in to help. She has this amazing ability to assist Morris through his attacks. Their relationship changes now that they are face to face and I found it to be believable and sweet. Other characters whether friend, foe or AI added to the tale and sent it moving at a dizzying pace.
Cyberpunk, science fiction whatever you choose to label this novel it was fascinating. The tale starts slow and then really takes off. Told from multiple POV’s we get to see the drama from all sides. While I personally would have eliminated a few, I understand the author’s intention and it certainly fueled the suspense. A lot of the tale was shrouded in mystery as we are left uncertain about the different player’s intentions. Are they helping Morris? Are they after Morris? Why? The world is similar to ours but with significant advancements in technology from cars that drive themselves to chips that allow you to connect with the web. I thought Mead’s take on how Morris was in the virtual world and how he handles the reality to be fascinating. We see this today in minor ways, but it really makes you question the way we are heading with virtual technology. The tale was fascinating, suspenseful and the characters well fleshed out.
I recommend Fated Mirrors to fans of science fiction and cyberpunk. M.H. Mead is the shared pen name of Margaret Yang and Harry R. Campion. You can find a list of their other novels here.
About Kimberly
Kimberly is a coffee loving book addict who reads and listens to fictional stories in all genres. Whovian, Ravenclaw, Howler and proud Nonna. She owns and manages Caffeinated PR. The coffee is always on and she is ready to chat. BlueSky | Facebook | Instagram
Raine
Love the cover that speaks energy and it looks like it has loads of that through the pages. 😀 Another book to tag 😀 Thanks 😀
kimbacaffeinate
thanks Raine would love to hear your thoughts when you read it 🙂
Kimberly
I haven’t read many sci-fi novels before but this one has me really interested. I’ve heard of cyberpunk though and there supposed to be some really good books out there in the genre. 🙂 plus I love the cover!
kimbacaffeinate
thanks Kimberly this was a cool read 🙂
Christa
Hacker/pirate? That definitely got my attention! I always want to read more cyber punk, but never know where to start. Will add this to the TBR!
kimbacaffeinate
Thanks and I hope you enjoy it 🙂
kindlemom1
This sounds like a really interesting action packed read! I haven’t seen this one before so thanks for sharing it! 🙂
kimbacaffeinate
thanks this was a fun series.
thegeekyblogger
OH I know a friend who would love this! I am going to have to remember it for their birthday 🙂
kimbacaffeinate
Perfect gift 🙂
kimbacaffeinate
Thanks and I hope she enjoys it!
Jenny
This isn’t my typical genre and I sometimes struggle with multiple POVs, but the story itself does sound really interesting:) Good to know the characters are really fleshed out as well, I live for layered, interesting characters. Lovely review Kimba!
kimbacaffeinate
thanks Jenny 🙂
GRgenius
Have honestly never heard the term “viker”…interesting mix! Not certain this one’s for me but enjoyed the review just the same. Happy reading!
kimbacaffeinate
I had not heard of it either, but I looked it up Google. It’s an elite tag hackers give to the best. Sort of a ranking.
kimbacaffeinate
I couldn’t do it either, but it would be cool.
Blodeuedd
Eh, making me yawn
Bella's Bookshelf
Sounds interesting, but IDK. Is it really ScyFy? Too much ScyFy bores me to tears! I always wished I was a hacker. Actually I’d love to have the skill set to do it. Then I could apply those skills to a legit computer job and make boku bucks!
Or hack into a bunch of corporate (not indie) bookstores, and books for everyone! A lot of books for everyone! lolz..Make your wishlists!
I love how the MC has agoraphobia! I have that. It’s no fun at all 🙁 I had a more severe version in my early 20’s, it lessened over the decade. Now its S.A.D w/shades of agoraphobia mixed in. I don’t how deeply they delve into it, but I like that its out there. Seems apropos that a hacker would have agoraphobia.
OH YEAH!!! I LOVe the Oracle Cards review you did. I am totally buying a deck. I love stuff like that. I used to have it all over the years but with moving a lot I lost all of my different items (runes, tarot, angel cards, crystals, etc.etc.)
Thanx for the cool review. Let me know about the scy fy thing. Sounds interesting but i am a bit wary.
kimbacaffeinate
Well hello Fran and I think you would like this. Um and no hacking bookstores, our favorite authors have to eat too!
Bella's Bookshelf
I forgot! Last night I read a story of how a lady bought her boyfriend a new Ipad 3 from Best Buy, when it got to his house the box was heavy, too heavy for 1 ipad 3, he opens it- *drumroll* 5 BRAND NEW IPAD 3’s!
After research and emailing a few ppl she is thanked for her honesty and told to KEEP THEM ALL (but they “suggested” donating 1 to a charity, giving one to family or friends, or school in need, etc.etc. I would, its a karma thing IMO) They said “In the spirit of the season they are ALL yours to keep” I paraphrased a tiny bit. But they did say “In the spirit of the season”.
The law is this: If a company send you extra items you CAN keep them. It’s NOT your fault and its the stores fault and they have NO right to charge you or go after you to return them.
If you want to bring extra items back to the store or mail them back that’s on you. They will most likely say thank you but not “reward” your honesty.
Is that NOT nutso?! I saw the boxes and packing slip and everything. It was a glitch. Company mistake.
Merry Ipad Christmas Indeed.
kimbacaffeinate
Wow, I would donate one too, but I still think it was great that they tried to do the right thing.
Heidi
I personally like a good sci fi story every now and then and the thought of where modern technology can go is always a chilling prospect for me. I like that this one has a good case of who done it as well, sounds like an entertaining read for sure!
kimbacaffeinate
Agreed Heidi 🙂
A Belle's Tales
Oh, a hacker! Very intriguing! I’m not a huge sci-fi fan, but I think I’ll give this a try. Great review and I love your high-test cups of coffee 🙂
kimbacaffeinate
I love when people pick up on that, I have been throwing in all types of coffee, and even hot cocoa..LOL
kimbacaffeinate
This is soft. I think it would appeal to a large audience
Jennifer Bielman
Hmmm, I don’t read Sci-Fi very often unless it’s a soft version.Do you think I would like this as an introduction to this world? I liked the review and the book does sounds good.
Christy (Love of Books)
I <3 hackers. Cool hackers, not annoying ones. lol. Great review, this sounds pretty good.
kimbacaffeinate
It was fun and yeah hackers are smexy..LOL
kimbacaffeinate
This was fun and I hope you get to try it 🙂
kimbacaffeinate
thanks it was good 🙂
Quixotic Magpie
I love that you read this and enjoyed it!!! Harry is the brother of my best friend:) I have this book to read on my shelf, I really need to get to it! Great review!
kimbacaffeinate
That is so cool and yeah you need to read it..LOL
Sam
I couldn’t hack into anything if my life depended on it (not that I’ve tried or anything…!) but Morris sounds like a really interesting character. I do enjoy sci-fi-ish books so I will add this to the list. Great review, K!
Braine TS
I haven’t read cyberpunk before… not that I know of anyway … looks like I’m missing out on something good here. Cyberpunk… must check