In the near-future (twenty, twenty-five years), Virtual Reality news is all
the new "sensation" - reporters are "observers," fitted with emotional
sensor jacks that relay their feelings to the Internet as well as what they
see and hear. The protagonist of the story witnesses the brutal slaying of
Zapatista farmers, in full view of a military base which does nothing to
stop it, and is initiated into the realm of the rebel when NewsReal refuses
to transmit his recordings of the event.
Hooking-up with a disenfranchised debutante, the two become lovers and
underground resistance members. Without a compass to guide them in the
murky waters of illegal movements, they swiftly become compromised without
knowing it. A powerful agenda is afoot, and the former reporter and
subversive socialite inadvertently find themselves serving instead of
fighting it.
But the fun still isn't over: no sooner do our heroes have a grasp on the
situation, than an even more alarming development occurs.
Wonderful intrigue, likeable characters, and a complex and ever-changing
plot keep this book moving steadily along. Its only real problem is a slow
middle that delves too much on a not-very-believable future Texas, which is
the only area of the book that suffers from excess science-fiction-itis.
The "virtual reality" angle mercifully is never hit so hard over the head
that it overpowers the drama of the piece, and the examination of
artificial intelligence is quite interesting and well-done.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0380806444/qid=1042984115/sr=2-3/ref=sr_2_3/102-7637210-1756125
