Empire State eBook Adam Christopher
Download As PDF : Empire State eBook Adam Christopher 
THE EMPIRE STATE IS THE OTHER NEW YORK. A parallel-universe, Prohibition-era world of mooks and shamuses that is the twisted magic mirror to our bustling Big Apple, a place where sinister characters lurk around every corner while the great superheroes that once kept the streets safe have fallen into dysfunctional rivalries and feuds. Not that its colourful residents know anything about the real New York… until detective Rad Bradley makes a discovery that will change the lives of all its inhabitants. Playing on the classic Gotham conventions of the Batman comics and HBO’s Boardwalk Empire, debut author Adam Christopher has spun this smart and fast-paced superhero-noir adventure, the sort of souped-up thrill ride that will excite genre fans and general readers alike.
File Under Science Fiction [ Pocket Universe | Heroes or Villains | Speak Easy | Loyalties Divided ]
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“Adam Christopher’s debut novel is a noir, Philip K Dick-ish science fiction superhero story… As captivating as a kaleidoscope… just feel it in all its weird glory.” - Cory Doctorow, New York Times bestselling author of Little Brother
"A fascinating debut novel that meshes noir sensibilities and science fiction together and keeps the reader guessing throughout. Adam Christopher handles in intricacies of parallel worlds, time travel and suspense with a skill lacking in many more-seasoned authors." - Mike Stackpole, New York Times bestselling author of I, Jedi
"Adam Christopher maintains a punchy, bestseller prose style that keeps the action rocketing along, and protagonists that seem right both in their own setting, and appropriate to what we already recognise as super heroes. Empire State is an excellent, involving read, and it fully deserves to be the start of a new universe." - Paul Cornell, DC Comics and Dr Who writer
"Down these steam driven streets a man must go... straight into a pocket universe of trouble. Brutal, knowing and deft, Adam Christopher delivers." - Jon Courtenay Grimwood
"Stylish, sinister, and wickedly fun, Empire State is not your average sexy retro parallel universe superhero noir." - Lauren Beukes, award-winning author of Zoo City
"Destined to be a science fiction classic, Empire State is a breathtakingly original noir tale of intrigue, mystery, and quantum physics, deftly played out in storytelling so brilliant I'm finding it hard not to hate the author." - Diana Rowland, author of My Life as a White Trash Zombie
Empire State eBook Adam Christopher
I really did want to like this book - truly. The setting is right up my alley, being a pulp/noir superhero fantasy set in 1920's New York. But ultimately, the writing didn't live up to the idea.The biggest problem I had with the story is that we are whip-sawed through the narrative, never knowing what is truly going on. Characters change allegiances, critical environmental aspects are unexplained. In this we are in the situation of the story's main protagonist, private investigator Rad Bradley. Who basically has no idea what's going on and cannot make logical decisions on how to pursue his case. Good detective fiction has plenty of twists and turns as well as clever misdirects. For both the reader and the main character. But the best examples of genre plant clues along the way that the reader can pick up on... or at least go back and see how it all fits together. Empire State is a mish-mash. Why is the Science Pirate like that? Why did she fall out with the SkyGuard? How did the fissure open up? Does it have definitive rules? How many times is Carson going to switch sides? How did the judge end up like that when everyone else from the other universe has a double? There are no answers to questions like these.
Overall it made for frustrated reading. I pushed through to the end hoping for a decent payoff. But ultimately it was just "meh".
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Empire State eBook Adam Christopher Reviews
It was labeled as a mash up of Batman/ gotham ethos and prohibition era Broakwalk empire. Sold! Unfortunetly its neither, it has too many ideas and concepts, and the author seems obsessed with double identity whoa didnt see that coming moments that all fall flat bc the reader never cares. Prohibition/ bootlegging is hardly ever touched other than the characters have to go to a speak easy to drink. It is far from Noir also, the prose is dull and boring, the only thing noir about this is there is a detective and a city that is foggy. NYC and its parrell empire state where never explored other than they both have an empire state building. This book is all over the place, lots of good concepts but too many of them, the book gets convoluted and there is never enough character development to buy into anyone. Disappointing bc the premising sounded really promising
I wanted to like this book so much. I was so jazzed to see a book written in a similar time period as my spec fiction/alternate universe/history novel. I liked the interactions I had with Adam on Twitter. He comes off as a genuinely good fellow, a collegial writer, someone who wants to be a part of the publishing world and believes in what he has to offer to that world. All of this preamble is meant to ensure nobody comes away from my review thinking I'm bashing the author of Empire State. I'm not. I will be bashing the editor, and the publisher, who let Adam's book go to press in the condition it was in.
Adam has an incredible imagination. That much is clear from the first few pages. I got a vivid sense of the car chase, the inside of the old 1930s jalopy racing around corners, gunfire popping off here and there, the windscreen cracking and glass scattering as the car crashes.
So. Action packed opening? Check. Interesting characters that make me care about their future? Um, sort of, yeah, more or less.
Then the superheroes come into the picture and it's getting pretty exciting. I'm getting curious, sort of. I would be more enthralled if someone had helped Adam tighten his prose though. After the fourth or fifth couplet containing a contrasting conjunction (i.e., "This, but That.") I started to feel like I was reading through a grammar textbook. Honestly. And this killed the story for me. The writing was full of description, vivid description. But it was also full of clunky, choppy sentences that just removed any sense of pacing whatsoever. And when Rad finally gets introduced to us, and we start following him on his journey of discovery about this mixed up world he lives in, the writing really seemed to get worse. It got choppier, clunkier, harder to follow. Two or three 'but' sentences in a row. Two or three short sentences that begin with 'Rad did X'. What was the editor doing when he was supposed to be reviewing Adam's story?
The opening scene was tight enough. It kept me involved, despite more than a few rough spots, and even a handful of typos and grammar errors. But then, after Chapter 3, the opening scene ends, and in a horribly confusing fashion. And then a new book begins. I mean a completely new and totally disconnected narrative. The characters and events of the first three chapters don't reappear until well along in the story, which is to say that the first three chapters are forgettable. Which isn't okay.
I get it, pocket universes. It's a tried and true mechanic in sci-fi writing (I've heard). I haven't read any such stories prior to this one, but that should not be a prerequisite for understanding, being able to follow, or feel connected to the narrative of Empire State. Adam's story contains some incredible plot devices, some twists and turns that would make a brilliant piece of film. I mean cult classic kind of stuff here. Characters dance in and out of two universes in a winding parade through the dark streets of a New York that neverwas but might have been. It's clever storytelling. But it isn't good storytelling. Any editor worth her salt will tell you to ensure that you NEVER leave the reader wondering what the hell is going on for more than a scene at most. If a reader has to scratch his head for more than a dozen pages, you're looking at losing that reader for good. And that's what happened with me and Empire State.
So, please consider that when you read this two-star review that wishes it could be better. Consider that I didn't finish the book because I honestly couldn't. Angry Robot put this book to press before it was ready. They either gave it a quick once over editing, or had Adam do the editing himself, which is not a good idea for any writer. Adam was done a disservice here.
A bunch of intriguing ideas combined with a bunch of thin, unpleasant, and aggressively annoying characters. Was hoping for more capepunk, but got noir steampunk instead. Also tended towards the crapsack end of the worldbuilding (despite the false note of optimism at the end), with very little of the deeply flawed but fiery pursuer of justice private detective protagonist that is often the saving grace of the unrelentingly bleak noir landscape. The detective here is a passive, slow, annoying fellow, despite many opportunities to be much more interesting.
I really did want to like this book - truly. The setting is right up my alley, being a pulp/noir superhero fantasy set in 1920's New York. But ultimately, the writing didn't live up to the idea.
The biggest problem I had with the story is that we are whip-sawed through the narrative, never knowing what is truly going on. Characters change allegiances, critical environmental aspects are unexplained. In this we are in the situation of the story's main protagonist, private investigator Rad Bradley. Who basically has no idea what's going on and cannot make logical decisions on how to pursue his case. Good detective fiction has plenty of twists and turns as well as clever misdirects. For both the reader and the main character. But the best examples of genre plant clues along the way that the reader can pick up on... or at least go back and see how it all fits together. Empire State is a mish-mash. Why is the Science Pirate like that? Why did she fall out with the SkyGuard? How did the fissure open up? Does it have definitive rules? How many times is Carson going to switch sides? How did the judge end up like that when everyone else from the other universe has a double? There are no answers to questions like these.
Overall it made for frustrated reading. I pushed through to the end hoping for a decent payoff. But ultimately it was just "meh".
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