BOOK REVIEW: Auxiliary: London 2039 by Jon Richter

Cover of Auxiliary London 2029, Review by Markus McDowell

This is a novel by Jon Richter, author of crime thrillers and horror fiction. Billed as a cyberpunk thriller, it is really a dystopian science fiction crime thriller.

The setting is London in 2039, and Richter extrapolates a tech future based on future trends, which is quite plausible. He is also extrapolating social trends as well, such as non-binary and fluid gender concepts. The main character is detective Carl Dremmler, a future version of the classic noir crime fiction detective—dark, depressed, drunk, and with painful failures in his past. His partner is a bit of an enigma (sexual orientation and otherwise); and the obligatory police captain who busts Dremmler’s chops and seems to be hiding something.

Dremmler is assigned to a case that, at first, seems straightforward. A man killed his girlfriend with is robot arm. But the man insists the arm did it on its own—he lost control, as if the AI was hacked. No one believes him, of course, until Dremmler starts digging.

The plot thickens with a number of twists and turns. It is a well-written thriller, with chapter-ending reveals that make a reader want to keep reading.

Many of the secondary character are richly drawn and deep. Others are a bit more flat, or, worse in my opinion, stereotypes. Still, this is a minor flaw that does not detract from the overall narrative.

The beginning of the story had too many expositions for my taste. I like being thrown into a story world to figure it out on my own—it adds to the realism. To have an unseen narrator (or the main character) explain things about this new world tends to pull the reader out of the story (imagine a voice-over appearing during Star Wars to explain what a Jedi Knight is and how the force works.)

But these explanations are quickly left behind, and the reader is taken on a thrilling and fascinating journey into the all-too-possible world. The plot itself is not so unique, but its setting, the large role which technology plays, and the societal conditions render the old new and exciting.

There is a chapter about three quarters of the way through that hints that none of events so far—even Dremmler—are as they seem. Yet it never comes up again. I won’t say much about the ending, but it was a bit confusing as well. A sequel, if the author has one in mind.

(One other issue, which has nothing to do with the story or author’s skill, is the interior layout of the print book. The fonts used for body text is not a good one for reading, and the title font is even worse. The cover, however, is excellent.)

If you enjoy reading an author’s vision on what our future society might look like, plus the crime thriller genre (or just an exciting story), I recommend Auxiliary: London 2039. It is a quick read, Richter’s style is good, and the story is enjoyable and entertaining.

I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

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