The Budayeen Cycle: When Gravity Fails, A Fire in the Sun, and The Exile Kiss by George Alec Effinger

The Budayeen Cycle: When Gravity Fails, A Fire in the Sun, and The Exile Kiss Reviews

• 
  Jamie

  When Gravity Fails is a minor cyberpunk classic that I heartily recommend to sci-fi fans, yet the second and third entries in the trilogy go in a different direction, largely leaving behind the gritty, hardboiled street action that I initially found so compelling.
• 
  Jim Tyler

  1 star, I put a book down. 2 stars, I wouldn't read again and won't pick up a sequel. 3 stars, I won't read again, but maybe the sequel would move forward. 4 stars, I enjoyed it and would recommend it to a friend. 5 stars, I'll reread it, recommend it, and try to get my son to experience some of the joy this book gave to me.
  
  Another of the series of books that I'm pleased to have found in digital format making it easy to keep and read again, and to share with my son and friends.
  
  This series, frankly, defines cyber-punk for me much better than William Gibson or Philip K. Dick. I think that is probably because it is a series that not only carries a narrative, but also allows for the author to be more descriptive of the setting. Additionally, the fact that it is set in an "ascendant Muslim world", which at the time it was written was just as fantastic as reading about Baghdad and the 40 thieves. Today, it might scare off some of those who can only envision the middle-east and Islam as a threat to western civilization. But those folks probably need to read some non-US based history and current events books to get perspective before reading fiction.
  
  That being said, this series is fiction, and just as someone reading the Man in the High Castle can enjoy good fiction while also understanding the cautionary tales of alternative history, so does The Budayeen Cycle provide the same opportunity.
• 
  Lim Seng

  Who are we talking about here? It's George Alec effing Effinger!
  
  The Papa of Middle-Eastern Cyberpunk!
  
  The worldbuilding is impeccable. Religion versus Rationalism, Tradition versus Technology, Morality versus Mortality, Transhumanism versus Humanity.
  
  George's writing, bless his soul, pulls you into a desert dystopia, where calls to prayer ring out in the morning and bawdy over-sexualized commercials blare across the streets in the evening.
  
  You don't know Japanese? *BAM*, just slap a chip in your slot (man, that sounded wrong) and you're suddenly qualified to be a Masterclass lecturer for Japanese.
  
  You hate being a man? A woman? *BAM*, a day in the clinic and you're another person in all legal sense the next.
  
  You hate drugs and prostitution? *BAM*, Friedlander Bey hates them too... well... I mean, he don't hate the money it brings him but... anyway, no spoilers!
  
  That's the kind of world George gave and left us with and we are blessed for that.
• 
  David Oliver

  Engrossing, believable world. Gritty cyberpunk at it's best, especially if you like anti-heroes.
• 
  Tai

  Very enjoyable cyberpunk series. Unusual setting for that type of thing. Wish there were more.
• 
  Eric Hensel

  I'm sure this was a more impressive read, when it was published, but it is less impressive, now that technology has blown past. It's really less science-fiction, than hard-boiled detective fiction, with SF trappings. That's not a deal-breaker, but not my favorite, either. Personally I was missing the kind of detail that puts you 'in the novel'. I never felt that the Budayeen was different, culturally, than say, Old-Town Pasadena, in many ways, so I lacked that immersion that you find in the best novels of the genre. There were quite a few "you've got to be kidding me" moments, as well; The entire desert-episode should never have happened -given the shrewdness exhibited by Bey, elsewhere. I'm rather surprised that this novel came with such a high rating; because, though I felt it was very well written, the whole thing was second-tier -in my experience.
• 
  Micah Lawrence

  trilogy starts strong, ends weak
  
  I very much enjoyed the first entry in this cyberpunk series. Set in a future where Islam dominates the world, this series explores the hard luck life of its protagonist, Marid, who lives in a rough area of town and essentially finds himself falling into the function of a gumshoe. In fact, the whole series is styled as cyberpunk noir. The author’s devotion to research into Arab culture was impressive and the writing wasn’t too bad. In fact, the first book in the series has the best plot and writing. However, by the end, the plot wraps up pretty lamely, which is a pity for such a promising beginning. I do very much recommend When Gravity Fails but not the rest of the series.
• 
  Bobbie

  Okay, it's easier to review the whole series. I loved the first book. It was so cyberpunk in a new way. I would give it 5 stars. The second book was really good, but not quite as interesting as the first, and the third was very interesting, but I felt it fell short on the resolution. Still worth the read for the exotic setting and unique ideas.