It is with excitement and great pleasure that I turn my blog site over to C.S. Boyack today so that he can tell you about his latest cyberpunk novel, Grinders!
Take it away, Craig!
Thanks for the invitation today, Jan. I’m honored to address your fans with my new book, Grinders. I’ve offered multiple topics on this tour, and I’m really excited that you chose The Grid.
Grinders is a cyberpunk story, set in San Francisco. This means an environment with a lot of neon, holographic advertising, and bustle. Computers and the Internet are a big part of these stories. That’s the “cyber” part. They also seem to have a seedy, almost underground, element to them. That’s the “punk” part. Now that you know what we’re dealing with, let’s talk about The Grid.
The Grid falls firmly under the cyber part of the environment, but it’s more than that. It’s almost a character in its own right, because it controls so much of the people’s lives.
At its core, The Grid is made up of hexagonal solar panels that have replaced all of the asphalt. It’s pebbled glass for traction. They fit together like Legos, and there is one scene with some repairs being made. So far, so good, right?
With all this electricity, this grid is hooked up to the Internet. We’re already seeing electric automobiles, and some self-driving technology, so I took the next step. All of the vehicles are paired with The Grid, and a central computer drives them all with incredible efficiency. Imagine four lanes (or more) buzzing along at 60-90 miles per hour. The cars are all about one foot from each other, and we would consider that tailgating today. The Grid is capable of moving them all at once, so this isn’t a problem.
Commuters simply tell an AI in the vehicle where they want to go, the AI communicates with The Grid, and they’re off to the races. Lane changes are accomplished with computer efficiency, by slowing down the adjacent cars to make a hole.
City streets have cross lane traffic to worry about. Stoplights are antiques in the world of Grinders. The Grid starts and stops traffic to keep all lanes moving at their best pace. When traffic stops, the lights have been replaced with holographic billboards that pipe advertising to the passengers.
Automobiles still dock for the night and recharge, but they also draw a small amount of power from The Grid. This is done via contact brushes, and The Grid will even pull over inefficient vehicles for a repair ticket if they cannot maintain the speeds required.
But like they say on late night television, but wait, there’s more. So far, I’ve only talked about ground level. In the world of Grinders, everything is delivered to small heli-pads at each residence and business. Drones provide staples and extras right to your apartment window. One of my main characters is fond of having liquor store deliveries made.
Some of these drones are huge, and include UPS trucks with larger loads. With all this lesser air traffic, how do they keep from crashing into each other? There has to be a way to set patterns and timing. This is yet another function of The Grid.
Imagine a moving van sized drone bringing your belongings to a new apartment. Not only does The Grid have to create a clear path to the building, it also needs to communicate with ground traffic to make a suitable parking space for landing.
The Grid is a wonderful creation. Pollution is all but gone from the Bay Area. Aggressive driving and accidents are a thing of the past. People even send their children to school in a car without adults. They can play games or read along the way. Businessmen can review files instead of drive and lean on the horn. Housewives even send the pets out for grooming without having to leave the house.
As an author, it’s fun to think ahead. A lot of this technology already exists. I hope someone smarter than me can make it happen one day. I like the idea of cheap solar power, efficient commuting, and the elimination of aggressive drivers from our streets. I’m still not on board with having someone else choose my produce, then deliver it to the house, but some of this is already being done too. They might not be using drones, but how far away is that technology anyway?
I hope you guys will give Grinders a chance. Thanks again to Jan for lending me her space. Now it’s time for me to drop a cover, blurb, and that all important purchase link.
Blurb:
Jimi Cabot made one mistake as a starving college student. When she went to work for the San Francisco Police Department, it nearly cost her the job. The union stepped in and they had to reinstate her. They did so by assigning her to the duty nobody wants, Grinder Squad.
Grinders are people who use back room surgeries to enhance their bodies with computer chips, and various kinds of hardware. Jimi is sure that if she can just bust one grind shop, it will be her ticket back.
Paired with veteran cop, she soon learns that Grinder Squad is a cash-cow for the department. They are nothing more than glorified patrol cops, and generally get the worst assignments.
Matchless is the most wanted grinder of all time. He disappeared years ago, leaving only the evidence of those he enhanced during his career. With these pieces, Jimi picks up the cold trail to try working her way back to more respectable duty.
Grinders is a cyberpunk story set in a world where global warming has eroded coastlines, and society has solved many of our current problems by replacing them with new ones. There are cyber shut-ins, cyber-currency skimming schemes, and more in this futuristic tale.
This book also takes the opportunity to poke a stick at current issues that seem to have lasted into the future. Entitled people, helicopter moms, overzealous homeowner associations, and lack of decent jobs are all present. Never preachy, these issues make up the day to day work of a patrol officer.
I hope you enjoy Grinders as much as I enjoyed bringing it to you.
Purchase link: http://mybook.to/Grinders
You can contact Craig at the following locations:
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