Ecko Rising

April 1, 2013
As publicist and events manager for England’s legendary Forbidden Planet, debut author Ware has a deep knowledge of science fiction and fantasy, and she hurls it all into this engrossing but sometimes derivative mix of high-tech street fighting and epic quest. In a dystopian future London, the population has been systematically reduced to plugged-in cogs, blissed out on Pilgrim Inc.’s brand of SSRI. Enter Ecko, a wickedly entertaining antihero. He’s a genetically and mechanically modified superhuman sociopath with a host of unusual abilities. On a mission for a vaguely outlined rebellion, Ecko leaps from a building and wakes up in a teleporting tavern in a medieval fantasy realm, where he reluctantly joins forces with Roderick the Bard to do battle with the elementalist Maugrim and prevent the resuscitation of a demon. Is this all a “Virtual Rorschach” test designed by Ecko’s creator to bring him into line? Several scenes in which Ecko is not present hint otherwise. The page-turning narrative leads to a cliffhanger ending that bodes well for planned sequels.

Starred review from April 15, 2013

In a tech-filled future London, Ecko is considered different. He's maxed out on body modifications and gleefully willing to do anything to take on Pilgrim, the organization bent on rendering society docile and compliant. While on a mission to infiltrate Pilgrim, he falls and comes to in a place without electricity, technology, or anything else that would make it resemble modern society. In this world, trouble is brewing, great power hangs in the balance, and heroes are rising. Ecko is convinced it's a test, a program built to push him to his limits. Getting out alive is his only goal, but as he becomes immersed in a world of magic and monsters, he struggles to find his place. VERDICT In her debut, the first of a planned trilogy, Ware takes readers from a cyberpunk London into a multilayered realm of high fantasy, and propels her unusual hero into the middle of a high-stakes, magic- and mayhem-drenched power struggle that threatens to destroy an entire world. With action aplenty, this sf/fantasy mash-up is a thrilling, genre-defying roller coaster ride.--Kristin Centorcelli, Denton, TX

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