The Immorality Clause

Easytown Novels, Book 1

By: Brian Parker

Narrated by: Daniel Penz

Easytown's robotic pleasure clubs are a serial killer's playground.

The futuristic slum in eastern New Orleans is a violent place where any vice can be satisfied - for a price. As long as the taxes are paid and tourists continue to flock to the city, businesses are allowed to operate as they see fit. But a string of violent murders threatens to upset the delicate balance between pleasure and safety.

As homicide detective Zach Forrest tries to unravel the mystery and prevent the next murder, he embarks on a mind-bending investigation that will change his perception of reality forever.

©2016 Brian Parker (P)2016 Brian Parker

Poirot He Ain't - But Not A Bad Effort

I had mixed feelings on this.

The author has created a fairly detailed world and defines the tech of it well. But the characters fall a little flat sometimes. For a detective, Zach Forrest is not observant on a crucial social level that I'd think most detectives would need. Other characters also seem in place to mostly encourage the character and assert most of his views with a couple exceptions. A love interest portrayed also fits into an stereotypical role to the point of being almost off-putting.

The performance was also a mixed bag. I love what was done with android and phone portrayals and the effects were seamless and convincing. Less convincing was narration through pain or drunkenness. Whenever Zachary takes a hit (which is often) the narrator portrays the pain. This is okay in the dialog portions but is distracting when the narrator is describing action.

Fabulous noir fiction

Homicide Detective Zach Forrest is invited down to Easytown, a kind of Storybrook-esque slum of New Orleans, to investigate a murder in one of the sexbot establishments there. This gets him involved in a strange and dangerous mystery which involves a serial killer and a political assassination on the eve of worldwide robotic legislation. The book has a nice down-to-Earth feeling which I felt made it stronger. Zach is a Detective but even he can afford an A.I. to manage all of his affairs. New Orleans, already one of the more diverse cities in the world, now has a bunch of Arabic immigrants. The world-building is subtle rather than in your face and works better for its groundedness. It simultaneously manages to have a 1940s-esque feel in some places while also feeling like it could plausibly take place in the future.

Zach Forrest is a much nicer man than Bladerunner's Decker but he's still an individual who is deeply set in his ways and both repulsed as well as fascinated by the newest models of sexbots. Paxton is a character who exudes so much mystery the audience almost certainly thinks she's a robot herself but may well be something more complicated. The serial killer, himself, is a figure which doesn't get much in the way of development but shows himself to be clever but not quite as much as he thinks he is. The supporting cast is also interesting as we get to see New Orleans citizens from all branches of life. I also felt like the book did a good job of stretching out the investigation. As opposed to it all happening in a couple of days, the story takes place over a couple of weeks and feels more realistic. There are times when leads dry up and they just have to wait for resulted which made things feel more authentic.

In conclusion, this is an excellent work of science fiction. Brian Parker did a wonderful job of creating a seedy Noir future setting which invokes Bladerunner without copying it.

9.5/10

Noir Fiction with a Futuristic Twist

Right off the bat I thought, I really like this, and it only continued to get better. I loved the attention to the detail of adding futuristic everyday items into his world. I understand why people would want to compare this to Blade Runner, but I didn’t think this had that many similarities and thought it played out more like a standard detective adventure that just happens to be set in the future. The setting definitely has a noir feel to it, although Zach does not resemble a typical noir detective, and the world Parker creates is as impressive as this story itself. The seediness of Easytown and the type of murders occurring creates a bleak setting that really throws you into the streets of Easytown.

This reminded me a lot of Harry Nile, but with a futuristic twist. Even the narrator reminded me of Phil Harper. While Zach was a bit worn down and was far from perfect, he wasn’t jaded and was on the right side of the law. I loved his interactions with Andy, the two bickered like an old married couple and Andy’s attempt to be helpful in a world she doesn’t quite understand brought levity to the overall story. The two are a great team.

The droid aspect in this world was really great. Granted a lot of them are sex bots, so there are a few racy scenes. How Parker describes the droids and establishes them as characters works really well. Like so many science fiction movies, the line between human and droid is blurry. There is an underlying question presented as to whether the droids should be treated as equals. This question ultimately leads to the confrontation in the end.

Daniel Penz has a solid voice for narration. He has that voice that is perfect for detective novels and the similarity of his voice to other voice actors I have enjoyed definitely helped. From time to time he added sound effects for the droid voices which enhanced the overall narration.

I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher.

Onto the next one!

This was a very enjoyable read, and I am excited that I already have two more in the series ready to read.

The narration was well done, and the voice was perfect for the MC. I think this is my first book read by Daniel, and look forward to hearing more by him in the future.

The story is very entertaining and well done. I love a book where you think you know what is going on, and maybe you do have a clue, but there are enough twists and turns that you'll never guess the whole story. If you were on the fence about this book, then I say hurry up and start listening.

This book was given to me for free at my request and I provided this voluntary review.

Gritty High-Tech Crime Story That Wont Disappoint!

*This book was given to me by the author at my request, and I provided this voluntary review.*

4.5 / 5

I really enjoyed this story. It was a fresh idea from my perspective, as I don't read detective/crime novels that often. The story may not be a new idea (detective in a high-tech future), but the presentation of it was quite the treat. It was gruff and had hard edges to it - not a story for the kids! I loved most of the characters that were portrayed in this story; each were unique and had their flaws; none 2-dimensional! The banter between the MC and his AI was funny at various times, MC's commentary and explanations of events also humorous. The story-line itself was pretty good; I had an easy time enjoying this all the way through (and only took me a couple days). I would definitely recommend this to other readers, and I will be coming back for more adventures with Zach.

Also - the performance by Daniel Penz was SUPERB!

Definitely different in a good way 😊

"This book was given to me for free at my request and I provided this voluntary review."

I really liked the narrator, he has a great voice, easy to listen to him and all his characters. I listen to audiobooks at work and didn’t stop when I got home with this one. Kept me interested and ready for the rest of the series.

Fun and Entertaining

This was a fun and entertaining futuristic murder mystery. The characters were well written. The plot was handled well. The resolution was satisfying. I had thought the resolution was going to go a slightly more complicated route, but I am glad it did not.

The narrator did a good job in most aspects. The tone was appropriate. The voices and effects were done well. My only issue was more of a sound/quality issue. Quite often during the course of a chapter the volume would slowly go out. It almost sounded as though the narrator was moving away from the mic, only to return at full volume for the next chapter. I found myself increasing the volume during various chapters only to have to turn it down at the beginning of the next chapter.

Disclaimer: I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

Blade Runner meets adult entertainment

Set in a future where robot sex dolls are becoming the norm our protagonist, a homicide detective with an AI companion, is tasked with solving a murder at a robot whorehouse. The case turns out to be more complex than expected.

The story is great, the setting, characters and world building are extraordinary. This book could easily be the beginning of a long series of detective style stories, and I would listen to every single one of them. There is no forced drama here, everything feels 'real' and like what a person with common sense would do (except for the bit where our protagonist just doesn't catch on that the girl had a crush on him...).

The narrator did a spectacular job capturing the mood of the book and translating it in a way that immerses you in a Blade Runner style universe. He gives each character a distinct voice with makes it very easy to keep them apart.

If you enjoy a good detective story and don't mind a bit of adult fun, this is definitely something for you.

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

Compelling and engaging Tech Noir story

Brian Parker has created a world reminiscent of Blade Runner but great on its own merits. A compelling and well constucted story that skillfully weaves the crime noir and futuristic tech genres without falling into cliches.
Daniel Penz does an excellent job of bringing the story to life in a very engaging way. Only once did i feel the character was not portrayed as it should, but was a minor part that did not take away from the story at all.

An excellent work by both Parker and Penz!

Bladerunner in the Red Light District

This title is a bit outside my usual fare. I'm not a huge fan of noir or crime novels but it looked intriguing. Unfortunately, it turned out not to be my cup of tea. (I rated it as if it was the kind of book I would like, personal prejudices aside.)

It was a cliche in a slightly over the top kind of way. And though, that is not to my taste I'm sure many would love it. It was very tactfully written for the subject matter, neither too gory nor too timid. It was moderately well paced but I felt, at times, the clues didn't quite follow and coincidences were too pat. Otherwise, it was enjoyable.

As for the narration, it was the bright spot in this book for me. Mr. Pena sounds just like you'd expect a rough around the edges cop to sound. A likable jerk. He did a good job with the acting, this being entirely from the 1st person perspective which is a tough job. And though he did a wonderful job altering his voice to perform the voices of the robots and other characters, i felt that at times the story let him down.

If you like noir crime, I predict you will really enjoy this book. For those of us who don't, you may want to pass.