kingrobot
August 5th, 2010, 04:57 PM
Hi - first post here so here goes nothing. I hope you guys and gals can help.
I'm looking for a sci-fi novel I remember reading in the late 1980s or early 1990s. I seem to remember that it was darkly humorous but I might be wrong. What follows is a list of things that I remember about it.
a futuristic mega-city where the rich live in separate upper levels sealed off of protected from the underclasses by their private military security and hi-tech physical barriers, much like a gated community of today.
A journalist (or private investigator) who because of his job is allowed to visit the upper levels but lives in the subcity.
Civil unrest and rioting in the undercity due to food shortages and political tensions.
Some kind of political intrigue / conspiracy (a murder?) that needs to be kept secret from the masses to prevent social turmoil or revolution. Our protagonist finds out about the conspiracy so has to be eliminated. He has to find the evidence and expose the truth - it involves him breaking into the upper levels of the city.
I'm sure it features flying police vehicles with grabbing arms or insect like appendages - black and yellow wasp like craft?
I also seem to remember it being set in a futuristic Britain / London as opposed to New York or one of the more commonly used future cities but this may be a red herring!
Yeah - It sounds like a Blade Runner / Judge Dredd ripoff but I suppose many of those early cyberpunk-ish books were in the late 1980's. I've also ruled out 'Only Forward' by Michael Marshall Smith which seems to share a lot of the same ideas.
Thanks for looking! Hope you can help...
I'm looking for a sci-fi novel I remember reading in the late 1980s or early 1990s. I seem to remember that it was darkly humorous but I might be wrong. What follows is a list of things that I remember about it.
a futuristic mega-city where the rich live in separate upper levels sealed off of protected from the underclasses by their private military security and hi-tech physical barriers, much like a gated community of today.
A journalist (or private investigator) who because of his job is allowed to visit the upper levels but lives in the subcity.
Civil unrest and rioting in the undercity due to food shortages and political tensions.
Some kind of political intrigue / conspiracy (a murder?) that needs to be kept secret from the masses to prevent social turmoil or revolution. Our protagonist finds out about the conspiracy so has to be eliminated. He has to find the evidence and expose the truth - it involves him breaking into the upper levels of the city.
I'm sure it features flying police vehicles with grabbing arms or insect like appendages - black and yellow wasp like craft?
I also seem to remember it being set in a futuristic Britain / London as opposed to New York or one of the more commonly used future cities but this may be a red herring!
Yeah - It sounds like a Blade Runner / Judge Dredd ripoff but I suppose many of those early cyberpunk-ish books were in the late 1980's. I've also ruled out 'Only Forward' by Michael Marshall Smith which seems to share a lot of the same ideas.
Thanks for looking! Hope you can help...