Set across the pond in jolly old London, Vaquita is a Runner and apparently a Headcase, carrying around a foreign personality in her head, but because it's British it's probably too polite to just take her over entirely and is doing a timeshare or something.
At least as long as the tea, finger sandwiches and crumpets hold out.
Now she is off on a run with her team in the abandoned Angel Towers Arcology, a stripped down shell of its former glory now filled with the unsavoury dangerous sorts and secrets you would expect to find in this kind of place.
Think Renraku Arcology Lite, though don't get cocky in here as there is still a lot that can flatline you in short order, if you are lucky.
Rumours of bugs and worse hanging out on some of the levels are still whispered among the locals, so death is not necessary the worst that can happen to a body here.
All that and Marmite too.
No seriously, f**k Marmite, that stuff is toxic.
When the leading advertisement for this stuff focuses on how half of the people who try eating it vomit uncontrollably afterwards, you realize just how messed up this stuff is.
Any other product using this type of advertising would have been shut down, banned and burned to the ground with salt plowed into the ashes afterwards.
Imagine if they did those chips (crisps to the Brits reading this) ads with the 'low fat' alternative that turned out to give you diarrhea and the ad showed half the eaters rushing off to the toilet like that scene from Bridemaids.
Yeah, not happening (thankfully)
But Marmite? That's like a badge of honor or something....
*ahem*
Anyway, we enjoyed Mr. Hardy's work in Hell on Water for it's bringing the setting to life and unusual characters (the main 'heroes' and baddies alike), even if we were not entirely sold on the story itself.
All it lacked in this regard as a setting piece was a map and some picture/prints like how the oldschool SR novels had it. Maybe this could be something to bring back in future novels please?
In any case, we look forward to seeing how he breathes new life into this corner of the Old Smoke.
Hopefully sans Marmite....
