SCI-FI Month Review: Press Enter by John Varley
In the world of Science Fiction certain Authors names have buzz about them and John Varley is one of them. When I saw a copy of Press Enter at my local indie bookstore I snapped it up! First published in 1984, Press Enter is a blend of Technological exploration, Mystery and Romance.
The story begins when reclusive Veteran, Victor Apfel gets a phone call telling him to respond to an emergency next door. Victor initially ignores the summons but the phone won’t stop ringing so he goes to investigate.
Victor finds his neighbor Kluge dead with a cryptic note. As the days pass the police begin to investigate Kluge and discover he was a master hacker who was able to remove his digital footprint from the world. Yet Kluge did find someone of something out in the world wide web. And that presence killed him.
Victor becomes drawn into the case because of a financial windfall he receives from the deceased and his interest in Lisa the young woman who is hired to ferret out Kluge’s secrets and possibly discover his killer.
This is a very straight forward read with some really intriguing plot twists. On the surface Lisa and Victor don’t seem like they would fit together on any level, but these two wounded people create a universe amongst themselves. However a dark force is at the end of Lisa’s explorations and what she finds may shatter her life and the entire world.
Despite being a little under a 100 pages this story has real depth and a surprising ending. I will definitely be reading more of John’s work.
Comments