Despite some bright spots, game-related fiction (be it tabletop RPG or board game) doesn't have a good track record. Despite some problems, Free Fall is definitely one of the bright spots.

Free Fall is based on the Fantasy Flight board game Android, which is set in a noir-soaked near-future. Free Fall keeps that atmosphere, mixing elements of hardboiled detective fiction, hard sci fi, the almost-like-now uneasy of cyberpunk, and the moral quandaries of film noir. The story follows NAPD captain Rick Harrison as he investigates the death of a high-profile lawyer. Things quickly spiral out of control.

The prose isn't as sublime as — say — Chandler, but I was impressed. Bill Keith is a solid writer, a veteran of the game-novel industry (he's written some of the better franchise-related books). The story clips along, has some fairly unexpected developments, and features several fantastic set pieces that will stick with me for a while. I may be somewhat biased because I'm a fan of the board game on which the novel is based, but I'm just happy that this is franchise fiction that isn't terrible. ( )

The world has changed dramatically in many ways since 2011. Among other things, clones and bioroids (androids) walk among us as a cheap source of highly specialized labor, with all of the to-be-expected abuses by employers and protests from human workers about loss of jobs, as well as other discrimination and bigotry toward these new groups. Mega-corporations are mining the moon and other planets for mineral resources. The population on Earth has exploded. Read the rest of my review at http://popcornreads.com/?p=1582 ( )