Review: Starburn
"So I can't value life because of my synthetic biology? Life is only valuable to organics? To truly live is to be able to die? I've seen fridges die that serve more purpose than some of these scumbags."
Detectives waxing philosophical is nothing new in the pulp-noir genre, but this is a little different. Zander is a robot police detective in the city Starburn on an exotic planet with pink skies and a diverse human and alien population. The cyberpunk backdrop - sleazy neon ads illuminating warrens of dark alleyways, dive bars, disreputable virtual reality joints, flying cars, etc. - is the setting for a mystery involving the murder of a politician. Who killed the ex-mayor, and why?
Starburn by writer/artist Coleton Mastick is a thriller with a twist. The police department are keen to wrap up the case as quickly as possible because the independence of the city depends upon its resolution. Anyone they can pin the blame on will do, and the city has no shortage of characters who should be behind bars. Zander cares about finding the real killer rather than a scapegoat, however, a scruple that irritates his chief: "You're not even human. What's a life even mean to you anyways?"
Mastick illustrates his tale with bold caricatures that pop off the page as our hero follows a convoluted path in his investigation, taking in bizarre characters and locales. A sinister masked individual stalks him in his quest, determined to sabotage his search for the truth.
Politics, links to environmental scandal, corporate greed, secrets and people with hidden motives... it's a complex web for our mechanical protagonist to unravel. With his department pressuring him to come up with any solution, even if it is a false one, unreliable sources and a deranged killer on his tail, Zander is up to his metal moustache in maniacal mayhem.
Time is running out... can he crack the case before the case cracks him?
STARBURN on Coletron.com
Zak Webber
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