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Takes place in a world with androids, but not in the Blade Runner / Electric Sheep universe

Reviewed in the United States on March 24, 2016

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The title of this book, “Tears in Rain” will be instantly recognizable to sci-fi fans as a reference to the Roy Batty (played by Rutger Hauer) monologue at the end of the movie “Blade Runner.” For those who aren’t familiar, Roy Batty is an android who is about to die as the result of a preset lifespan established in his programming, and he’s reflecting on all those unique experiences that he’s had that will be forever lost with his demise—as tears in rain.

When I picked up this book, I thought it would exist in the “Blade Runner” universe. It does not. However, it exists in a universe that shares several common features with the world of “Blade Runner”, and—in fact—it gives a nod to the film as a prescient historic work of fiction. What Montero’s novel has in common with the Ridley Scott film is a world in which there are both humans and androids that have surpassed the uncanny valley—i.e. they are generally indistinguishable from humans (if they want to be.) Furthermore, these androids (also called replicants) have a short and predictable lifespan--though it’s presented as a mysterious flaw rather than intentional programming. Further, there is a degree of tension between humans and replicants (reps.) The book also shares the movie’s film noir feel. The book’s lead character, Bruna Husky is a private dick--if you will—and a replicatant, and she is investigating a series of murders by replicants gone haywire.

The focal point of the book is something not extensively addressed in “Blade Runner” or that film’s point of origin, the Philip K. Dick novel “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep”, and that is the need to build memories into these androids so that they can function like humans. Reps discover at some point that all their childhood memories—good and bad—are fake, and this is a point of consternation for Husky. It is the corruption of the memories that leads the replicants to kill. That fact is established almost from the novel’s beginning. What isn’t clear is who is doing it and why, and book follows Husky through her investigation of these questions.

For the most part, I found the book to be readable. It’s a translation from the original, which was written in Spanish. It didn’t have that rare page-turning aura that made me have to find out what would happen next, but it was a good, solid science fiction work. The characters are—as one might expect from my “film noir” comment—overwhelmingly gruff and terse and / or broken people. Not that the unlikable nature of the characters is responsible for the lack of intensity of interest in what will happen to them. I recently read an article about unlikable characters, and it pointed out (correctly in my view) that Nick and Amy Dunne of Gillian Flynn’s “Gone Girl” are among the most detestable characters of recent literature, and yet that is a book one can’t put down. It’s difficult but not impossible to build intense interest with such characters.

Interspersed throughout the book are a few multi-page information dumps in the form of reports to an archivist who is a secondary character in the book--and who probably only exists to justify these info dumps. While the dumps aren’t excessive, neither do I think they are necessary. I don’t think there was much information in them that was necessary to the storyline, and what was could have been communicated more smoothly.

Part of Montero’s problem is that by tying her work’s title and important background details to “Blade Runner”, it becomes almost impossible to not compare her novel to either “Blade Runner” or “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep.” I might have given this work another star if I wasn’t thinking about how it was less visceral than the movie and less clever than Dick’s book. (Without the info dumps or the comparison it would have been a 4-star for me.)

This is a worthwhile read for sci-fi fans.

Gdadgd

Boring story

Reviewed in the United States on April 29, 2018

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The book had a great story line, at least it could have. After reading 34% of the book, I was still waiting for something to draw me into the story. I finally could not force myself to read anymore. It was honestly fairly boring and really just a plodding murder mystery instead of a syfy story. Do not bother, if you want an exciting syfy story.

Sarah B.

Fabulous scifi/cyberpunk mystery

Reviewed in the United States on February 18, 2021

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The title and book description had me concerned this was some sort of Blade Runner rip-off, but that could not be further from the truth! In fact, the world-building in this book is complex and detailed, and very well done, and the Blade Runner reference is simply an homage. I am reading the English translation; I believe the original language is Spanish. It doesn’t have any of the downsides of a translated book in terms of phrases feeling clunky or anything like that. It was hard to put down! I also listened to a lot of it with the audio book which is very well narrated.

For those who care, there are a few scenes of sexual intimacy in the book, nothing that bothered me but it’s not everyone’s cup of tea. There is definitely some violence and some gore. There is some drug use, albeit futuristic drugs.

Beyond that, a really rich story with layered, believable characters, that brings up all the existential and philosophical questions that a good book should bring up, with the added bonus of a cyberpunk/neo-noir/futuristic scifi flavor.

I believe there is at least one other book that is a sequel to this one and I am going to buy it right away!

spiritual successor to Blade Runner

Reviewed in the United States on November 2, 2013

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I bought this book mostly because it was advertised as a spiritual successor to Blade Runner. The book is not an actual sequel, but it touches upon many of the themes and issues raised in that movie. Of course, anything that claims to follow Philip K. Dick's Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep and Ridley Scott's Blade Runner is going to set expectations very high. Remarkably, Rosa Montero succeeds. This was easily one of the best books I read in 2013.

The story focuses on Bruna Husky, a replicant who works as a detective. She notices an odd and disturbing pattern of crime amongst replicants and sets out to investigate. The plot itself is fairly straightforward. What really captured me was the characters. The characters in this book feel absolutely real. The characters experience complex emotions. Montero does an excellent job at showing how individuals can feel so many different and sometimes contradictory moments at the same time. We see characters who feel one thing but feel compelled to say something completely different, yet their actions are believable because their complexity resembles our own.

Montero also does an excellent job at situating Bruna and the other characters in a world that feels as alive as those street scenes in Blade Runner. The characters interact with each other and appear and reappear in different contexts. Characters who seem initially to simply provide a bit of information necessary for Husky's investigation to proceed might later help her with an emotional problem. It's neat to see how the pieces all fit together and really makes the characters feel more real. Human relationships are complex and multifaceted and this book portrays that better than most others I've seen. In short, "Tears in Rain" doesn't just have an ensemble of characters, but a living community.

The book also addresses some big themes. This is an excellent exploration of tolerance, difference, and coexistence in society. Bruna finds herself in the middle of supremacist groups, one which advocates replicant rights and the other that seeks to enforce human superiority. The book actually goes beyond Blade Runner by introducing aliens and as yet another source of difference. Characters change and characters' perceptions of other characters change. I found myself shocked to find that my own perceptions of characters also changed and found myself having to overcome some of my own prejudices.

If the book has a flaw, it's that it introduces too much too quickly. Rosa Montero's world is huge and there are many historical development between now and 2109. Montero litters the book with in-universe archivist notes, which serve both to bring the reader up to speed on key historical developments and to further the central mystery of the book. However, it still feels like there's so much to absorb. I wouldn't have minded a slightly longer introduction to some of the characters, aliens, and developments before the murder mystery begins in force. However, I say this more because I enjoyed Montero's world-building and wanted to absorb more of it rather than because I ever felt lost in the book.

Some reviewers have issues with the translation. Rosa Montero wrote the book in Spanish and Amazon provided a translation. To be quite honest, I was a bit worried, but overall I found the translation to be remarkably strong. The prose is highly readable and the dialogue actually sounds like human conversation (except where it isn't supposed to, as in the case of aliens or replicants). The writing is probably better than a lot of English-language science fiction I've read, including more prominent authors. Granted, the writing never reaches the heights Montero probably intended. The writing is prose, not poetry. I can only imagine how beautiful this book sounds in Montero's native Spanish. However, the most important point is that the writing never interferes with enjoyment of the novel. Kudos to the translator!

Overall, if you like science fiction that treats its characters as real individuals with a range of emotions AND explores big ideas, I highly recommend this book.

Top reviews from other countries

Mr. D. Palfreyman

Tears in Rain

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 13, 2013

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The title of this book is taken directly from the "tears in the rain" soliloquy by Rutger Hauer in the film Blade Runner. In fact the whole book is a homage to the film. Rosa Montero's main character Bruna Husky is an ex-solider, turned detective, she is also a short lived Rep (Replicant) human with an approximate life span of 10 years. Replicants were made to do the difficult and dangerous jobs that humans don't want or can't do, and often despised by society as a lower class which sparks interesting tensions through the book. The difference that marks them out are their eyes which have vertical pupils like cats, so no Voight-Kampff polygraph test required here. The book actually makes reference to the film but ironically doesn't mention Philip K Dicks original book the film was based on "Do Androids dream of electric sheep".

This is an original script based on an established premise. It's an easy read, with several nice twists, and a few well written pieces that string together nicely. I read it over a couple of days and enjoyed it, but wouldn't read it again.

If you like blade runner, you'll probably like this book.

david

Suffers from comparisons

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 29, 2013

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In a way it is unfortunate that this book is billed as derivative of Blade Runner, as it seems to have prompted a lot of 'This is not as good as Blade Runner' reviews. I think reviews on Amazon can be very uneven in standards; I have read five star reviews of books that are not a patch on this one, some being absolute rubbish. Technically it is grammatically good, well written and devoid of the usual howlers you find in similar works at 99 pence. It is twice as long as 'Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep' and to buy this will cost over four times as much, so on value for money terms I rate it.
OK so, are the characters two dimensional? Not really all of them. The key protagonists are given some depth, except for the policeman who is kept very enigmatic and ends up being a bit two dimensional as a result. My main criticism is that the denouement is very rushed and a little simplistic, but all in all I enjoyed it reading it as a stand alone and not making comparisons.

Steve Jarrett

interesting story, winding and complex

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 6, 2013

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The main character is a Replicant who only has ten years to live, but she gets roped into a huge conspiracy to destabilise earth by making all Replicants (Androids) to blame for a series of deaths, initially amongst themselves then humans.

Clever and weaving, with some very strange but interesting characters drifting in and out.

Only four stars because it leaves a couple of things unsolved and the continuous griping / age counting of the main character even got me to say "oh give it a rest" out loud on a train.

But different from many in this genre, and would certainly grow to more books, with plenty to explore.

BTW this is NOT Blade Runner, nor is it supposed to be. So those expecting this, get over it. It references this film in the same way it references artists and music etc to give context, not to drive the story.

Sussi

Interesting

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 8, 2013

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A very interesting story, one in which I hope will be continued. The title of the book does not do it any credit at all so this great story would I am sure be just glanced at and missed.

The fact that is is about replicant humans and humans together and a mention of blade runner is the only thing that connect the two, they are very different, I liked blade runner but to be honest I prefer this and could easily see this in a film format.

The writing is good with the exception that the author keeps alternating the names of the lead character (the replicant then her name or her title detective) this can be a bit confusing as there is a police detective in the story as well.
I still gave it 5 stars as it was very hard to put down.

Mr. E. Bray

Lightweight scifi of a sort

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 1, 2014

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This is not too bad a read.
It is obviously a rip-off/spin-off from the film Blade Runner, - (and no attempt has been made to disguise it!) - which in turn was a rip of the book by Philip K Dick, called Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep. There are also a couple of nods of recognition to the Master, Dr Isaac Asimov, and his positronic robot series, and his three laws.
At first, it is a rather vague, rambling tale that lacks direction, and I nearly gave up with it on a couple of occasions, but as the book progresses, it tightens up and begins to make sense.
Would I read another Rosa Montero book - I doubt it, unless it was offered at a silly low price.

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