Books like TekWar

Throughout this short read, I imagined I was watching a bad 80's sci-fi flick on VHS, complete with laughable special effects. The tracking might be a bit off too, and the audio's a bit fuzzy. It smells like must and cigarette smoke, and it likely has a garage sale sticker on the front that won't come off. Well, I wanted an easy break from all the heavy reading I usually do, and this actually fit the bill. Think noir detective story with shades of Regan-era drug war, and painted in faux-SciFi. It's obviously Ghost written, with The Shat sitting behind the scenes tossing out words that start in Plas- or Laz-. It's that special kind of genre book that has all the flying cars and moving sidewalks of science fiction, but without any of the interesting thought that made that stuff interesting. Plot: People use disposable computer chips as drugs, scientist creates device that can destroy all drug chips. Toss in double crosses and robot double, and stir. While obviously ghostwritten, you'd be forgiven for thinking this was penned by The Shat. Characters declare their intentions, then events happen. Sometimes, it mixes it up a bit and has stuff happen, then characters explain out loud what you just read. Meanwhile, it never once talks about the consequences of its world. Stuff happens, one thing after another. There's even a good bit of unintentional humor here too. For example, one chapter ended with the phrase "... and it was Beth Kittridge", only to have the next chapter begin with "But it wasn't Beth Kittridge." Each of the small chapters has to end on a climax, some sort of tension, no matter how artificial. There's a trap where the hero gets attacked by robot bulls, and another where he gets ambushed by a "mexican" cyborg with an electric knife for a hand. I could only imagine Bender with a sombrero and a fake mustache. Seriously, what am I supposed to think when you mention a mexican cyborg?