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Type of bind: Mass Market Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.6
EAN num: 9780505527240
ISBN number: 0505527243
Label: Dorchester Shomi
Manufacturer: Dorchester Shomi
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 352
Printing Date: July 03, 2007
Publishing house: Dorchester Shomi
Sale Popularity Level: 775587
Studio: Dorchester Shomi
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Rated by buyers -
Courtesy of CK2S Kwips and Kritiques
What if life were made up of an infinite number of interconnected strings that with the slightest knot or twist can change everything as we know it? In Wired, computer programmer L Roxanne "Roxy" Zaborovsky's life is about to be turned upside down and inside out as a result of those strings.
While making a late night venture to the local convenience store, two men suddenly appear out of nowhere, fighting over Roxy! Now she is about to find out nothing in her life is what she thought it was and it's about to change even more. Who can she trust? Rough and rugged Mason Merrick, a man from her past she has strong attachments to, or debonair Leonardo Kaysar who always knows exactly what she wants to hear?
With all this jumping through time, Roxy is not sure where she is or even who she is anymore. All she knows is that both of these men are after the same thing, a piece of computer code she hasn't even written yet. But with things about to come down to the wire, she'll learn just what she's really made of.
Can we really change who we are and who we once were? Do the most inconsequential of details really make a difference in the long run? And what is everything we thought we knew was wrong? Wired is all about possibilities and this is a huge part of what makes the story so incredibly fascinating. Who hasn't wondered at some time in their life if they could change everything around them and make a brand new life?
Wired is confusing initially, as we try to figure out what exactly is happening, alongside of Roxy. However, as soon as the circumstances are explained to her, we too in turn come to understand how things work in the world Liz Maverick has created. From then on, events fall into place and it is quite easy to follow the wires belonging to Roxy and everyone in her life. Wired has a fascinating concept behind it, very unique, quite unlike anything I've read before. The way the story ends, it's quite apparent Liz Maverick has more in store for Roxy and company in future books.
I also liked the whole conflict between the two men who are currently in Roxy's life - Mason and Leonardo. I get tired of the old fall back plot of the heroine having to choose between two men, feeling this is overused in today's romance novels. However, in Wired, the idea works extremely well. The two men represent exact opposites in Roxy's world... who she was and who she can become. It's just a matter of deciding which is which. As she waffled over which man can be trusted, so did I. While I thought I knew who was the good guy and who was the bad, I changed my mind several times along the way.
What a fascinating, fast paced adventure ride Wired is! We are sucked right in to the action immediately as one seemingly simple decision sets Roxy on the path to her new life, though she's not aware of how fateful that choice is at the time. I for one am... dare I say it... Wired to see what Liz Maverick will do next.
© Kelley A. Hartsell, September 2007. All rights reserved.
Rated by buyers 
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The back cover blurb of "Wired" sounded intriguing. The front cover art made it look as if it were a tie- in to some kind of underground animation, something like AEON FLUX. (Seriously, they look like cartoon characters.) So I bought it--new--and regretted it.
Roxanne is a traumatized young woman, but we're not sure why. A routine trip to a 7-11 turns into a nightmare--and a joke, as the men literally fighting over her have some of the worst dialogue I have ever had the misfortune to read. People do *not* talk like that. They're supposed to be cagey manipulators of times and events, and they sound like frat-boy groupies.
Roxanne herself never seems to *do* anything. A supposed "Major" factor in this conflict, she instead twitters and flutters like a cliched Southern belle with the vapors, and her work, which is the focus of this conflcit, remains vague and just this side of PopSci glitz.
It was the "romance" that killed this story dead for me: neither man is at all appealing. They seem more focused on each other than Roxanne (which wouldn't be a bad thing), but they display shocking levels of violence and callous disregard for people, with highly questionable ethics and humanity. They fight over Roxanne not because of personal feelings for *her*, but to keep the other guy from winning. She is a pawn, a tool, and the incredibly forced semi-happy ending is just insult to injury, and completely unbelievable in relation to what's gone on through the story.
Roxanne had a chance to dump them both and let them destroy each other--it would've been a much stronger book if she had. Other characters exist to pat Roxanne on the head and say, "There, there, dear, it's all in your head, you poor traumatised thing. Here, buy a sexy dress and go on a date, you'll feel better."
The book was an insult to my intelligence, an insult to women who *have* endured the horror of abusive relationships. I have seldom been so angry after reading a book. This one fails on every level.
Rated by buyers 
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Every person's life impacts numerous others in countless ways. Change a single action or circumstance and the ripples change reality as we know it. This is what's known as a parallel universe. Now imagine you are the focus of that change. Two men are manipulating you like a pawn on a chess board, changing your experiences to achieve their own outcome. Reality shifts and as you desperately try to cling to your sanity. Who can you trust, except yourself?
L. Roxanne Zaborovsky, a reclusive freelance computer programmer, alienated from her family, her closest friend having moved on without her, finds herself unaccountably compelled to visit the local 7-Eleven in the middle of the night. Her anxiety builds with each step, and just as she is debating returning home, she finds herself sandwiched between two ominous men each claiming her for himself.
They are Wire Crossers, people who manipulate reality to alter fate each with their own desired outcome. Both are after a code Roxy has yet to write and their goals are diametrically opposed. Roxy is the Major, the key player in the game. Those whose lives she impacts are Peripherals.
One of the men is already known to her. He is Mason Merrick, the ex-boyfriend of a former roommate, who Roxy once had a crush on. The other is Leonardo Kaysar who will stop at absolutely nothing to foil his adversary. Though she is attracted to both men in different ways, neither can be trusted, for with each Splice of wire, each shift in reality, she is becoming painfully aware that she is completely expendable.
When predestiny goes out the window, free will is the only option. Can agoraphobic Roxy muster the courage to take control of her fate and become the woman she'd always wanted to be?
Cyberpunk meets Romance in this thrilling action debut from Dorchester's new Shomi imprint. Unlike the typical romance, Roxy's adventure is told in the very first person allowing the reader to experience the adventure right along with the cagey heroine. Her confusion and epiphanies will become one's own. Enjoy the twists and turns as Roxy's final fate comes down to the WIRE. This is a book you won't want to put down!
Reviewed by Leslie Tramposch for PNR Reviews
Rated by buyers -
I enjoyed some of the author's Crimson City contributions, but I think this one is much better written. It must be difficult to write a novel successfully with time switchbacks and not lose the reader! I also got a kick out of the main character who sounds suspiciously like me. Had to go throw out some grey clothing after reading it. :) Anyway, if you like cyberpunk, try this one.
Rated by buyers 
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My Wife received a bag full of samples at a recent romance writer's conference. In it, there was a book called "Shomi." Having no idea what that was, and trying to help my Wife, I thought I'd try it and fill her in. It was supposed to be the "next big thing." So I began reading Wired. When I reached around page 30, the sample ended. I never read samples. They are a cheap marketing ploy. In this case, however, since I didn't know I was reading a sample until it cut off, I fell victim to the ploy. Yep, that's right, after a hearty "What the hell..." I ran to my computer, found the book on Amazon, and ordered with expedited delivery. I was totally hooked.
Wired is a Cyberpunk re-telling of "The End of Eternity" by Asimov. Liz Maverick does a good job with the cyberpunk genre, and the story is quite compelling, but there is a major flaw. The characters, particularly when interacting with each other, act in an almost completely unbelievable fashion. Normally, as one who does not like character driven stories, this would not be such an issue. In Wired, however, the story is clicking along, I find myself being drawn into the universe, and then the character does something completely unbelievable. For example, early in the book, after two strange guys who clearly pose a danger to her (or at least one of them does), each of these men do something such as blow on her ear or such, and she swoons with the attraction to the guy she thinks is out to kill her. Come on! A burgular breaks into your house and whispers into your ear; you (a) get hot with the prospect of sex, or (b) reach for your Glock? If you answered (b), you will not like the heroine of this book. If you answered (a), seek help.
Aside from being jarred out of the moment by unbelievable actions/thoughts of the characters, there is the occasional misused profanity. The "F-word" where the "S-word" should be, I guess because the "F-word" is more "edgy." Unfortunately, it just sounds like a 50 year old trying to be "dope to the max with his homies." Also, as a minor point, there are technological incongruities (ie. Her cordless phone is interfered with by her Wi-Fi network, when it actually works the other way round, since the phone transmitter is far more powerful than the WiFi transmitter. In reality, she would have noticed no difference on the phone, but her computers would have been knocked off the network. I don't hold this too much against her. After all, the father of cyberpunk, William Gibson, the man who coined the term "cyberspace" knows nothing about computers by his own admission.)
I had great hope for this book from the very first 30 pages, and I have to admit that the story kept me going right to the end. I would probably have chosen to give this 3 stars rather than 2, if not for the fact that the characters detract from the story so much. So much potential, so little result.
I think I'll put the SHOMI line aside until it matures a bit. I would, however, still consder trying it again in the future.
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