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Bristol Book Review: Rudy Millard reviews Paintwork, a sci fi short story collection by Tim Maughan

Tim Maughan is a Bristol based science fiction writer, anime/manga reviewer and all round sci fi man about town. He recently published a short story collection, Paintwork, which has received some great reviews.

Paintwork is a collection of three stories, either set in or connected with Bristol. Tim’s writing is engaging, and whilst the stories are very different, they are all clearly influenced by the work of William Gibson and Bruce Sterling. IF you are a fan of these authors (like me!), then you’ll find Paintwork to be a wonderful read.

The title story Paintwork is an interesting examination of the lives and work of graffiti artists in the near future, trying to keep their art relevant in a world whose environments can become virtual with the blink of an eye. This is a Bristol story through and through, and Tim has done a great job of taking our landmarks and weaving them into a world that is very futuristic while remaining completely familiar to residents of the city. Tim seems to have a real understanding of the competitive nature of street artists as well as their need to balance survival with selling out, and I think that anyone who has an interest in urban art will draw much from this story.

Paparazzi moves the majority of Tim’s storytelling into the realm of online multiplayer gaming, but Bristol spotters are catered for with mentions of the Hippodrome and Park Street. It’s nice to know that virtual artists of the future will still be drinking in The White Bear, too! I really enjoyed this tale of a filmmaker who becomes trapped in a marketing war between two gaming clans in a world where the best players are international icons, and although I felt that the motivations of certain characters became confused towards the end, it’s a story that I have reread and enjoyed several times.

The final story, Havana Augmented, is probably the best of the three, and not unsurprisingly has been nominated for a British Science Fiction Association Award for Short Fiction. Havana Augmented is an action packed tale of a poor nation’s struggle for economic revival through the eyes of a pair of Cuban hackers. Their modifications to a popular online game of giant robot combat give them and their country the chance to achieve international fame and fortune, but at a cost that may be too much for their society to bear.

I loved Paintwork. All three stories show a writer with a real gift for accelerating the world we know into a believable future, with a deft local touch that adds an extra something for us Bristol folk. If you are a fan of cyberpunk in any of its forms I have no doubt that you will find Paintwork to be a great read, that pinches a few ingredients from the SF greats and blends them with a unique flavour all of its own.

You can purchase Paintwork in e-book or paperback from http://timmaughanbooks.com/paintwork/ (Kindle £2.14, paperback £2.33)

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