Today sees the release of J.S. Holloway’s cyberpunk novel Hard Exit. The next book in the Neu Berlin series following Hard Carry and Hard Traffic, the novel follows the series’ protagonist Felix on perhaps his hardest mission yet.

Synopsis – 

The job was simple: Go to Bosnia, get the data, make the drop, and get the hell out in one piece.

But when the drop’s busted Felix has to break out of prison and go on the run with the border closing in eight hours, a warlord’s militia on his tail, and Kovač, a sadistic enforcer hunting him down. Getting out alive means running a gauntlet of gunfire, betrayal, and bad choices, with freedom riding on the outcome.

Can Felix survive this Hard Exit or will he end up as just another casualty of war?

Hard Exit, the third book in the Neu Berlin Arc, is a Cyberpunk Thriller that drops you in it and then runs like hell.

The first novel in the Neu Berlin arc, Hard Carry, was quick and dirty, cyberpunk the hard way, just how we like it. The plot forced Felix to be constantly on the run, moving ever forward, which kept a novel already on the short side clipping along at a blistering pace. The sequel, Hard Traffic, followed in the tradition, opening in transit, and never slowing down for very long.

When Hard Exit opens, we find Felix finally experiencing a period of stillness. OK, it’s because he’s incarcerated in a Bosnian prison, but it’s nice to catch a glimpse of him in something other than motion.

This situation, as you might expect, does not remain for long however. And we’re off again. The motif for the Neu Berlin Arc is very much fast, breathless storytelling, in JS Holloway’s distinctive, colourful literary style. We’ve seen Felix have to get from A to B before, but this time he has a lot more ground to cover, and a ticking clock to grind against. Holloway is great at putting his protagonist into grim, seemingly impossible situations, and continually raising the stakes.

The choice to put Felix into unfamiliar territory is smart. On Neu Berlin soil, he has contacts who can help him out, he knows the turf, so it’s a lot easier for him to get the upper hand. Dropped into the middle of a country he knows little about, with no friends close to hand to help him out of a tight spot, his situation feels a lot more hopeless. The worldbuilding is good, with the power dynamics and cast of characters laid out very efficiently over the course of the book, in a highly fluid situation where loyalties can change in the blink of an eye.

Felix is a compelling character, facing down every challenge with a weary sigh and a choice expletive, but one of the real strengths of the series is in the supporting cast, and Felix’s reactions with them. In Hard Traffic, he had a travelling companion to play off of, and in Hard Exit, he’s wisely given another comrade to banter with, but this time it’s a much more able verbal sparring partner. As a result, the author is given a lot more opportunity to use his skill with snappy dialogue and wisecracks, along with the conflict that comes from people with two dissimilar viewpoints being forced to work together towards a common goal.

The pace of the story is breakneck, and the action thrilling, making Hard Exit a very easy book to burn through in a few sittings. Is it the best of the Neu Berlin arc? Quite possibly. Is it Felix’s last impossible ‘easy’ job? You’ll have to check the book out to find out what exactly the Hard Exit of the title refers to.

Hard Exit is the 3rd book of the Neu Berlin arc, and is available now in ebook, paperback, and hardback formats. You can find out more about J. S. Holloway’s writing at www.jsholloway.com

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