NOIR

:This article is about the novel. For other uses, see Noir.

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NOIR is a science fiction novel by K. W. Jeter, published in 1998. It uses the conventions of film noir - the alienated, doomed hero, the cynical private detective, the femme fatale, universal corruption and moral breakdown - to portray a dystopian vision of capitalism run riot.

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Even the monochrome visual style of film noir is a factor in Noir, as the hero has had his eyes specially treated to bleach colour out of what he sees. The hero is a detective named McNihil who is hired by corporate executives ostensibly to investigate the death of one of their colleagues. The name McNihil could also relate to the novels theme of nihilism.

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The book is set in the Pacific Fringe - the only remaining industrialised part of the world - in a society where free market capitalism holds absolute sway. Even the dead, including the hero's wife, can be brought back to life as slave labour if they fail to meet their financial obligations. The internet has evolved radically so that emails can be seen fluttering around the recipient and pestering for attention, while strange online sexual experiences can be had through electronic surrogates called prowlers.

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Science fiction: Science fiction is a form of speculative fiction principally dealing with the impact of imagined science and technology upon society and persons as individuals. In common with most fiction, science fiction is written mainly to entertain people. The borders of this genre are not well defined, and the...

Novel: A novel (from French nouvelle, "new") is an extended fictional narrative in prose. Down into the 18th century, the word referred specifically to short fictions of love and intrigue as opposed to romances—epic-length works about love and adventures. Having become one of the major literary genr...

K. W. Jeter: Kevin Wayne Jeter (born 1950) is an American science fiction and horror author known for his literary writing style, dark themes, and paranoid, unsympathetic characters. Jeter attended college at California State University, Fullerton where he became friends with James P. Blaylock and Tim Powers, an...

NOIR related Images and Photos (experimental)

Noir Baroque	Noir et Blanc	Noir et Blanc	Chat Noir
Chat Noir	Noir et Creme I	Grand Noir	Pinot Noir
Noir et Creme II	Fleurs Noir	Visage Noir	Magnolia Noir