Great concept, a cyber punk set in a world where the middle east has risen to top dog while previously powerful Europe and America have fallen apart. The part that actually makes it cyberpunk, the "moddies" and "daddies" were very interesting as well. 
 However, aside from that it was a somewhat boringly by-the-book detective noir. The main character Marid had almost no personality aside from his independent streak and disdain for some of the currently popular high technology. But even that was never truly explored in any depth. We never learn much about the world at large, or even the larger city that the story takes place within. We never even get a lot of time devoted to the tech, something that no cyber punk story should neglect. This is a world where you not only can plug in an insert to make you faster, stronger, and speak any language, but you can plug in a person's *entire personality*, real or fictional. Marid only opts in once or twice during the novel, explaining this away with the dread he feels toward the technology. Unfortunately, we never quite learn why he despises its use in a world where people get wired in at ages as young as 13. While somewhat better in its representation, we also don't get nearly enough time exploring Marid's interaction with other people who use the tech in my opinion. 
 There are some interesting sexual aspects of the story. There doesn't seem to be much negative stigma to sex change operations, for example. And it is even used as a plot device at one point. But gender itself is mostly unexplored, and as in many bland detective stories I've read in the past, nearly every single female character is a prostitute. If a man gets a sex change operation in this world, she is then automatically a prostitute, stripper, or escort as well. *yawn* 
 Unfortunately, as much as I wanted to love this book I can only give it a 2/5. I might have bumped it up to a 2.5 if the system had let me.