Alan Dean Foster is extremely prolific, he's also extremely adaptable. He's written everything from hard science fiction to space opera to fantasy series. In his newest offering, the Mocking Program, he's entered the realm of near-future almost-cyberpunk, with an intriguing story of missing people, false identities and a dead bodies.

The Mocking Program is extremely readable. Mr. Foster's style flows with ease and the plot keeps the reader enrapt. This is much more of a crime novel than a science fiction novel, but that isn't a bad thing. Mr. Foster has proved that he has mastered both forms, and they are seamlessly integrated in this work. I could as easily compare this to Elmore Leonard as I could to William Gibson. Fans of either writer could find something new and exciting in this novel.

The characters, especially the main character, Angel Cardenas, are strongly illustrated. Inspector Cardenas, a federale, is exceptionally sympathetic and has the added bonus of being an intuit. He can't read minds, but near enough. This allows him to give a much more accurate assessment of the emotions and motivations of other characters without breaking the point of view. Also, he is a complex and likeable character, which means we, the readers, root for him and feel tension when he is threatened.

The supporting cast is just as good, even those who flit in and out of the story like but players in the Maltese Falcon. The depth of these characters lends authenticity to the setting, and allows the readers willing suspension of disbelief to be spent in other areas.

The setting itself is very compellingly portrayed. The Montezuma Strip is another incarnation of urban sprawl, this one with a refreshing Southern USA-Mexico slant. As Cardenas travels through the inurbs and forbidden areas of the Strip, the reader is treated to a vivid, delightful travelogue, putting us right into the location. The scenery is described with economy but with precision and clarity enough to allow the reader an engrossing glimpse.

The plot, as all good suspense plots should be, is riddled with twists and turns, discoveries and red herrings. The clues hidden in the text are clear enough to lead the reader to the proper conclusion, but are sparse enough that the ending is not ruined. Mr. Foster had long ago proved his grasp of the speculative medium, and has now shown that he understands suspense as well.

I can only offer up one complaint (and it is a rare review that I can't find at least one). Too often Mr. Foster offers information in the form of info-dumps, where a character--usually Cardenas--expounds on the history or importance of a particular object or subject in a way that is noticeably artificial. It is difficult to transmit important information to the reader without the use of the info-dump, but both writers I mentioned above (William Gibson and Elmore Leonard) rarely resort to this artificial technique. I think the Mocking Program would be stronger if Mr. Foster avoided the technique as well.

Overall, this is a great, compelling read. Any reader who likes near-future science fiction or suspense will certainly find the book gripping. It dragged me along, quite willingly, even when I knew I had other things I had to do. That's the mark of good story-teling.