Hack Alley Doctor

Self-Published

Community Rating

Description

It’s 2034, and Derrick Yu is an apprentice mod-doctor atHack Alley, a prosthetic modification shop in the ugly part of Chinatown.

Or, what used to be Chinatown at least. Gangs from all around the country prowl the streets, robbing the locals and refugees alike, as the rest of America is torn apart by greed and poverty.

And Derrick wasn’talwaysan apprentice mod-doctor; he has a secret that could put him in danger if someone found out, especially a gang like the White Leopards.

Meanwhile, people around the world are realizing that something’s wrong with their mods. Mod manufacturers likeStoneridge Prostheticspretendlikeeverything is normal,but not everyone believes them . . . .

As the bills pile up, andHack Alleybattles bankruptcy and gangs alike, Derrick’s going to learn to fight back and stand proud, all while installing mods for the community, and upgrading his own.

Gangs, secrets, and conspiracies: what else could aHack Alley Doctorhope for?

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Information

Status: Hiatus
Year: 2021
Author: fearlessli

Royal Road Stats

Rating: 4.5/ 5.0
Followers: 303
Views: 150,743

Reviews

No reviews yet. Be the first to share your thoughts!

Community Reviews(10)

vauntlessRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Most cyberpunk fiction focuses on larger than life figures: the secret agent, the super soldier, the elite hacker chuckling behind his seven proxies.
Hack Alley Doctor takes a different approach with its protagonist Derrick Yu, a fairly ordinary young man who deals with the same kinds of issues as everyone else: a messy room, annoying co-workers, and earning enough money to make ends meet.
Through Derrick's eyes we see a world much like our own, perhaps too much if you were looking for a more escapist venture. There's urban decay, gang violence, vices, and other deep seated socio-economic problems in the 'hood as is par for the course in this genre, but from the very first chapter the author shows that they are quite capable of handling these topics.
The setting is New York City but 20 Minutes into the Future, where things like fully functional robotic limbs and police drones are commonplace. The author does an excellent job of keeping things grounded in reality; all the examples of advanced technology on display could either feasibly exist in real life or already do in some form.
The perspective of a medical professional on this run-down future is also an interesting concept. I'm not a doctor(Dammit, Jim!) but I can tell the author has done the research and knows their stuff when it comes to portraying precise, anatomically accurate details.
The action scenes, while a bit scarce, are gripping and well paced. I'm definitely looking forward to what comes next.
To sum it all up: Have you ever seen a prosthetic arm that looked so cool you'd want to replace your actual arm with it? While I wouldn't recommend going that far, I would highly recommend you replace whatever you're currently reading with Hack Alley Doctor.
CopatoRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Man I'm not good at reviews but its a good story about a poor Mod Doctor, like for sifi prosthetics (Robo arms!!), with good morals. Hes not some crazy silentest but a good person in a bad situation trying to make a honest living, well trying being the operating word. After some bad luck with a gang he owes them some money and has to make some money fast.
ok got to wrap it up, there are some good things setup that I'm looking forward to good charters, cool world, good grammar, all around its great!
TelRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Terrific story, maybe a bit more "gang issues in Chinatown" than strictly neccessary for the early plot, but it really nails the PA grunge back alley doctor/mod shop vibe.
Honest?
Nobody uses this setup and it's such a shame. Last time I read a compairable back alley medical novel was decades ago preinternet.
The author really nailed it!
The main plot has literally just started with the current chapter, Laughter to borrow the basketball theme running thru these early chapters the worldbuilding here is a vivid and entertaining full court slam dunk. The pacing adjusts to the scenes, the characters have querks, better yet several characters have a suprising amount of well written depth.
Worth a read if you like medical stories, crime drama, or augmentation novels.
Tim GoddardRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
For a story very few people seem to have found yet, I've been very pleasantly surprised by the quality of writing and depth of this story.
I really enjoy the cyberpunk dystopian setting in general, and this particular version of it is well-rounded, shown through the eyes of somebody on the outside, doing the best they can in the circumstances they've been dealt.
We follow the main character scavenging and repairing implant "mods" in the slums, having to evade both government and gang authority, neither of whom can be allowed to identify them.
The characters, while only presenting a small side of their background and providing a major source of mystery to the story, still already have more depth than the typical RR narrative.
Overall, I'm very much enjoying this story so far, and look forward to seeing where it goes.
bearblueRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
A story in which I realize nothing about surgery, but I am pretty sure you probably should not move the patient. But then, one does what one must... and that seems to be the theme so far. The author does a good job of leveraging tension, characters and backgrounds; keeping things believable in a gritty futuristic environment. Things may be shady, but the main character has standards, as well as a mysterious background. It is hard to tell how the coin will flip, but right now I can't help but root for the guy.
AalanRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
So the only reason I am giving a four star review is the release schedule, which while regular, is slow for my tastes considering how awesome this story is. I understand, good stories take time, but some on... ah the hell with it... five stars it is. You get five stars... he gets five stars... everyone who writes this story gets five stars!!!! It deserves more... Shut up and take my stars already!
This is a cyberpunk world set in the middle of a gang controlled area. The world is still being fleshed out, as the MC moves around, we learn more and more about it. But those parts of it that we have seen fit right into the CP2020, CP2077 theme and the author is doing a great job of storytelling thus far.
Just pull out your cable, jack in, and go for the ride of your life.
Inter-dimensional monstrosityRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Loved it so far. Great potential, good structure, good charcters. Cannot wait for more. I think it can get in the first page for the cyberpunk tab if handled well. Keep going!
Reviews must be at least 50 words long
Reviews must be at least 50 words long
Reviews must be at least 50 words long
Reviews must be at least 50 words long
Reviews must be at least 50 words long
Reviews must be at least 50 words long
Lonleyguy58Royal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
the story starts out well the characters are interesting in the beginning and I always loved the concept of cyberpunk ripperdocs I see no errors or anything but I dont know or remember i dont really pay attention to that stuff as long as you can read it I wish luck to the author and hopes he doesn't let this drop
RAGRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
I came for an immediate thrillride dive into a cyberpunk city breaking down and MC scrabbling to save it/profit/survive/etc.
This is much better than what I was looking for.
Quick tl;dr then I'll dig into the meat of what really makes the story for me:
Style - Consistent throughout, draws you in
Grammar - Perfect, or near perfect, last I checked
Story - Built well and builds up well, good use of connections.
Character - Even one-off characters feel fleshed out and memorable, MC comes off as three dimensional, yeah.
I can't claim to know exactly what makes Hack Alley great, but at least part of that is how it manages to bridge different genres in the immediate scenes (cyberpunk, life in the city, secret identity shenanigans, surgical drama, gang stories, mystery, heist film, etc) without causing hard shifts in the style/feel/tone/etc. of the story. It sounds minor, but the effect it creates makes Hack fascinating.
Because of this control over the feel of the story, you're never left stumbling over hard cuts from one bit of plot to another. It never feels like being moved forward onto 'the next thing' Instead you're given this smooth journey through a big, messy, life and world, from one focus to another, and it- it fits. it all works together, so seamlessly you might barely notice the change until you're in the middle of it and realizing you've gone from worries about old friends to life-saving surgery. And because it is that seamless, you end up taking in a lot of Hack Alley as a whole, or at least with quite a lot of connections between parts, which makes things so much more interesting, more captivating, than most stories where you've got clear lines of demarcation between arcs.
The only other thing I know that has this sort of effect would be the Yakuza games. While they are very different in tone, direction, character, and scale, Hack Alley, like Yakuza, takes a character and uses them to show the audience a life, and its messy and beautiful and sad, and the nar
Read ItRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
I saw this in Top Web Fiction and decided to check it out because Hack Alley Doctor sounded interesting and the synopsis was intriguing to read. Read the first chapter, it was above average, nothing amazing and then I continued reading it. Reached Ch-13 and from there it has taken off for me and has been amazing to read.
Read till Ch-23 before you decide if you like it.