My review (published at Read, Run, Ramble):

Thank you Little Brown Books for Young Readers via Netgalley for providing me with an early copy of this book!

Run fast. Trust no one. Always carry your knife. Those are the rules Jin Ling must follow in the Walled City and the book begins with Jin following the first –running for her life.

The Walled City begins with heart-pounding intensity and it carries that same intensity throughout. This book just doesn’t stop! Jin is in the Walled City to find and save her sister and in the process she meets Dai who is in the city for his own secret reasons. Dai’s struggling with big time demons too, though readers aren’t immediately made aware of those demons, it is clear they involve big loss and bad decisions.

The Walled City is like a dystopian universe set right in the middle of the rest of the world, which continues about life as if what goes on inside those walls isn’t their concern – a world within a world. Drugs, prostitution, poverty, and general lawlessness all encompass this city, but walk right outside its gates and life goes on as normal. However, for Dai, it isn’t that easy. His secrets keep him voluntarily within the gates even though outside them he had a loving family; one with power and money. When he offers an opportunity to Jin, Jin is sure there are things hidden, but she breaks rule #2, trust no one, and partners with him anyway. Their journey is dangerous, but inside it they learn to trust and be trusted.

Graudin provides a fast-paced, interesting, and powerful read. Her writing is strong and gripping. Additionally, she’s done her research. Did you know there really is/was a Walled City? Make sure to read Graudin’s notes at the end of the book; they make the read even more impactful.

Final verdict: I loved this book. It kept my heart pumping and my fingers flipping pages. The characters are well-written and developed, while the story is intriguing. It kept me up well after bed time reading (1:30 am to be exact and then after finishing I couldn’t sleep because my blood pressure was a bit elevated)!

I was provided with an ARC of this book by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own. I am not compensated for any of my reviews.

I like Lansdale's gritty westerns, his crazy horror stories, his extreme noir, and his literary stuff. But, man, do I really love his wackier stories.

This is Lansdale writing in wacky mode. Like much of his crazy shit, it's a literary pastiche with lots of crude humor and outlandish situations.

Makes me smile just to think about it.

Joe R. Lansdale is a national treasure.

Three and a half stars... the only reason I didn't give it five stars was because of the ending and how it wrapped everything up in a neat little bow... I WANT MORE.

I have read some reviews prior to downloading this book and I have to be honest, I don't think we read the same book.  Predictable was something that was repeated, but I didn't find it was predictable... I found twist to be rather astounding and thrilling.  Maybe it is because this is my first journey into 'cyberpunk', but my main issue was the pace of the book. 

Everything happened so quickly, great action/adventure, but I do feel that it had more of Cole's back story been explored, and had there been more interaction between... crap... I don't want to spoil it for readers... Had the pace slowed down a bit and the ending been left a little more open... would have given this five stars.

I can see why the cover for Memory Zero was changed to something more in the action/mystery/thriller realm instead of looking like a cover from Underworld. The further I delve into reading the more hooked I'm getting by the slinky like twists and thrilling action. I hope this place and trend continues not only for this book but for the rest of the series.

Being bedridden is allowing me to catch up with my TBRs, get lost in good books while forgetting the pain. When reading about characters that have no pain or heal quickly regardless of whether they are human or nonhuman is a an easy way to pretend (like we were little) that I am one of those characters and the pain is nothing and Wil subside rather quickly. It is beyond humorous though that Memory Zero contains vampires, because I can't go in the sun right now.

On top of all else I have a migraine so my blackout curtains make my room look like a supreme masters coffin, with a place to lay, a sitting area, and a table filled with a red drink (pomegranate tea). Is there something secretly wrong with me and I'm really a vampire. With my insomnia if I do sleep I tend to get more of a nap during the day than at night.....maybe this isn't a coincidence. I do like my meat bloody raw. I've charmed people with my eyes. This is too I much. Someone call the Spook Squad for me and ask Finley to run comprehensive tests and more. Maybe I'm something other than a vampire?...and something other than a nerd.