Michael Marshall Smith spent time in his childhood living in England, America, South Africa and Australia, and then studied Philosophy and Social and Political Science in England.
His work has that quality that is often called "gritty", a kind of realism to do with the sensations and feelings of real time living that are often skimmed over in fiction. His characters are less than perfect, and usually not even on their way there, they have problems and personality defects, they make mistakes and they get confused.
His work is definitely science fiction, and can probably be classed as cyberpunk, involving large urban structures of the near future and a kind of dystopic feel to the society. Definitely interesting and worth a read if you like the work of authors like Neil Stephenson and the new generation of cyberpunk authors. There is also a strong, dry humor evident in his work, very ironic and very funny.
It's also pretty obvious from his work that he likes cats, so that's another mark in his favour.
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