Review by New York Times Review
ON THE SURFACE, K. J. Parker's fantastical new tale of empire, MIGHTIER THAN THE SWORD (Subterranean, e-book, $4.99; limited-edition cloth, $40), is a whodunit writ large. Mysterious hordes of itinerant pirates have repeatedly attacked the monasteries of a sprawling quasi-Holy Roman Empire. The wife of the ailing emperor sends an Imperial legate - her nephew - to investigate. His mission is to discover where the pirates come from, how they seem to know which monasteries are the poorest defended and, most important, on whose orders they might be acting. Beneath this mystery topsoil, however, lies a treasure trove of rich, engaging characters. Our protagonist - nameless, as is the empire itself, because naturally in a first-person account the tale-teller knows what matters most and need not say it - is a man of wry wit, with a surprisingly cheerful nature for someone whose entire life has been steeped in political intrigue and war. As he tours the monasteries, his meditations on the nature of empire are a treat and treatise in themselves. His philosophizing serves to highlight two characters who exemplify the ways those born without privilege can (if they're lucky) advance : the protagonist's formidable regent-aunt, and a sex worker for whom the protagonist risks life and scandal, having fallen in love with her. Our protagonist doesn't exactly suffer in comparison with them, but literature is lousy with pleasant, learned men - and either of these brilliant, ruthless, unorthodox women could have carried a book of her own. The same applies to other hinted-at tales within this tale: those of the abbots and abbesses of the monasteries, those of the pirate "savages" and that of the dying emperor. Theirs are also good, exciting tales. They're just not the tales this book tells. But a book that can indirectly encompass so much within so short a space is worth reading regardless, so this one's highly recommended. Long ago, as one character explains early in Nicky Drayden's THE PREY OF GODS (Harper Voyager/HarperCollins, paper, $15.99), the human race was fathered by a god who gave unique powers to each of his children. Though human beings have lost these abilities over the generations since, they remain present in mitochondrial DNA, latent except in a few rare individuals. And except in those humans whose latent DNA has been awakened - which a new street drug called godsend just happens to be able to do. This is the mytho-scientific premise underlying a madcap, rapid-fire tale of South Africa in the year 2064, where a handful of individuals are suddenly plagued by godhood. One, Nomvula, is a lonely little township girl born with power. Several others acquire their abilities from godsend, to varying degrees of trauma or delight: Muzi, a gay teenager facing multiple tests of manhood; Stoker, a politician struggling with identity and idealism; and Riya, a diva with a magical voice and a hidden disability. Meanwhile Sydney, a nail technician who was born powerful like Nomvula but is much older and more ruthless, decides it's time to reclaim her birthright as a bloodthirsty, vengeful demi-goddess. As a genetically engineered virus spreads and threatens to awaken the latent godhood of billions, these few special individuals come together to decide, ultimately, what manner of gods will rule the future. Oh - and also, the technological apocalypse looms as personal robots all over the world quietly become self-aware. Nomvula's and Muzi's tales end up being the most compelling of this lot, if only because those are coming-of-age arcs, while Stoker's and Riya's are more single-note. Villainous Sydney is the novel's weak point, although she is hilariously horrific, but her monotonous evil serves well as a foil for the more complex main characters. Drayden's delivery of all this is subtly poignant and slap-in-the-face deadpan - perfect for this novel-length thought exercise about what kinds of gods a cynical, self-absorbed postmodern society really deserves. Lots of fun. A generation or two after a plague of fake news and societal polarization brought America to the brink of another civil war, most major cities in Brenda Cooper's wilders (Pyr/Prometheus, paper, $18) have sealed themselves off from the rest of the country as sovereign states. Now the megacity of Seacouver (the combined metropolitan areas of Seattle and Vancouver) is a technological superpower, sending forth "ecobots" and "rewilding" crews to transform ecologically damaged land back into forest. The teenager Coryn Williams, a citizen of Seacouver who lost her parents to tragedy, decides to venture forth from the city in order to find her older sister, Lou, who abandoned her and went Outside two years before. The first half of the story is more engaging, as it follows Coryn's quest; she's completely unprepared for the world beyond the city, where she finds murderous warlords and patriarchal cults, among other horrors. Yet the second half, after Coryn finds Lou and finally begins to wonder who's behind the curtain both within the cities and Outside, is where Cooper's world feels most real. Here is the rest of America, left behind by its urbanized technocracy: the descendants of farmers and rural people displaced by rewilding efforts, people of color in an echo of the digital divide, and religious groups. Unfortunately, here too the novel's characterization falters, because for some reason these disparate people all sound alike; even the subcultures of today don't all talk like English-speaking middleclass Middle Americans. The story's pace also suffers in this half, mostly because Cooper tends to have characters pause and give expository speeches. Also, Coryn's coming-of-age arc is left somewhat incomplete - but since this book is the first of a planned series, maybe Cooper is saving a fuller characterization for later. Another visit to this world and its characters may be worthwhile, in the next book. The first 20 percent of Steven R. Boyett and Ken Mitchroney's unusual new portal fantasy, fata morgana (Blackstone, $26.99), feels a bit like the movie "Stand by Me," except starring grown men who only talk like pubescent boys and set during World War II instead of the 1950s. Amid harrowing yet realistic descriptions of flak fields and how to successfully arm 8,000-pound bombs, readers are treated to a loving character study of the crew of the Lata Morgana, a B-17 bomber about to face its first combat mission. There's Earley, the captain, a no-nonsense fellow who is nevertheless haunted by visions of a mysterious woman; he has her painted onto the bomber, pinup style. There's also Broben, the chain-smoking copilot; Boney, the nimble bombardier; Martin Proud Horse, the Lakota ball gunner; and more - all of them wisecracking, scared young soldiers just hoping to make it through the Big One intact. The story's pace between missions is as leisurely as a coming-of-age journey. There's even a lengthy digression for the tale of Martin's previous, fateful posting aboard the Ill Wind, whose namers clearly never heard of an omen. It's a good campfire story. And then the whole thing pulls a one-eighty. During a run over Zennhausen, the bomber passes through a strange portal in the air. Germany is gone; World War II is gone; the world as they know it is gone. The crew finds that they've been hurtled hundreds of years into the future, long after their war spiraled into a planet-wide conflagration that wiped out all life except within an enormous impact crater. At the bottom of this crater, two hightech societies remain, eking out a doomed existence - and here Parley meets the literal woman of his dreams, a perfect match for the cheesecake image drawn on the nose of his bomber. Even the writing style changes for these chapters, becoming less nostalgic and more didactic. It's all a bit schizoid. And for a time, what had been a beautiful story teeters on the brink of H. G. Wellsian cliché, with Parley falling in love and the Lata Morgana somehow becoming the key to defeating far more advanced technology. Fortunately this segment of the story turns out to be a clever feint. Boyett and Mitchroney have the sense to forgo Hollywood predictability, so the ending's perfect. A worthy adventure. ? N. ? JEMISIN won a 2016 Hugo Award for her novel "The Fifth Season," the first of a trilogy that will conclude next month with "The Stone Sky." Her column on Sciencefiction and fantasy appears six times a year.
Copyright (c) The New York Times Company [July 30, 2017]
Review by Booklist Review
Demigods, drugs, genetic manipulation, artificial intelligence, duality, and sacrifice blend together in Drayden's brilliant first novel. Set in a near-future South Africa, the story is told from the perspective of six interconnected characters. Each is seeking: manhood, an answer, renewal, a father, a chance, an opening act. And, individually, each will awaken to everlasting love, sentience, retribution through blood, uncontrollable destructive power, an alternative lifestyle, relief from pain. The combination of a new genetically engineered drug called Godsend that produces powerful hallucinations and a DNA-altering virus deliberately released on an unsuspecting public brings to the humans an awareness of an ancient inheritance their true potential as gods. With a long-suffering (at least to her mind) demigoddess determined to attain supremacy though multiple blood sacrifices, the humans and newly sentient AIs will have to work together. Escaping may mean giving up what they have gained, even to making an ultimate sacrifice of their own. Offer this dazzling, genre-bending combination of fantasy, science fiction, and horror with a touch of humor to those who enjoy thought-provoking speculative fiction.--Lockley, Lucy Copyright 2017 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
In this genre-bending debut novel, a science fantasy set in 2064, newly awakened demigods and artificial intelligences battle for the fate of South Africa. As a new drug spreads through the population, it unlocks long-hidden abilities and animal affinities, remnants of a mythological time when humans and nature intermingled. While an ancient demigoddess schemes to regain her full powers by causing terror, other people are swept up in the tide of events, including a politician who dreams of embracing his female side as a stage performer, a pop diva, a gay teen in love with his best friend, and an AI collective unsure of its role in the world. Drayden uses numerous perspectives to weave an engaging story that's populated by a diverse cast and enhanced by fascinating concepts. There's a lot to take in as the various plot threads interweave and converge toward a surprising climax, but Drayden balances the genre elements skillfully, creating a world where genetic manipulation, sentient robots, and folkloric origin stories can coexist plausibly, if not peacefully. Agent: Jennifer Jackson, Donald Maass Literary. (June) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Library Journal Review
Once a demigoddess of immense powers, Sydney schemes to return to her rightful place while working in a beauty salon in Port Elizabeth, South Africa. When she hears about a new street drug that produces vivid hallucinations and strange abilities, awakening slumbering godlike powers in humanity, she plots to use it to her advantage. Meanwhile, 16-year-old Muzi and his best friend (and tentative love interest) Elkin also try the drug. As Nomvula, a young Zulu girl in a nearby township, is coming into powers of her own, Muzi, along with a pop star, a cross-dressing politician, and a newly sentient AI, must stop Sydney before her reign of terror can really begin. Drayden's first novel is set in a near future with personal robots, making the magical elements unusual yet effective. VERDICT Fans of Lauren Beukes and N.K. Jemisin will want to check out this winning mashup that mixes genres and moods with gleeful abandon, heralding a fresh new talent. It also has a truly fantastic cover.-MM © Copyright 2017. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
