Review by Booklist Review
Sunai, unkillable survivor of the corruption of the autonomous intelligence once known as Iterate Fractal, falls into bed with Veyadi and agrees to join a salvage mission to investigate a still-active shrine in Chom Dan under the watchful eye of a Harbor ENGINE. Sunai is the only one who can lead them into the shrine, where he comes away with something new in his brain. Whether Veyadi wants to resurrect or destroy what's left of Iterate Fractal remains unclear for some time, while Sunai frets about his own secrets and history. Despite having been warned away, Sunai goes to Khuon Mo with Viyadi and the Never Once, captained by his old friend Imaru. In the harbor of Khuon Mo, the remnants of autonomous intelligences, the leaders of the Ginger Company, and the Harbor will find their conflict coming to a head. The unfolding of a complex web of relationships, Sunai and Veyadi's romance, and the consequences of their relationships with now-destroyed AI form a satisfyingly solid foundation for a revenge quest among giant mecha and lively cities that settles into an interesting new balance of power.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
The ambitious science fantasy that kicks off the Downworld Sequence trilogy from Candon (Star Wars: Ronin) immerses readers in a fascinating if sometimes disorienting world of AI gods, dissolute hermits, and fantastical biotech constructs. Years after the cataclysmic death of Iterate Fractal, the AI that once oversaw the city-state of Khuon Mo, rebellion is stirring against the Harbor, the police state that took over in its wake. Traumatized by his patron deity's death, former archivist Sunai chases oblivion, but when he inadvertently sleeps with a biotech researcher working for the Harbor, he finds himself inexorably drawn back into city life and toward old friends, all of whom have their own agendas. Inhabiting the Downworld universe is often a joy: Candon's fresh, vivid worldbuilding skillfully blends anime staples like giant robots and cigarette-smoking aunties with edgy SFF tropes like dying gods and legendary hybrid beasts. Though the emotional thread of trauma, guilt, and grief is well-executed, the narrative is written in an elaborate, often evasive style that may lead some readers feeling left behind by the plot. Still, fans of diverse, queer genre fiction seeking a challenge should take note. (June)
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Review by Library Journal Review
Archivist Sunai expected death at the hands of his city-state's AI Iterate Fractal. Instead, Iterate Fractal corrupted and transformed him into a relic who cannot die. Relics are usually repurposed to pilot ENGINE mechs formed from remnants of their patron AIs in defense of their newly vulnerable cities. Sunai escaped that particular fate, but his former city-state has built a uniquely destructive ENGINE. Reluctantly, he joins old allies and the secretive autonomist he's begun a dangerous relationship with, in order to destroy the ENGINE before it devours him. Candon (Star Wars Visions: Ronin) delivers original worldbuilding with rich, sensory detail and description. A creative use of perspective keeps readers on their toes with successive twists that recontextualize the slowly unfurling story. AI divinities and war machines provide the perfect setting for the characters to grapple with physical and mental upheaval and find strength in each other. The action-packed finale mixes mech battles with equally dramatic personal revelations. VERDICT Will appeal to readers who like their giant robots paired with explorations of emotional intimacy and moving forward after trauma. A good purchase for large SFF collections.--Erin Niederberger
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
The secret survivor of an AI's rampage must finally take an active role in the struggle for that AI's legacy. On an unnamed planet, artificial intelligences--who would physically interface with select humans trained as archivists--apparently used to have absolute rule over the city-states. But many of these AIs became corrupted, causing carnage and destruction. The human government of the Harbor has salvaged the spare parts of some of these dead AIs and rebuilt them as ENGINEs, mechs under human control. Sunai, a dissipated wanderer who works on salvage rigs, hides the fact that he was once an archivist to the AI Iterate Fractal and that the AI's corruption while he was interfaced with it has made him seemingly unable to die or suffer permanent physical damage. A drunken encounter with Dr. Veyadi Lut, another former archivist, sets Sunai on a dangerous mission against the Maw, the ENGINE built from the remains of Iterate Fractal. Sunai is forced to confront his troubled past and his conflicted loyalties with old friends and lovers, navigate a complicated new relationship with Veyadi, and contend with the forces marshaled by the Harbor, the Maw, a crime syndicate, and a nameless AI that has become attached to Sunai's mind. Readers may find themselves desperately searching for more explanatory backstory, which is only partially forthcoming. Interludes told in the second person by at least two different AIs, one of which is supposedly dead (except maybe not?), only add to the confusion. It's not always possible to tell who is narrating or experiencing various moments of the story, as consciousnesses merge and only incompletely separate. There's definitely some important point being made about the nature of sentience, but it's not 100% clear what that point is. An author shouldn't have to overexplain; getting flung into the deep end and figuring out the parameters of a new universe can be a fun genre challenge. But sometimes there is just no clear path out of the pool. Intriguing but difficult to follow. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
