WWW.PUBLISHERSWEEKLY.COM 89Review_FICTION Review_FICTION
CEO, a high-ranking Beetle engineer, an
anti-terrorism government employee, a
grieving newspaper editor, and a myste-
rious person who lives on the fringe of
society with others unwilling to adopt
Beetle technology. Kavenna delivers this
gripping narrative with wit and dark
humor, leaving readers both entertained
and a little paranoid. Agent: Jessica
Friedman, Wylie Agency. (Jan.)The Menace from Farside
Ian McDonald. Tor.com, $14.99 trade paper
(160p) ISBN 978-1-250-24779-7
The sophisticated worldbuilding
McDonald demonstrated in his Luna
trilogy is sadly absent in this forgettable
novella, presented in the form of a bratty
teen’s recounting of an adventure to a
therapist. In 2089, Cariad Corcoran, who
was born on the Moon, is rattled by the
arrival of a previously unknown stepsister,
Sidibe Sisay, whose existence further com-
plicates her messy family relationships.
Intimidated by Sidibe’s height, beauty,
and ability to fly (a nod, as the title sug-
gests, to Robert A. Heinlein’s 1957
story “The Menace from Earth”), Cariadeerie near-future
England domi-
nated by the
Beetle corpora-
tion, whose
increasingly
invasive tech-
nology monitors
everything:
people’s health,
transportation,
and even the
contents of one’s refrigerator. Beetle claims
the BeetleInsight AI can predict all poten-
tial futures, but its engineers struggle to
foresee events in Category Zed, which are
influenced by unpredictable human
irrationality. When George Mann mur-
ders his entire family, Beetle sends a droid
to apprehend him, but the droid mistak-
enly kills Lionel Bigman instead, trig-
gering a cascade of BeetleInsight errors.
Beetle’s engineers must grapple with the
flaws in their technology, while people
skeptical of Beetle begin to wonder
whether they too are in danger. The story
is told through multiple, interweaving
points of view, including those of Beetle’scharismatic but deeply flawed Rev.
George Verrall; fellow schoolmarm and
discreetly infatuated best friend Frances
Williams; former lover Richard Field;
and handsome Thomas Churcher, the
kindhearted cobbler too shy to declare
his love. Readers also hear from Harriet
herself, via a (fictional) 120-page diary.
Though this suspenseful account of a
case that remained unsolved in real
life—unlike the novel—feels overlong,
Haynes vividly brings to life an intellec-
tually curious, vibrant young woman ill-
suited to the strictures of Victorian village
life. Historical mystery fans will be
rewarded. Agent: Annette Green, Annette
Green Authors’ Agency (U.K.). (Oct.)The Furious Way
Aaron Philip Clark. Shotgun Honey, $12.95
trade paper (176p) ISBN 978-1-64396-062-3
Clark (The Science of Paul) provides red
meat for noir fans with this razor-edged
tale of revenge that pulls no punches.
Twenty-year-old Lucy Ramos leads a
reclusive existence, obsessed with pun-
ishing the man she holds responsible for
her mother’s murder. Her quarry is L.A.
assistant district attorney Victor Soto,
and after many years of dreaming of his
death, Lucy hits upon a radical plan. She
seeks out Tito Garza, the mob contract
killer known as the Dog of San Pedro for
his use of canines to attack his victims.
Against the odds, Lucy persuades Garza
to train her to be a killer, after she dem-
onstrates her fearlessness by trying to
retrieve his kidnapped Chihuahua from
some young thugs. She moves in with
him, and gets her first taste of blood when
Garza enlists her to get payback for the
death of his pet. As in the best hard-boiled
fiction, Lucy’s continued efforts to get to
Soto only take her further on a path from
which there is no return. Those seeking
happy endings should look elsewhere.
(BookLife)SF/Fantasy/Horror
★ Zed
Joanna Kavenna. Doubleday, $27.95 (352p)
ISBN 978-0-3855-4547-1
In this tangled, riveting parable of the
modern surveillance state, Kavenna (The
Birth of Love) leads readers through an★ The Vanished Birds
Simon Jimenez. Del Rey, $26 (400p) ISBN 978-0-593-12898-5I
n a profound look at humankind’s spacefaring future,
Jimenez’s debut tells of both anguish and love as the
result of heart-wrenching decisions. A century from
now, aerospace engineer Fumiko believes humans
should leave the climate-ravaged Earth, and regretfully
chooses her career designing space stations over her lover,
Dana, who would rather advocate for trying to save the
planet. But Dana’s efforts fail, and Earth is abandoned.
Fumiko extends her life through periods of suspended
animation as humans colonize the galaxy. Nearly 1,000
years later, Ahro, a boy who doesn’t speak, crash-lands
on a distant farming world. Spaceship captain Nia agrees
to take Ahro back to Pelican, a station Fumiko designed. As they travel through
“pocket space,” where a few months pass for them while years go by in normal space,
they grow close and Nia becomes protective of Ahro. When Fumiko learns Ahro has
powers that could speed up space travel—abilities sought by Fumiko’s employer,
the megacorporation Umbai, which is looking for more efficient ways to pillage
planets—she offers Nia the opportunity to keep the boy hidden, which Nia accepts,
leading to ripples of choices and consequences. This is a mostly progressive future,
but classism, unchecked capitalism, and resource exhaustion loom large. This
extraordinary science fiction epic, which delves deep into the perils of failing to learn
from one’s mistakes, is perfect for fans of big ideas and intimate reflections. (Jan.)