WWW.PUBLISHERSWEEKLY.COM 47Review_FICTION
western tropes to a lawless space station in
this action-packed debut. The reclusive,
unnamed heroine, an asteroid miner, docks
at dilapidated Station 35 hoping to sell
her ore, restock her supplies, and interact
with as few people as possible. But Station
35 is a violent, unsavory place controlled
by a corrupt, all-powerful corporation, and
its inhabitants prove intent on cheating
and exploiting her. So the Miner, a former
intelligence-corps officer of mysterious,
dark repute, sets about cleaning up the
station by any means necessary—gathering
allies, securing resources, and using the
already-raging turf war between rival gangs
and crooked cops to her advantage. The
Miner’s a resourceful, intriguing protag-
onist determined to bring order back to
Station 35, no matter how violent it gets.
Though not all of the inhabitants of Station
35 are as well-rendered as the lead, snappy
dialogue and plenty of dry humor keep the
pages turning. This fast, fun space western
is pure entertainment. Agent: Evan Gregory,
Ethan Ellenberg Literary Agency. (June)
Out of Body
Jeffrey Ford. Tor.com, $14.99 trade paper
(176p) ISBN 978-1-250-25015-5
Ford’s dark fantasy (after Ahab’s Return)
is a thrilling supernatural slugfest acted
out by sleeping souls in the “night world”
of the astral plane. Owen Hapstead, a
librarian in the quiet town of Westwend,
survives a pistol-whipping during a con-
venience store holdup and (possibly as a
result of the
head trauma)
discovers that
his ethereal self
can break free
to roam the
town while his
corporeal self
sleeps. During
his discarnate
jaunts he meets
Melody, a fellow
sleeper who mentors him through the night
world’s possibilities and perils—among
them “cutters,” beings who can fatally
sever the intangible cord tethering the
sleep self to the body, and an even more
horrifying killer whose true identity comes
as a late surprise and whose predations add
frightening complexity and purpose to
the couple’s nocturnal adventures. Ford’s
elaboration of the night world is wildly
imaginative and his depiction of Owen’s
invisible explorations of it verges on the
voyeuristic, adding unusual piquancy to the
story. Readers will find this well-wrought
tale of a mysterious world both eerie and
bewitching. Agent: Howard Morhaim,
Howard Morhaim Literary Agency. (June)Severed Wings
Steven-Elliot Altman. WordFire, $24.99
(180p) ISBN 978-1-68057-036-6
Altman (Deprivers) combines the divine
and the profane in this erotically charged
urban fantasy. Brandon Jones is a rising
Hollywood star until a car crash paralyzes
him from the waist down. He severs ties
with everyone who knew him before the
accident, resigning himself to a hermetic
life in his Los Angeles apartment and
burning through his days with alcohol and
TV. Then an attractive couple moves in next
door and he witnesses a strange assortment
of injured people visiting them. When
he sees a blind woman come to their
apartment, hears the sound of sex through
the walls, and then watches her leave with
her sight restored, Brandon’s obsession
with the couple grows and he becomes
determined to learn their identities and
the nature of their healing miracles. But
learning the truth puts him in the sights of
a wrathful enemy. Altman’s plot offers few
surprises, but the themes of determination
and hope are powerful enough to carry
readers through. This dark, alluring story
will appeal to urban fantasy fans. (June)Corporate Gunslinger
Doug Engstrom. Harper Voyager, $15.99 trade
paper (320p) ISBN 978-0-06-289768-8
Engstrom’s promising debut offers a
stark, dystopian vision of a near-future
American Midwest in which debt slavery is
commonplace and livestreamed gunfights
are a popular form of entertainment.
Former actor Kira Clark accepts a spon-
sorship from TKC Insurance Company to
duel civilians on live TV to avoid defaulting
on her student loans and resigning herself
to a life of debt slavery. Kira adopts a cold,
composed persona in her gunfights, but
outside the arena she’s kind-hearted and
loyal, if gradually becoming more unstable.
At her side are her best friend, Chloe Rossi,
and her mentor, Diana Reynolds, who
support Kira through all of her highs andlows. The violence is never glorified as
Kira’s surprising empathy makes her easy
to root for. Scattered flash-forwards reveal
that Kira makes it through the competition
to the final duel, leaving only the question
of whether she’ll overcome her nerves and
guilt to outwit her fiercest competitor.
The gunfights become repetitive over
time, weighing down Engstrom’s grim,
intelligent examination of the American
debt crisis. Still, fans of insightful dystopias
will find plenty to enjoy. Agent: Danielle
Burby, Nelson Literary. (June)The Maiden Voyage of
New York City
Gary Girod. Brain Lag, $15.99 trade paper
(344p) ISBN 978-1-928011-31-6
Girod’s debut introduces a fresh,
futuristic urban landscape brimming
with potential but sets a disappointingly
simplistic, unsubtle tale within it. Decades
after the floods of 2090 subsumed
Manhattan, a miraculous technological
solution raises the city’s skyscrapers to float
above the water, leading to a renewed burst
in tourism. This boom does not extend to
the other boroughs, which remain crime-
ridden and dilapidated. Responding to
the city’s financial problems and extensive
drug trade, as well as the recent disap-
pearance of several prominent billionaires,
Mayor Sophia Ramos commissions an
unpopular project to motorize the build-
ings in the “slums” and clear them out by
sailing them down the river. Meanwhile a
gossip columnist and a pair of Brooklyn
gumshoes investigate the disappearances
and a revolutionary organizer calls for the
revolt of a working class who do not want
to see their city disappear. The villainous
upper class is portrayed as flat and car-
toonish, a uniformly decadent and stupid
mass, and the solution to the mystery of the
missing billionaires is ultimately trivial.
By painting in such broad strokes, Girod
fails to satisfactorily explore his fascinating
postapocalyptic, steampunk-infused set-
ting. Readers excited by the premise will
wish it were better executed. (May)Rule
Rowenna Miller. Orbit, $16.99 trade paper
(432p) ISBN 978-0-316-47869-4
Miller’s strong conclusion to her
Unraveled Kingdom trilogy (following
Fray) balances personal and political