Review by Booklist Review
The HellSans font offers bliss to anyone who views it, except for the unfortunate HellSans Allergic (HSA) whose dramatic reaction to the font leads to them being swept into ghettos with their assets seized and status lost. The story is told in three parts; the first two, "Icho" and "Jane," can be read in any order. Dr. Ichorel "Icho" Smith, a researcher seeking a cure for the HSA, finds herself on the run trying to connect with Jane, who she just met the night before. Jane Ward is CEO of The Company, responsible for creating the Inex, eight-inch-tall cyborg companions that everyone has, and Inos, robotic domestic aides. Jane witnesses a crime and soon finds herself labeled an HSA, with both her health and status deteriorating rapidly. The third part of the novel deals with Icho and Jane trying to avoid their pursuers while navigating their new relationship. HellSans offers a compelling and disturbing glimpse of a society dependent on ubiquitous and invasive technology and the inequity of a rigid and brutal caste system based on a crippling environmental sensitivity.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Dundas's wildly imaginative debut tackles big ideas of identity, narrative, surveillance, and the societal marginalization of queer and disabled people, while also working as a dark, emotionally centered thriller full of both unsettling absurdity and psychological resonance. In a technodystopian, near-future U.K., the government communicates and controls via HellSans, a typeface that induces bliss in the majority of the population while the minority who are physically allergic to the font are persecuted and ghettoized. Per Dundas's author's note, the first two sections are readable in either order at the reader's discretion. The first follows Dr. Icho Smith, the creator of a treatment for Hellsans allergies who hopes to get it directly into the hands of sufferers rather than allowing the government to control the cure, the other Jane Ward, creator of the Inex, a ubiquitous sentient humanoid personal assistant. Jane's sudden development of HellSans allergy makes her officially persona non grata and leads, in the third part, to the two women coming together in a revolution-fueled relationship, pursued by both the government and the radical Seraphs, who want to dismantle the Hellsans-centered society rather than merely help the ill manage their symptoms. Clever metatextual elements and dubious narrators enhance the ride. The harrowing worldbuilding and strong message make this stand out. Agent: Jenny Brown, Jenny Brown Assoc. (Oct.)
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Review by Library Journal Review
In Dundas's (Goblin) latest, HellSans is not just a ubiquitous typeface in the near future but it's also government-mandated for all communications. Most people who read HellSans get a hit of bliss no matter the message being delivered, resulting in a complacent and easily controlled population. Those few who are allergic to HellSans have intense physical reactions and are treated as less than human. Jane Ward is the rich and famous inventor of a series of robots that have become essential for everything from scheduling to banking; when she develops the HellSans allergy, her world crumbles. Dr. Icho Smith is a scientist working on a cure for the allergy. When her research reveals the depths of government corruption, she is forced on the run. Icho and Jane must work together to expose the corruption and stay alive. Dundas's innovatively styled book is written in three parts; the first two parts (from Jane's and Icho's perspectives) can be read in either order. VERDICT A smart and unique dystopian thriller that is especially fun for fans of graphic design and fonts. Give this one to readers who like their heroes morally ambiguous.--Portia Kapraun
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