Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Septuagenarian ex-lovers and their AI child are forced to make some heart-wrenching decisions in this brilliant dystopian novel from Swyler (Light from Other Stars). The postapocalyptic city-state of Bulwark is run by the penny-pinching algorithm Parallax, which divides limited resources between workers and the privileged "Sainted," members of Bulwark's oldest families. Heroine Enita, aka "Saint Stitch-Skin," has devoted her life to growing body parts from nanofilaments for workers who regularly lose limbs, but can't afford to be treated in the hospital. When one of her fellow Sainted is found murdered, Enita's ex, Helen, a historian, reads the writing on the wall and begins planning her and Enita's escape from a city on the brink of revolt. Complicating matters is Nix, the android Enita fashioned in Helen's image who is both her scientific legacy (Nix has already mastered the art of growing feet in fish tanks filled with exotic gel) and a stand-in child. Then lounge singer Neren is maimed in an accident. Enita repairs her, not realizing that Neren is a "Body Martyr," with fanatical beliefs and ties to the revolutionary underground--and she takes an intense interest in Nix. Swyler's elegant, polyphonic narrative juggles many themes, foremost among them human-robot convergence, through ever-shifting perspectives. Nix's voice as they describe their burgeoning consciousness is especially impressive. This is a powerhouse. (Jan.)
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Review by Library Journal Review
Saint Enita Malovis is dissatisfied with the expectations her status conveys. Born into luxury, her ancestors helped build the city of Bulwark, which protects its inhabitants from the many dangers of the surrounding land. She prefers being useful, creating new organs and limbs, and artfully installing them for those who cannot afford an ordinary hospital. Boredom leads to building a body for her in-house AI, Nix, so they can carry on her trade when Enita dies. When another Sainted is murdered, information is wiped from city systems at a dizzying pace, and Enita and Nix's investigation into this mystery thrusts them into peril. Artfully describing the world of Bulwark, its systems and inhabitants, Swyler (Light from Other Stars) provides an engrossing character-driven story that, while featuring advanced technologies, is not bogged down by technical jargon. The fears, passions, and hopes of the characters are at the heart of the tale, making it a great title for those who are new to the genre and avid science fiction readers alike. VERDICT A moving sci-fi mystery that will stay with readers.--Ahliah Bratzler
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
A murder reveals the faults in an allegedly optimized far-future society. Bulwark is a walled city in the desert, built centuries ago by survivors of an apocalypse. Early residents sacrificed greatly to make the settlement habitable, and in recognition, they were venerated as Saints--a heritable title. Saints were also exorbitantly compensated in "life hours," the continuing basis for Bulwark's economy, which values goods and services according to the time and effort necessary for production. Life-hour totals are now tracked by Parallax, Bulwark's Avataristic AI, whose primary purpose is to "ensure a basic quality and value of life, that everyone is cared for and no one needlessly suffers." At present, however, Saints' descendants are using their ancestors' unused life-hour balances to live isolated lives of luxury, while everyone else toils tirelessly just to fall further behind. Sexagenarian bioprosthetist Saint Enita Malovis is only peripherally aware of Bulwark's growing societal inequity thanks to her preoccupation with creating a body for Nix, the AI who runs her household and assists with her work. Then, someone kills one of her peers, Saint Lucius Ohno. Nix's queries to Parallax for information about the crime return "a glut of junk code," and Nix also starts noticing unsettling voids in Bulwark's data grid. Enita's on-again, off-again partner, historian Saint Helen Vinter, believes everything that's happening is connected. She's not sure how or to what end, but feels certain that neither she nor Enita is safe. Swyler achieves a seemingly impossible amount of sophisticated worldbuilding using an economy of vibrant, graceful prose. The story transports and transforms, alchemizing a combination of mystery, romance, and science fiction into an impactful exploration of the importance of connection, the evolutionary nature of identity, and the inevitability of revolution. Affecting relationships and a sinuous, kaleidoscopic third-person narrative further define and develop the exquisitely rendered characters. Singularly stunning and stunningly singular. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
