And then there’s Ankit, who is a politician’s lackey who is on a quest to find her mother. The book alternates between four or five different voices: Fill, a queer man whose grandfather is a powerful landowner in the city Soq, another gay character who is a messenger boy Kaev, a man who is a professional fighter who loses rigged fights for his boss, the underworld character Go. We don’t really hear from her until halfway through the read, but she’s enough of a stranger to warrant other characters being drawn to her. And, despite some time warming up to it and getting used to its knotty story, it is very, very good.Īt the centre of the novel is a strange woman who arrives in the island city of Qaanaaq on an orca, with a polar bear at her side. It is reminiscent of the work of William Gibson superimposed with Jeff VanderMeer. It’s a creepy, unsettling novel, one full of action and bloodshed, but written with a literary sheen. Without possibly even realizing it, Miller has written a book about the Trump presidency with all of its malevolence within the plot. It’s about an artificial city that has sprung up in the Arctic Ocean, where its residents are besieged by organized crime and ruthless politicians, even if the city is essentially run by machines. Miller’s Blackfish City fulfills this premise. By banding together to save their city before it crumbles under the weight of its own decay, they will learn shocking truths about themselves.īlackfish City is a remarkably urgent-and ultimately very hopeful-novel about political corruption, organized crime, technology run amok, the consequences of climate change, gender identity, and the unifying power of human connection.Science fiction isn’t about the future, it’s about the present.
The “orcamancer,” as she’s known, very subtly brings together four people-each living on the periphery-to stage unprecedented acts of resistance. When a strange new visitor arrives-a woman riding an orca, with a polar bear at her side-the city is entranced.
Not to mention an orca and a polar bear!” -Ann Leckie, New York Times bestselling author and winner of the Hugo, Nebula, and Clarke AwardsĪfter the climate wars, a floating city is constructed in the Arctic Circle, a remarkable feat of mechanical and social engineering, complete with geothermal heating and sustainable energy. The city’s denizens have become accustomed to a roughshod new way of living, however, the city is starting to fray along the edges-crime and corruption have set in, the contradictions of incredible wealth alongside direst poverty are spawning unrest, and a new disease called “the breaks” is ravaging the population. “Miller gives us an incisive and beautifully written story of love, revenge, and the power (and failure) of family in a scarily plausible future. Blackfish City simmers with menace and heartache, suspense and wonder. Plus, it has lots of action and a great cast of characters.
0 kommentar(er)
