The Last Contract of Isako

This brilliant space opera from Lee (Untethered Sky) instantly immerses readers on the planet of Aquilo, whose population is divided between the reunionists, who believe all energy should be devoted to connecting with any other surviving humans, and the terraformists, who want to prioritize making Aquilo habitable. At present, surviving Aquilo’s atmosphere is only possible within a huge enclosed structure that retains oxygen and heat. Anyone deemed unnecessary is “retired,” or cast out beyond the protective airshield to die. Against this harsh backdrop, Isthmus Isako is a corporate samurai under exclusive contract to Forest Greves, a leader of the reunionists. It’s Isako’s job to inform Greves’s employees when they need to retire. But after Greves voluntarily retires himself as a gesture of protest against his rivals, Isako’s fate is uncertain. She’s given a chance to continue working—and living—by Savannah Minto, Greves’s triumphant opponent, though the opportunity comes with a catch. Lee enhances her vivid worldbuilding and riveting plot with evocative prose (“Freeday dawns crisp and cold, the sky a pale blue gray like the sclera of an anemic eyeball”). The story stands alone, but readers will be left hoping for future visits to this gorgeously crafted world. (May)