cover image Twinmaker

Twinmaker

Sean Williams. HarperCollins/Balzer + Bray, $17.99 (496p) ISBN 978-0-06-220321-2

Australian author Williams (coauthor of the Troubletwisters series) begins a science fiction trilogy set in a future where “d-mat” technology, which allows for cheap teleportation and item replication, has created a seeming utopia of plenty. Seventeen-year-old Clair, like her friends, is always in search of something new and exciting. Then she and her friend Libby run across rumors of the Improvement process, which uses d-mat to illegally improve one’s body. When Libby changes in surprising and terrifying ways, Clair is plunged into an ever-deepening web of conspiracy and danger and forced to go off the grid, guided by the entity only known as “Q.” Eventually, she discovers the secret at the heart of her world, and what she does next could save society or destroy it. Williams spins a sprawling and complex tale, built on an impressively well-constructed premise and held together with intrigue and tension. While some of the story beats are predictable, Williams’s exploration of technology and its implications fuels a fascinating story. Ages 13–up. Agent: Jill Grinberg, Jill Grinberg Literary Management. (Nov.)