The Grand Dark

In this complex standalone, Kadrey (the Sandman Slim series) introduces a sooty world where a Great War is newly won but unrest, hedonism, and the certainty of a new war to come are driving people “a little mad.” Largo Moorden only wants to advance in his courier job and make a life with his girlfriend, Remy, a rising actress at the Grand Dark Theater. But he inadvertently attracts the notice of his city’s puppet masters, who pull him into intrigues that are both feeding and fighting a rising tide of doom. Kadrey’s initial slow pace lulls readers into a false belief that the obvious dangers of Largo’s life are the only ones. When the hammer crashes on Largo and Remy, it comes from plot elements assembled with such devious cunning that they seem obvious only after Largo is trapped. A constant underlying tension makes the city’s powder-keg agitation visceral, and the individual neighborhoods and their residents are well wrought. Any fan of convoluted science fiction will appreciate the sharp twists Largo has to navigate if he and those he loves are going to survive. Agent: Ginger Clark, Curtis Brown Ltd. (June)