cover image Izanami’s Choice

Izanami’s Choice

Adam Heine. Broken Eye, $9.99 trade paper (98p) ISBN 978-1-940372-21-1

Retired Tokyo detective Itaru hates droids, a problem in a Meiji Restoration–era Japan filled with them. When Gojusan, an advanced house servant droid, comes to see him and is attacked by assassin droids out of legend, Itaru has no reason to want to help the victim. Gojusan appears to have gone rogue and may have killed its master. Even more interesting, it claims to be self-aware. Itaru only agrees to help the droid when the assassins come after him as well. The plot thickens in predictable ways as more droids turn out to be self-aware and Itaru finds a conspiracy that runs to the very top echelons of power. Heine’s novella has plenty of action but not much else. Characters and dialogue are flat and one-note, plot points and ideas are familiar from other works, and much of the story will remind readers of I, Robot. Anyone looking for prose that reads like watching an anime will get enjoyment out of the book, but others will be disappointed. Agent: Tricia Lawrence, Erin Murphy Literary. (Sept.)