The Death of the Cyborg Oracle

Rothacker (Gristle: Weird Tales) sets a lackluster mystery within a fascinating postcapitalist world. In 2220 Atlanta, humanity has retreated from a climate-ravaged Earth into a giant filtration dome built to house the City, a socialist utopia. No longer worshipful of “Kapital,” people instead devote their lives to a pantheon of gods, from Lona, a moon goddess, to Ah Pook, the destroyer. In the relative tranquility of this new order, a mysterious attacker murders the famed Oracle of Delphi, Tiresias Pythia. Edwina Casaubon, new to the Sacred Homicide Division of City Safety, must join Rabbi Jakob “Thinkowitz” Rabbinowitz, a cyborg genius, to solve the crime. Unfortunately, the central mystery of this gloomy near-future noir is not developed enough for the reader to play along, as Rothacker offers very few meaningful clues to the murder along the way. The thin characters serve as mouthpieces for intriguing philosophies, which may please fans of big-idea science fiction who can look past the stilted dialogue. Readers will appreciate the worldbuilding but long for more substance. [em](Nov.) [/em]