Goddess in the Machine

In Johnson’s science fiction debut, 17-year-old Andromeda “Andra” Yue Watts awakes from her cryogenic sleep in the year 3102 to a world changed beyond recognition. She was only supposed to sleep for a century: instead, a thousand years have passed, and her contemporaries are long dead. Now she is alone on Holymyth, the planet where she, her family, and the other colonists planned to settle as they escaped the dying Earth. Johnson explores the relationship between science and religion through the people of Eerensed, who view Andra as the Third Goddess and nanotechnology as magic. Determined to return to Earth, Andra teams up with the charmingly untrustworthy Zhade—the bastard exiled prince of Eerensed—to gather the resources she needs for a new spaceship. In return, she must perform “miracles” to secure his status—a dangerous undertaking with Maret, Zhade’s half-brother and the skeptical ruler of Eerensed, watching her every move. Though light on scientific exposition and heavy on evolved linguistics that may frustrate some readers, a complicated romance and passable worldbuilding round out the tale. Zhade, Maret, and Andra are compelling, morally ambiguous characters, and Johnson’s plot twists ensure the narrative maintains interest. Ages 12–up. [em]Agent: Victoria Marini, Irene Goodman Agency. (June) [/em]