Two hundred years ago, toward the end of the 21st century, an apocalypse brought on by unbridled technology made the Earth uninhabitable.
As the catastrophe approached, measures were taken to save a portion of humanity. The Star-Edge Project constructed a large fleet of starships to search for other colonizable worlds......
.....and the Colonies Project constructed over 200 habitable cylinders around the Earth.
Hundreds of thousands of people left on the starships and millions of people moved to colonies in the cylinders.
Something went wrong with the Star-Edge project, and conflict among the starships expanded into armed combat. The last message sent from the vessels reported nuclear detonations and it's assumed that all the starships were destroyed.
The cylinders did better, and are now home to billions of people.
The cylinder colonies are governed by the Irryan Council, which consists of five members.
⋆ Rome Franco is head of E-Tech, which severely limits technological advancement (colonists don't even have cell phones).
⋆ Nu-Lin is Councilor of Intercolonial Affairs and head of the Commerce League (trade).
⋆ Elliot Drake is head of the Intercolonial Credit Net (bank).
⋆ Augustus J. Artwhiler is the Supreme Commander of the Intercolonial Guardians (police).
⋆ Lady Bonneville is a wealthy socialite who hosts parties and fundraisers.
Like all politicians, the counselors are constantly jockeying for power, trying to get their own programs enacted, and making deals to get their way. Moreover, an organization called la Gloria de la Ciencia (the glory of science) is ACTIVELY trying to re-institute the use of advanced technology.
As the story opens, a bioengineered assassin created before the apocalypse, which had been put into stasis, is re-awakened. The killer is a Paratwa, one of the most heinous technological excesses of the 21st century. A Paratwa, or binary, has two non-identical bodies governed by a single mind.
Moreover, the Paratwa can change it's appearance at will.
Before the apocalypse, Paratwa assassins were directly responsible for the deaths of over one hundred and fifty million human beings and indirectly responsible for billions more.
The re-awakened Paratwa, named Reemul, has been brought back by covert conspirators with an agenda. The secret accomplices plan to have Paratwas take power and rule over humans.
Reemul goes on a killing spree, and Councilor Rome Franco - who's desperate to stop the assassin - takes countermeasures.
He brings two Paratwa killers, a little person named Nick.....
and a muscular tough guy called Gillian, out of stasis.
Before long Reemul and the Paratwa killers are playing a cat and mouse game, trying to wipe each other out.
Things are far from that simple, however, because the secret cabal that awakened Reemul has a long-range plan. Part of the plan involves sapient supersedure - the process of killing an individual and substituting a lookalike that assumes his or her identify. Thus some VERY powerful people - who appear to be human - are really Paratwas.
The story is action-packed - with abductions; murders; battles; secret meetings; chicanery; and more. There's even an elegant cocktail party.
As the story unfolds the nefarious long-term plan of the Paratwas is exposed, and it's a corker!
Additional characters in the story include an antique dealer named Paula and her 12-year-old son Jerem, who survive contact with a Paratwa; a band of pirates called the Alexanders, who swear revenge against the Paratwa; a computerhawk called Begelman, who expertly navigates electronic archives; Security Chief Pasha Haddad, who doesn't trust Nick and Gillian; a priest called Bishop Vokir, who heads the Church of the Trust; a madam called Miss Vitchy, who prostitutes boys and girls; and more.
The story contains descriptions of the orbiting cylinders, and the characters use cutting-edge weaponry, but I wouldn't call the book hard science fiction. It's more like enhanced soft science fiction. Still, I enjoyed the story and recommend it to sci-fi fans.
Liege-Killer is the first book in the Paratwa Trilogy, which continues with Ash Ock.
Thanks to Netgalley, Christopher Hinz, and Penguin Random House for a copy of the book.
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