NEW HAVEN

In Kirstein’s sci-fi novel, a couple freshly escaped from a futuristic authoritarian city-state find themselves thrown back into a war between freedom and control.

The second book in the author’s New Haven series finds James and Sybil having successfully escaped the iron grip of their authoritarian town—where public executions and 24/7 monitoring are the norm—to reach New America, a nation that promises some semblance of freedom. But despite their resolve to start a new and peaceful life together, the couple is abruptly swept back into the thick of things when they join a rebellion called Le’ Force, which has one simple mission: to take down New Haven’s brutal leader, Valentine, and tear apart his regime from the inside. With mounting evidence indicating that the rebellion has been infiltrated by a spy and multiple shocking murders, James comes to realize that the mission will not be an easy one. The group seems to finally catch a break when they receive help from a fellow ragtag militia—until the sudden appearance of someone from New Haven’s past (who is able to infiltrate bodies at will) threatens everything they’ve been working toward. As the body count rises, James must make a choice that will change everything. The shocking deaths come fast and early in this bleak tale—this is a novel that will keep readers guessing. Kirstein ambitiously tackles deep dystopian themes (oppressive societies, personal sacrifice, what it means to be human) while advancing an action-centric plot. Unfortunately, occasional typos and stilted dialogue strip away some of the impact of the dramatic moments. From James treating his wife like a child (he constantly calls her “love” and, at one point, rocks her while saying “That’s a girl”) to over-the-top action movie dialogue (“‘Whooo!’ he screams, shaking his head vigorously like he’s making a cocktail of his brain”), this stiffness ultimately distracts from an otherwise inventive dystopian thriller.

A vividly drawn and twisty sci-fi adventure weighed down by infelicities in the writing.