SINS OF THE SAVIORS

In Relk’s SF novel, a self-possessed soldier in a pointless, Orwellian future war determines to desert the battlefield—or die trying.

The United Hemispheres have superseded the old United States, where no elections have occurred since 2028 and all aspects of life are controlled by the giant Goliath Network. David is a veteran in an ongoing United Hemispheres war of back-and-forth bloodshed between color-coded armies with fearsome advanced weapons. Nobody remembers or cares how the conflict started or what the goal is. David, however, is different: “He had long ago stopped his internal debate about whether his survival instinct was a sign of weakness or cowardice.” He doesn’t draw attention to himself (since vocal dissenters are summarily executed), and he opted out of getting medical implants that turned many newer, younger recruits into docile troops. He even bunks alone in an abandoned HQ, as all his friends and comrades have perished. David knows his luck won’t last, and he plans to bolt from the battle zones. His escape will reveal to him what readers already know—that the outside world is a technological utopia, where robots perform all labor. Goliath regulates travel, and its AI software feeds an apathetic public’s custom-tailored tastes (including a religion that’s a slush of Christianity, Islam, and Hinduism). David’s family gave him up for dead and became cogs in the establishment. What will a reunion bring? Some hard-combat SF details in Relk’s novel will likely sate action fans. However, the material changes into something more akin to Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World (1932) as it proceeds to its ambiguous open ending, and genre readers will also find hints of Joe Haldeman’s The Forever War (1974) and Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 (1953) along the way. Relk, a former soldier, previously invoked the setting of this yarn in a prequel novella, The Network Apostate (2024), and this new short and caustic work will likely make readers eager for whatever comes next.

A taut, efficient dystopian look at a tech-filled tomorrow, to be continued.