Flakus, in his self-described “latinopunk” novella, crafts a cyberpunk adventure about a cybernetically enhanced outlaw on a distant planet.

Ryu Ruiz is a “runner—a cybernetically enhanced outlaw who harvests and transports Starflesh, a mysterious fungus with mystical hallucinogenic properties that transforms its users mentally, but also physically. For example, one prominent user’s “hair fell out, leaving him completely bald. He looked ten years younger…. His skin became a golden color which seemed to emanate a soft light in complete darkness.” Running is incredibly dangerous, and police patrol the city of Cuetlaxochitl, the seedy major port city on the remote and dangerous planet Xochipili, the only place in the galaxy where Starflesh grows. Xochipili's history as a penal colony for undocumented immigrants on Earth makes the far-flung futuristic galactic setting feel immediately timely and relevant. Ryu runs Starflesh both because it’s his only career option and because he’s in love with Miriam, the head of the runners’ guild. Her bar, the Dos Santos Cantina, conceals the Chicxulub, the eponymous spaceship that Miriam plans to use to return to Earth after one last big score. The book, which is deeply infused with Latine language and culture, is at its best when it follows Ryu's thrilling exploits, his simmering relationship with Miriam, and his friendship with fellow runner Felix. It’s slightly less effective, though, in an extended digression told from the perspective of John Praetor, a police officer from Earth who’s come to enforce the law on Xochipili because of the promise of a big payday. Luckily, the plot quickly returns to the runners and their richly drawn world with its own complex culture and struggles. As the story bounces deftly from SF to action-oriented thrills and eventually a kind of transcendent mysticism, Flakus maintains a strong narrative voice and a clear vision, and shows deep care for these characters and their relationships along the way. The result satisfies all the expectations of the genre while feeling wholly original and exciting. Readers who enjoy exciting actioners set in unique but still recognizable futuristic settings will find a lot to like here.

A thrilling SF tale driven by likable outlaw heroes.