HUSK

In Eliason’s SF novel, the first in a series, a maintenance worker on a devastated future Earth learns that a digital utopia isn’t what it seems.

Isaac is one of the Techs who helps keep an eye on the steel-walled town of Epsilon, which houses the servers that run Meru, a digital world to which many people have transferred their minds. Isaac himself is just a day away from his own transfer ceremony. But after a fellow Tech warns him that he may be in danger, a startling incident occurs in Epsilon that ultimately leads to Isaac’s exile. While he knows about some other towns (like Delta and Gamma), there’s an even bigger world out there, with several potential allies whom Isaac encounters. Isaac has some startling revelations, learning details about Felix, Meru’s creator and overseer, and Isaac’s own personal history. Getting to the truth behind his predicament entails dodging relentless surveillance and braving robotic “murder dogs.” Isaac resolves to get back to Epsilon for the sake of the people he still cares about, namely his sister, Sophie, who’s in Meru. Eliason painstakingly develops this novel’s dystopia—there’s Meru’s complicated backstory, a global plague followed by a “collapse,” and the city of Epsilon, which was once a university. Isaac proves to be an engaging protagonist who rolls with the punches, enduring physical threats, betrayals, and his world being thrown into a tailspin. The supporting cast is equally compelling; with the exception of Sophie, the characters sow doubt as Isaac questions whether he can trust people he’s long known and any number of individuals he encounters for the first time. There are a few action scenes, but much of this opening installment is devoted to exposition as Isaac uncovers information along with the reader (there are copious secrets tied to Meru). This leads to a string of wonderfully staggering revelations all the way to the cliffhanger ending.

A robust cast headlines this thoroughly absorbing post-apocalyptic tale.