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The Blurb On The Back:
Nothing has happened. Not yet, anyway. This is how all things begin.
Welcome to Apex City, formerly Bangalore, where everything is decided by the mathematically perfect Bell Curve.
With the right image, values and opinions you can ascend to the glittering heights of the Twenty Percent - the Virtual elite - and have the world at your feet. Without, you risk falling to the precarious Ten Percent, and deportation to the ranks of the Analogs, with no access to electricity, running water - even your own humanity.
The system has no flaws. Until the elusive “Ten Percent Thief” steals a single jacaranda seed from the Virtual city and plants a revolution in the barren soil of the Analog world.
( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )
The Verdict:
Originally published as ANALOGUE/VIRTUAL, Lavanya Lakshminarayan’s debut SF novel is an ambitious read that examines its corporate owned, techno-state through interconnected short stories rather than following a single protagonist. That won’t be to everyone’s tastes and it is a little heavy-handed at the beginning, but this is a refreshing take on the genre with a sharp satirical eye and I look forward to reading Lakshminarayan’s next book.
THE TEN PERCENT THIEF was released in the United States on 28th March 2023 and in the United Kingdom on 30th March 2023. Thanks to Rebellion Publishing for the review copy of this book.
Welcome to Apex City, formerly Bangalore, where everything is decided by the mathematically perfect Bell Curve.
With the right image, values and opinions you can ascend to the glittering heights of the Twenty Percent - the Virtual elite - and have the world at your feet. Without, you risk falling to the precarious Ten Percent, and deportation to the ranks of the Analogs, with no access to electricity, running water - even your own humanity.
The system has no flaws. Until the elusive “Ten Percent Thief” steals a single jacaranda seed from the Virtual city and plants a revolution in the barren soil of the Analog world.
( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )
The Verdict:
Originally published as ANALOGUE/VIRTUAL, Lavanya Lakshminarayan’s debut SF novel is an ambitious read that examines its corporate owned, techno-state through interconnected short stories rather than following a single protagonist. That won’t be to everyone’s tastes and it is a little heavy-handed at the beginning, but this is a refreshing take on the genre with a sharp satirical eye and I look forward to reading Lakshminarayan’s next book.
THE TEN PERCENT THIEF was released in the United States on 28th March 2023 and in the United Kingdom on 30th March 2023. Thanks to Rebellion Publishing for the review copy of this book.
