What’s it about?
This near-future science fiction thriller features a mercenary whose genius level math prowess gives her superhuman abilities: taking down men twice her size and dodging not just fists, but bullets, too. If you liked Trinity from The Matrix but could do without the blind devotion, meet Cas Russell.
As far as Cas knows, she’s the only person around with a superpower, and she’ll take any job for the right price. Then, she discovers someone with a power even more dangerous than her own. Someone who can reach directly into people’s minds and twist their brains into Moebius strips. Someone intent on becoming the world’s puppet master.
Cas should run, like she usually does, but for once she’s involved. There’s only one problem: she doesn’t know which of her thoughts are her own anymore.
What do reviewers say?
Huang’s series starter will have readers anxiously awaiting the next…A fast-paced, darkly humorous read with a lot of heart for fans of action and urban fantasy, as well as lovers of Wolverine and other morally ambiguous, gritty superheroes with a mysterious past—Booklist, STARRED review
This hard-to-put-down, action-packed SF debut is intelligent and entertaining. With Cas, Huang has created an indelible, flawed character who makes mathematics seem almost magical—Library Journal, STARRED review
Cas is an awesome antiheroine, sympathetic despite her practical approach to violence, and her abilities make this book exciting, nasty fun…an excellent harbinger for books to come—Kirkus Reviews
Who wrote it?
S. L. Huang has a math degree from MIT and is a weapons expert and has worked as a professional stuntwoman on Battlestar Galactica and a number of other productions. Her short fiction has appeared in Strange Horizons, Nature, Daily Science Fiction, and The Best American Science Fiction & Fantasy 2016. Connect with her on Facebook and Twitter.
