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Reviewed by Asher Syed for Readers' Favorite
Russell Luyt’s Synthetic State takes readers to New Albion, where the Governing Council maintains its power through shimmer, an addictive drug manufactured at the notorious Factory. The rebels have obtained a formula for 'synthetic,' a laboratory-made alternative that could threaten the government’s most profitable trade. Anouk Walker leaves a rebel outpost in Iceland to find Aidan Becker, a former shimmer dealer who has returned to New Albion in search of captured fighters. His investigation draws him into the business of Chen Bai, a smuggler with dealings on both sides of the rebellion. Meanwhile, Jerome Kilgore, a senior official in the Bureau for Virtue, continues his pursuit of Anouk’s sister Jessica, whom he once adopted. As the trade in synthetic begins, the rebels face mounting pressure from a government determined to survive.
Russell Luyt’s Synthetic State, book two in The Shimmerfall Trilogy, gets right under your skin, with a ruined society that feels frighteningly possible. The details tell you how cruel this world has become. Consider the Factory, where a polished visitor entrance sits above frozen barracks beneath the smokestacks. That image gave me chills. Mel is an excellent character, a teenage fixer whose talent for trading information becomes invaluable to fellow inmates. I was just as taken with Alfie, the cantankerous Fenland boatman whose calm during a canal-lock inspection had me holding my breath. His dry humor with a suspicious State officer is timed beautifully, as that narrow old boat putters beneath them. Kilgore is one thoroughly repulsive villain, enjoying vintage port while his officers raid the Pyramid. The pacing is excellent, with every development arriving at just the right moment. I’m eager for the next and final book in the trilogy. Very highly recommended.
