Synopsis:
Get ready to be blown away by this searing standalone space opera where corporate samurai fight beneath merciless stars, and death is always a mere breath away.
Isako is a legendary swordswoman, but every legend has to come to an end. When her long-time client unexpectedly retires, she plans to follow–to walk out into the frozen wasteland of their planet with her head held high and her family enriched by her legacy. But when a competitor offers her a final mission, it’s one she can’t refuse. Soon, she’s thrust deep into a world of corporate espionage, duty-bound duels, and shadowy secrets. What she uncovers will change humanity’s existence in the stars forever.
The Last Contract of Isako is the space opera you didn’t know you needed: corporate samurai… in space. This is the first adult science fiction novel from the award-winning author of Jade City.
Review:
Finally.
It has been five years since Fonda Lee finished up her Green Bone Saga, one of the most lauded works from the recent history of sci-fi and fantasy. Five years while her fans waited. Sure, she co-authored a Young Adult book (Breath of the Dragon with Shannon Lee), but when was she going to put out a book for adults again? With the release of The Last Contract of Isako, I can confidently say that Fonda Lee hasn’t lost her touch. The novel is a perfectly paced sci-fi mystery, utilizing futuristic samurai working for a spacefaring corporation. I loved it all, from start to finish, even when the story veered away from the path I expected.
With how Lee handles the “corporate samurai” aspect, there is a vibe of Snowfall or Blade Runner to the novel, but Lee makes it entirely her own. Our protagonist is one Isthmus Isako, whose client has decided to “retire” (i.e. commit a version of ritual suicide by walking into the wasteland of the planet they landed on 500 years ago). Honor dictates that Isako, a 50+ hard-bitten female “contractor,” follow suit, but before she can, she’s called up for one final mission. As her final mission unfolds, we explore her life, complete with family, former apprentices, colleagues, and enemies.
As the story progresses, we see the expertly crafted layers that Lee places in her world, sometimes making Isako’s journey easier and other times placing barriers in her way. About halfway through the story dramatically switches tracks and Lee puts us in the shoes of a completely different character for a sizeable portion of the story, completely pausing Isako’s story in the process. While she hovers just off-screen (off-page?) we fill-in a lot of the blanks to the story so far. It’s a rich and complex story that pays off when Lee hits un-pause on Isako’s tale later on.
While The Last Contract of Isako is a standalone, the environment is ripe for more stories with Isako. She’s a complicated character who has solid motivations for her life and career at the beginning of the book, but slowly and rightfully sees her goals shift as she learns more about the people she’s surrounded by.
As for me, I think my favorite character may be Rain Kob. Kob is a mirror image to Isako, starting off as a “trac” at the same time as her, a valued friend, but someone who’s also learned some hard lessons along the way. He’s complex in his values and motivations and it takes a while to finally put all the pieces together to discover what his role in everything is.
The way society is set up, Lee has a lot to say, particularly about society, our roles in it, and how the government treats its citizens. For Isako, she knows there are flaws in her world, but overall, she’s pretty Pollyanna about things at the beginning, even as us readers can tell there’s something rotten in Denmark.
I highly recommend The Last Contract of Isako. It isn’t the Green Bone Saga, but it doesn’t need to be. It works in its own way, revealing the truth in its own time. While I’d been rushing through a lot of books recently, I set aside some time to just slowly work my way through Fonda Lee’s latest, but in the end, I was sneaking bits and pieces in at every opportunity, desperate to see where she took Isako and Kob in the end. Check out The Last Contract of Isako — I don’t think you’ll regret it.
Thank you to Orbit for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.
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