Synopsis:
The hateful Path, that of the 9th Born.
The survival of the Ark—humanity’s last bastion after God’s wrath destroyed the world—is balanced by birth order: the oddborn are assigned a Path, the evenborn are given over to the will of God. And it is upon those of the 9th Born Path to sanitize the evens.
John 59129’s first walk as a Niner is the same day the scientists of the Ark plan to defy God by seeking to turn back time. An electrical surge sends John past the safety of the Ark, into an unblemished world. A glimpse of perfection. Of all the evenborn saved.
But when John wakes, he’s back in the Ark, twenty years after the failure to harness time. Was his encounter real or just a dream caused by his accident? Are those in charge of the Ark keeping the oddborn caged? Is God the monster, or is it mankind?
For John 59129 to find out before his own child is born, he must be willing to play the odds.
Review:
This was one of the most unique dystopian sci-fi stories I’ve read in a long time. It was a quick read (7 chapters, I believe, so novella length), but I was impressed with how much worldbuilding there was and with the overall complexity of the tale, given the format. It was really well done.
The main character is John 59129. In his world, most people are given a number at birth, and those with an odd number are assigned to specific duties based on that number. Those with an even number are sent to “sanitation.” As a “niner,” John’s role is sanitation work, dealing with those unfortunate evenborn infants. His job is awful on a moral and emotional level, and the author did an amazing job conveying John’s heartbreak and reluctance to carry out his assigned duty.
And the world he inhabits is pretty bleak, even beyond his job and the numerical hierarchy he was born into. Lightning is a constant. The air outside the Ark is so caustic, people can’t survive without specialized environmental suits. Very few crops can be grown, and the sun hasn’t been seen in centuries. Then there’s the fog surrounding the Ark; no one who has entered the fog has ever returned, and they’re assumed dead. It’s a difficult place to live at the best of times.
Speaking of time, there’s also an element of time travel involved, though John wasn’t sure if what he experienced was real or just a dream.
What I liked most about this story was when John began to question the established order and everything he’d been taught. This might be the scientist in me coming out, but I love when a character challenges the system by expressing their doubts and asking those tough questions, even if they’re only seeking to better understand the truth for themselves.
Unlucky Evens, Cursed Odds was a great read. So if you have a couple hours to spare and you’re into dystopian sci-fi, check this one out.
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