Name: In the Watchful City
ISBN: 9781250792983

S. Qiouyi Lu

In the Watchful City

"This masterful work positions Lu among the vanguard of contemporary futurism and speculative fiction."—Publishers Weekly, starred review In the tradition of Italo Calvino’s Invisible Cities, debut author S. Qiouyi Lu has written a multifaceted story of borders, power, diaspora, and transformation with In the Watchful City. The city of Ora is watching. Anima is an extrasensory human tasked with surveilling and protecting Ora’s citizens via a complex living network called the Gleaming. Although ær world is restricted to what æ can see and experience through the Gleaming, Anima takes pride and comfort in keeping Ora safe from harm. When a mysterious outsider enters the city carrying a cabinet of curiosities from around with the world with a story attached to each item, Anima’s world expands beyond the borders of Ora to places—and possibilities—æ never before imagined to exist. But such knowledge leaves Anima with a question that throws into doubt ær entire purpose: What good is a city if it can’t protect its people? At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Taylor

a quick read, but a bit disappointing in the haphazard execution of some really neat ideas

Sahi K

CW: suicide, mention of a suicide attempt, body mutilation, foot binding

I’ve only read one short story by the author before but I was so profoundly moved by it, that I had to add this novella to my tbr as soon as I got to know about it. And was doubly excited when I got the arc. 

I will be honest and say it took me a few pages to get into this story and it was pretty slow going until then. Biocyberpunk is not a genre I would willingly pick up if not for being excited about the author’s work, and it’s also my shortcoming for not being aware enough about neopronouns that extensive usage of them in this story hindered my reading a bit at the beginning. But the author employs a story with the story kind of narrative device in this book, and by the time I was done with the first narrated “story”, I was totally hooked. Rooted in Asian history and culture, the author deeply explores themes of grief and oppression and trauma, and how they affect us, sometimes even without us knowing that we are experiencing the effects. Another thing that really connected to me was the subtle discussion about borders and immigration, and how this has a disparate impact on one’s core identity as well as relationship with family. 

Amina is a fascinating character. Æ became an extrasensory human to watch over the city of Ora because ær circumstances didn’t leave Amina many choices. But new traumatic experiences has ær questioning if æ are truly protecting the citizens and if ær choices are correct. Meeting the enigmatic Vessel and ser cabinet of curiosities also opens up a whole new world of stories and possibilities to Amina, finally letting ær feel comfortable enough to make life altering decisions for ærself. We also meet many amazing characters within the narrated stories, who give us glimpses into understanding what having agency and being able to make choices means, and questioning us if we have the strength to face the consequences. 

Overall, this was a very unique, one of a kind book which even if confusing at times, is something to be experienced. This queernormative Asian inspired futuristic world and it’s deeply moving characters have left an impression on me and I would definitely want everyone to dive into it as well. Just remember that this novella is more on the profound and thought provoking side, and not a fast paced sci-fi adventure.

Jennifer

Cheryl Hedlund

"But we can take a moment, a story, that illuminates their spirit, if only one facet. Yet that is what makes life the brilliant gem that it is: the collection of all those facets into a prism. A lens." - S. Qiouyi Lu

There are content warnings provided by the author in the front of the book. I appreciate that. This is an emotionally intense read. It is also challenging to connect the pieces and assemble the bits of the larger story. A couple of sections seem to be in poetry. The overall structure is a main story with two main characters interspersed with some interconnected short stories. In essence, the main characters, Anima and Vessel, are swapping stories. Life, death and the boundaries between are major themes throughout. There are also political and cultural boundaries. Nonbinary and trans characters disolve the boundaries of gender. There is a whole lot to unpack even though this is a novella. I was intrigued throughout and enjoyed following the threads to connect snapshots from a larger story together. There is a sense of history and how things came to be the way they are for the main characters. It also builds the wider world outside of the city. Anima has not gone beyond the city limits.