by Vera Kurian
Radix Media
5/2019, chapbook
Published as part of Futures: Science Fiction Series
The citizens of Sawtelle live a meager existence, finding joy where they can in an authoritarian world where nearly everything is illegal. Rules are bound to be broken—it’s just a question of when the men in black will appear to cart you away.
One private detective has always managed to stay out of trouble, despite the ever-watching Supreme Leader. When Sebastian Black, a corrupt mobster-turned-politician and former client emerges as the leading presidential candidate, the detective prepares for another sham election. But with the summer heat comes the unexpected.
Reviews:
“Dropped into an authoritarian future, Vera Kurian’s story swiftly had me identifying with the unnamed author and their struggles with hiding an illegal android, and navigating the liminal space between the ‘illegal’ that is necessary for survival and the ‘illegal’ that truly is sedition.” —Josh MacPhee, member of Justseeds Artists’ Cooperative and co-founder of Interference Archive
Author:
Vera Kurian is a writer, psychologist, and longtime resident of Washington, D.C. She writes literary and speculative fiction and is currently working on a thriller. Vera’s fiction has been published in magazines such as Glimmer Train, Day One, and The Pinch.