ARC Review: Scion by James Islington
Sometimes I love an ambiguous ending but in the case of James Islington’s new book Scion, I turned the last page and couldn’t believe it! I even went back to make sure I didn’t miss any pages!
I am grateful to Saga Press for providing me with an ARC copy of the book through Netgalley before it comes out on September 1st.
As you may know, I am an enormous fan of James Islington’s Hierarchy Series so I was very curious and also a little apprehensive to read this new one. Scion is a definite departure from the epic fantasy found in the Hierarchy Series. It’s true science fiction, involving AI integrations to daily life, animals created in a lab, the science of identity being defined by DNA, and more. I was almost put off at first because the world building seemed almost minimal but I soon came to realize that it does have depth, it’s just simpler than in his other work!
I love the cover - very The Matrix-esque which I think lent itself well to the book. I also found all the screens that appear in the city very interesting. The book has a lot of technology but it wasn’t the screens that stood out to me. The blueish/tealish color also reminds me of technology.
I was just explaining to someone today about how to burn a CD (I know, she’s just a baby!) but it made me think of how far we have come and this book certainly made me consider where we are going. I am both intrigued and absolutely terrified by the integration of technology, perhaps into our very being in the form of sentient bionic parts, etc. It was fascinating to me that this book starts out with the topic of “Lifers”, who have chosen to take an elixir that will prolong their lives and yet the book doesn’t follow up a lot on that science. Instead, we are taken into a mystery of identity, intelligence, and self discovery.
Azure as a main character was super fun to read. Those of you who have read the Hierarchy Series will be reminded of Vis and his persistence. And also some of his sass! He’s an interesting character, because so much of his identity up to this point has relied on his technology. When he is hired by Old Woman (later named in the book), his AI is taken away from him and it pushes him as a character and I thought it was really interesting to see that growth and development. I can’t say much else because there are a lot of identity factors that come into play! Azure made me laugh, made me a little sad, and impressed the heck out of me. His hard work and commitment in the face of adversity was foundational to this story and I think he was a great central character.
The Old Woman turns out to be a character that is of equal importance, as she is the woman who Azure has been hired to protect. Usually an assassin, Azure is reticent to protect another person since his last job protecting someone ended in tragedy. She kind of reminded me of my sassy grandmother! She knows what she wants, she does what she wants, and she doesn’t hold back. She even holds information above Azure’s head in order to manipulate him. This is a good tactic but we also never get all of that information and that was disappointing.
As I said, I was a little apprehensive about reading this book after loving the Hierarchy Series so much. And I did really enjoy it but I was also missing some of the detail that the Hierarchy Series has. There are a lot of fascinating concepts in this book such as lifers, robots, the question of what it means to be an individual, coding, DNA manipulation, lab grown beings, protection radars, and so much more. I wanted to know more! I don’t think we needed all the information necessarily but it would have made the story well rounded. The end was certainly eventful but I also found it somewhat unsatisfying. I didn’t find the closure I wanted, especially in regards to the information that Old Woman has, and how it shaped Azure as a character. The question of how one lives in regards to peace at the end was certainly thought provoking. But I would have been more at peace if I had more information!
Reading the book was certainly fun and I was impressed by how creative and different Scion was from Islington’s other work. Honestly, I think I would probably have liked it more if I hadn’t read some of his other work. It was a positive experience but I still have reservations about it. I’m already thinking about re-reading it. And I’m also really curious for my brother to read it. He has more experience with science fiction than me and he’s also been really fun to talk to about Islington’s other books.
