We Lived on the Horizon

Starred review from October 7, 2024
Septuagenarian ex-lovers and their AI child are forced to make some heart-wrenching decisions in this brilliant dystopian novel from Swyler (Light from Other Stars). The postapocalyptic city-state of Bulwark is run by the penny-pinching algorithm Parallax, which divides limited resources between workers and the privileged “Sainted,” members of Bulwark’s oldest families. Heroine Enita, aka “Saint Stitch-Skin,” has devoted her life to growing body parts from nanofilaments for workers who regularly lose limbs, but can’t afford to be treated in the hospital. When one of her fellow Sainted is found murdered, Enita’s ex, Helen, a historian, reads the writing on the wall and begins planning her and Enita’s escape from a city on the brink of revolt. Complicating matters is Nix, the android Enita fashioned in Helen’s image who is both her scientific legacy (Nix has already mastered the art of growing feet in fish tanks filled with exotic gel) and a stand-in child. Then lounge singer Neren is maimed in an accident. Enita repairs her, not realizing that Neren is a “Body Martyr,” with fanatical beliefs and ties to the revolutionary underground—and she takes an intense interest in Nix. Swyler’s elegant, polyphonic narrative juggles many themes, foremost among them human-robot convergence, through ever-shifting perspectives. Nix’s voice as they describe their burgeoning consciousness is especially impressive. This is a powerhouse.