Monday, May 11, 2026

The Last Contract of Isako by Fonda Lee

 

Published May 5, 2026 from Orbit

A decent character introduction. It shows her dissatisfaction with her job, and some bitterness comes through in the tone. But at the same time, the language is a little bland and doesn’t make her voice feel very distinctive.

 

It starts out with a nice description, but then it drops a bunch of worldbuilding terms in a row. They’re all pretty self-explanatory, so they don’t get in the way too much, but they don’t really add texture to the setting.

 

1: Nice to get character information through body language.

2: The stiff language gets across the discomfort of the interaction. But the corporate-speak seems to be part of her inner voice, which isn’t super compelling to read.

 

Some nice description that introduces the character efficiently.


Verdict: I’m not invested, but I’m open to reading more.

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