Zachary Thomas Dodson's first novel feels destined to make a splash with its sprawling combination of science fiction and mysticism, art and text, western and dystopia.
In the year 2143, Americans live in city-states divided by life stages. The government records all conversation. Paper is forbidden, although "carbons" of paper documents are housed in a vast archive called the Vault of Records, a supposed safe house for history and culture. Zeke and his girlfriend, Eliza Gray, live in the Republic of Texas, where young adults meet their spouses. Zeke's grandfather Zadock has recently passed away in Chicago-Land, where senior citizens reside, and Zeke stands to inherit his grandfather's seat in the Senate. However, he also inherits an ancient, sealed envelope. By law, he must turn it in to the Vault for copying without opening it, but when he hesitates, everything he holds dear comes under threat.
Dodson should find plenty of fans among readers who prefer stories that challenge them to think deeply and keep up, even if their adventures require a bit of stumbling along darkened paths. His future Republic of Texas is imagined clearly enough to make it seem as real as the bat caves and yawning deserts of the 1843 Texan landscape. While he delves into the realm of steampunk, Dodson leaves out many of the Victorian fripperies common to the genre and focuses on the implications of a society powered at least partly on steam.
He has filled a puzzle box of a novel with beautiful art and astounding breadth of imagination, and the result begs to be opened. --Jaclyn Fulwood, blogger at Infinite Reads