Scion
James Islington
Dystopian future snuff fiction
I chose to read James Islington's Scion because I read and enjoyed his Hierarchy novels. Scion is very different from Hierarchy. Hierarchy seems determined to make broad points about the ethics of responsibility and complicity. Scion, in contrast, feels as if it was written to be an exciting action story and little more.
Scion takes place in a dystopian future. Islington doesn't explain in any detail how things got so bad, or even exactly how bad things are, except for a few details. It seems to be mostly an "if this goes on..." kind of dystopia. That is, it imagines that the bad things happening to the environment today, in 2026, continue and get worse, to the point where Earth is almost unlivable, except in the shelter of a few megacities which are, for most of their inhabitants, awful places.
In addition, medicine has conquered mortality. It is possible to keep a person alive indefinitely. It is hinted that practical immortality has contributed to environmental destruction. Only about 7000 people are able to afford immortality -- these people are called lifers. They are deeply resented by most of Earth. And it is legal to kill them.
It is legal, but expensive. Indeed, people pay to have lifers killed. This is done on a kind of subscription basis. The company Keres offers a contract to kill a lifer, and ordinary folks pledge to it. When there's enough pledged to make it worthwhile, Keres sends one of its killers to do the job.
Our hero, Azure, is one of Keres's hired killers, perhaps the best of them. He certainly thinks so. The story begins when he is hired to do the opposite -- to protect someone. As you of course expect, a lot of would-be killers come at them, and a whole lot of people die, often in very gory and unsanitary ways. Eventually we find out more about Azure and his charge.
I enjoyed this. It helps that it's a short novel. I think I would have lost interest if it had gone on much longer, but as about a six-hour read, it sustained my interest.
Thanks to Edelweiss and S&S/Saga Press for and advance reader copy of Scion. Release date 1-Sep-2026.