Cry Pilot

July 8, 2019
Riveting action paired with a sharp psychoemotional landscape combine for the explosive launch of a futuristic trilogy (the first voyage of the Dane pseudonym for an established author). Centuries in the future, humans live in tiny corporate enclaves while the ruined Earth undergoes terra fixing, a process that sometimes creates biological horrors. Maseo Kaytu is a refugee with a secret, which makes it hard for him to enlist in the corporate military, but through a touch of chicanery and a stint as a cry pilot—human “keys” needed to engage highly technological, high-lethality vehicles known as CAVs—he earns his place in Group Aleph for basic training. The group is part of a program that’s been formed to address the rising threat of entities called lampreys. It’s not an easy road through basic training, but he manages as part of a squad that becomes closer than family despite his checkered past. Frequent adrenaline-rush action scenes make up most of the novel, interspersed with Kaytu’s internal narrative and experiences. This is an intriguing, thoughtful exploration of what a corporatized future might look like, liberally peppered with scenes of military life. Agent: Caitlin Blasdell, Liza Dawson Assoc.

David Shih's earnest narration elevates humanity's attempts to save Earth from apocalyptic rogue technology. Maseo Kaytu escapes a criminal past by cheating his way into a military squad that controls AI-operated machines to battle bioweapons gone awry. Kaytu befriends a group of misfits as the battles escalate and the truth of his past threatens to come to light. Shih cheerfully carries the story through the technical sections chock-full of detail. Characters burst to life with his clever use of tone and intonation. For example, he gives a drug-addicted soldier a staccato cadence. Shih's vocal performance captures the imagination with heart-pounding action, vivid world-building, and intense showdowns with terrifying characters. J.M.M. � AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine