Angus McIntyre

If you crave sci-fi and fantasy, look no further than Tor.com’s line of novellas. The Warrior Within (the debut novella by Angus Mcintyre) is one of the new titles from Tor to be published this year. Set in a futuristic desert like world scattered with remnants of past civilizations (which the population survives off of), The Warrior Within is a mind-bending science fiction adventure about a man named Karsman with many people living within his head. Karsman had basic modification surgery show more when he left home to cope with the conditions of the other world, except what the surgeons did was far more invasive than simple modifications. They managed to graft single skill artificial intelligences (such as Warrior, Dipolmat, etc) in Karsman’s mind.

The plot of this novella is pretty intriguing. Karsman presides over his current town as the "Mayor". It’s overseen by the Muljaddy (dominant alien beings) who run an ambivalent religious autocracy. Life is sustained through prayer and worship. Yet, this all changes when a group of commandos arrive, claiming to be in search of a woman they must assassinate (or so they say). When their searches prove fruitless, they begin to take more extreme measures, forcing Karsman to enlist the help of his intelligences….Karsman is forced with then protecting his town and a woman he might love from the commandos all while maintaining his personality and intelligences. Can he keep the Warrior under lock and key?

I was pleasantly surprised by this novella and its ending. If you loved The Gunslinger, Dune, or Ancillary Justice, you’ll probably dig this novella. The Warrior Within combines many Western and SF tropes into something wholly new that looks at what a post-human society might look like. I liked that the story wasn’t bogged down by exposition but rather Mcintyre gives us just enough information. An excellent debut.

Looking forward to seeing what Mcintyre might write next. show less

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