Divya, S. B. Runtime. Tor, 2016.
Runtime, an impressive debut novella that earned S. B. Divya a Hugo nomination, builds a Gibsonian corporate state in which success requires money. You need funds to become licensed to receive public services and even more to be educated and employed. Teenager Marmeg has real engineering chops, but her brothers need licenses, and she needs money to finance an education that will get her off the dole. Then as now, sports offer a marginal out. A marathon cyborg footrace across the Sierra Nevada range offers a chance for sponsorship and prize money. She cobbles together an exoskeleton and survival suit from parts scavenged out of dumpsters in rich neighborhoods. But she lacks the nanotech and implants that give her rivals the edge. The tech is fun, the race exciting, and the misery of urban poverty credible. 4 stars. ( )

Runtime by SB Divya is a science fiction novella and the author's debut book. I bought it from Tor.com a while ago but hadn't gotten around to reading it until now. What triggered my picking it up was reading an excellent short story by Divya, "Contingency Plans for the Apocalypse", which made me want to read more of her work. I am not actually sure whether that story and Runtime are set in the same future, since they're set in different parts of the US, but they could be.

This was an interesting read, a bit different to what I usually end up reading with the racing element. Marmeg comes from the lower echelons of society which means she has no rights to anything except US citizenship and voting. Other aspects of civilised society, such as healthcare and education, have to be earned, either by being born well-off or by working very hard to make enough money to buy these things. Marmeg's plan is to win a race, or at least place in the top five, and use the prize money to get herself an education and help her brothers. The race is over several miles of difficult terrain and to be competitive one has to augment their bodies. The rich racers can buy fancy augments, but Marmeg scrounged hers from bins and wrote custom software, which is her specialty.

There was a lot of front-loaded world building in this novella. It was interesting social world building for the near future US society, but was a little tricky to keep track of since I was quite tired when I started reading. As I got further in the novella, however, I got used to the new terminology and didn't feel like I had to be really paying super close attention to follow the story. Anyway, I don't think that's really a flaw of the novella so much as unfortunate timing on my part.

I enjoyed this novella, but I didn't love it as much as I loved "Contingency Plans for the Apocalypse", which unfortunately raised my expectations quite high and was a sort of similar kind of story (with a dystopian society). So while Runtime wasn't disappointing at all, it wasn't quite a five-star read either. I still highly recommend it to all fans of near-future SF, especially stories exploring the tribulations of the most disadvantaged people in society. I will definitely be keeping an eye out for other work by Divya.

4 / 5 stars

You can read more of my reviews on my blog. ( )

I really enjoyed this novella! I liked getting to know Marmeg and reading about her journey and the race. I liked the gender exploration and the new concepts of choosing to be gender neutral. The tech was also really cool. I enjoyed how Marmeg was able to get herself through her hardships and her quick thinking. I found the discussion about being natural vs modified very interesting but I wanted more from it. I was hoping for a bit more exploration on that front.

Overall, I really enjoyed this and look forward to more from this author. ( )

In a future where America’s class system is even more stratified, Marmeg Guinto is determined to run in the Minerva Sierra Challenge, a day-long race across the Sierra Nevada where all the contestants have cybernetic enhancements. But most of the contestants also have the newest gear and corporate sponsorships. Marmeg has none of these. She’s racing in the gear she savaged from rich people’s trash and with the money her mother wants her to use for a nursing program. Racing is her dream, and she’s pinning everything on it. The chance for a better life for her and her brothers depends on her winning the Minerva Sierra Challenge.

It’s not a great plan. She’s gambling a lot, when realistically her chances aren’t that good. Then again, who’s she hurting besides herself? It’s money she saved, and if she fails it’s all on her. The main issue was the roadblock I had in connecting with Marmeg. “Follow your dreams” is great in theory, but I’m too cynical to believe it. This is probably more of a “me” issue than a “book” issue.
Marmeg lives in a near future with technology obviously more advanced than ours. The rich are able to afford implants in their brains and other body parts to improve their abilities, creating another gap between classes. There’s also societal conflict over reliance on technology, evidenced by a mysterious bunch of transphobic mountain men Marmeg runs into during the race.

In this future, there’s a third gender, moots, who seem widely accepted (although not by everyone, as evidenced by the transphobic mountain men). Marmeg wants to “become” a moot… and that’s where I become concerned. Runtime seems to be conflating gender identity with physical bodies, as being a moot means having surgery to remove physical sex characteristics. If Marmeg doesn’t view herself as a man or a woman, why does she need surgery to start referring to herself as such? I don’t know, it just feels iffy to me. If anyone knows of reviews by nonbinary reviewers, I’d appreciate if they sent me links.

I think my main problem is that the plot felt so straight forward. There’s a few twists and developments, but it was just never that interesting.

Oh, and since I haven’t mentioned it, Runtime‘s a novella, not a full length novel. It’s short enough that I read it in a single evening. While it’s not a story I’m ever going to revisit, others may find more enjoyment in it than me.

Originally posted on The Illustrated Page. ( )