Exiles’ Escape
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About The Book
Malila is dead by her own hand—at least, that is what she hopes General Jourdaine and the entire Unity will believe. Middle-aged eighteen-year-old Malila Chiu has no choice but to escape her homeland. Making common cause with the strange subterranean workers of the beltways, Malila perseveres toward freedom in the Scorched fields of America. Nearly naked, with no friends, no resources and only a scant idea of the route, Malila’s only real information comes from time in the outlands. While a captive of the old, harsh-and-tender-by-turns Jesse Johnstone, Malila learned of the lies told her by her homeland and the truths shown her by the arrogant and contradictory Jesse. She thinks she may love him. If only he were not so strange . . . Pursuing Malila and becoming more obsessed with each failure, Jourdaine moves closer at each turn. Jesse, once again the target for assassination from old enemies, escapes to the skies, using a huge new American R-ship, the Illinois, in his own attempt to find Malila. Spies, subterranean poet-socialists, virtual entities, interfaces, and people—both good and bad—wrestle the Fates for survival and supremacy in a twenty-second-century America.
About The Author
The first three books of Old Men and Infidels (Book 3, Malila of the Scorch Nov 2019 Indigo River Publishing) comprise a single story arc against the backdrop of an old and a young nations of what was once the USA. The political machinations are secondary to the demographics. Young counties make one kind of mistake, old countries another. Books 4 (The Silence and the Gods) and Book 5 (W/T Unity Rising) “use up” the rest of the New American world, at least as much as I am likely to be able to write about.
Product Details
- Publisher : Indigo River Publishing (February 6, 2018)
- Language : English
- Paperback : 366 pages
- ISBN-10 : 1948080001
- ISBN-13 : 978-1948080002
- Item Weight : 1.19 pounds
- Dimensions : 6 x 0.92 x 9 inches
Reviews
Young warriors fight a repressive government in this dystopian vision of America.
Boutwell’s (Outland Exile, 2015) sequel, which begins immediately after the events of his debut, plunges readers back into the high-stakes fight between the Democratic Unity of America and the Restructured States of America, two nations that emerged following the collapse of the U.S. in 2051. Seventy-five years after the great war, tensions between the two countries are increasing. Seventeen-year-old Unity soldier Malila Chiu has faked her death and is on the run from her commander, Eustace Jourdaine, who’s engineering a coup that will put him in charge of the nation. At the same time, the Restructured States have sent Will Butler to spy on the Unity and gather secrets from The CORE, its vast computer network. Malila’s childhood friend Hecate Hester Jones is also fleeing the Unity, hoping to make it across the Scorch, a lawless borderland filled with sentient plants. Meanwhile, wizened warrior Jesse Johnstone is on his own mission for the Restructured States even as he fends off assassination attempts. If all this sounds a little confusing, it is, at least at first. … Boutwell is a masterful worldbuilder, packing his gripping tale full of rich, creative details that should thrill genre fans, from the shadowy, anonymous Solons, who rule the Unity, to a race of subterranean tunnel dwellers whose society is…. like a union with rituals involving the recitation of poetry (the novel is dense with literary references). The sci-fi trappings should draw readers in, but Boutwell’s sharp writing will keep them turning the page. When he describes a voice as “old and cracking as if taken out of a box just for this occasion,” he proves he can make even quieter moments come alive.
A vividly imagined sci-fi epic.—Kirkus Reviews
Boutwell’s world is distinct and imaginative, depicting an (ideologically fractured) future America…. The dilemmas faced by the characters are relatable… (and)… build toward an exciting climax. It works as a standalone story and … (should also)…satisfy fans of Outland Exile. Carefully-plotted and suspenseful, Exile’s Escape offers … (a) thought-provoking vision of the future.–Blue Ink Review
The book deals with a complex and intricate storyline with a diverse cast of characters. While it is the continuation of a series, I read it without having read the first book and was largely able to follow along … My favourite part of this book was the intricate and complex storyline that was being woven. The truly impressive part is that while the narrative was elaborate, at no point was I confused by it. It is a fine line between reading a puzzler and just being puzzled but this book managed to keep my interest throughout.
In addition, I was also very impressed with the novelty of the sci-fi elements of this story. …(The) way of representing the world of information as well as the manner in which it is described was extremely entertaining and thought-provoking.
I would recommend this book to people who love a good sci-fi story that is set in an interesting world…