Moxyland is set in South Africa, only a stone’s throw into the future, in a society where the difference between employment and unemployment can also be the difference between life and death; where the greatest punishment is to have your mobile phone disconnected.

Starting slowly, the novel introduces us to its four narrators: Kendra the retro photographer; Toby the vlogcaster; Tendeka the would-be revolutionary; and Lerato the corporate programmer. Telling their intertwined stories over the course of alternating chapters, they show us their world, and we get to watch with horrified fascination as they become slowly embroiled in a deadly conspiracy that none of them fully understands.

With her stripped prose and lack of superfluous description, Lauren Beukes gives us what we need to see the world through the characters’ eyes. They never feel the need to over-explain themselves, and each has a distinctive and recognizable voice. The pages whip by quickly, as the tension grows, and as readers, we’re only half a step ahead of the characters in piecing together the seriousness of what’s going on.

Lean, sharp, and tightly written, Moxyland keeps raising the stakes, from the opening chapter to the uncompromising finale. And with its electronic panopticon, it gives us a dystopia to rival 1984 or Stand On Zanzibar – a future horrifying for its very plausibility.

Moxyland is published by Angry Robot.

As a result of last week’s Mind Meld on SF Signal, I had a nice suprise in the post this morning. Because I mentioned that I really wanted to read Moxyland by Lauren Beukes,  those lovely people at Angry Robot Books have sent me a copy, plus an advance proof copy of King Maker by Maurice Broaddus.

Both books look good. The first is a “politically charged urban speculative thriller”, and the second a retelling of the Arthurian myth, set amongst the drug dealers and gangs on the streets of downtown Indianapolis.

When I’ve read them, I’ll post a review.

A few days ago, publisher Angry Robot ran a competition on Twitter. The challenge: to write a complete story featuring a robot in 140 characters or less. It sounded like fun, so I decided to have a crack at it…

Now, the results are up on their website, and my entry can be found under the “Best Tales of Gore” category.