The Actuality

Book excerpt: Fear makes her human . . . “The Actuality is smart, literary science fiction.” —Infinite Speculation She belongs to me. Property rights will prevail . . . Evie is a near-perfect bioengineered human. In a broken-down future where her kind has been outlawed, her ‘husband’, Matthew, keeps her safely hidden. But when Evie’s existence is revealed, she must take her chances on the dark and hostile streets, where more than one predator is on the hunt . . . “Written with flair and humanity . . . mesmerizing.” —The Times (London) “Exquisite. . . . Not since Philip K. Dick’s Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? have I felt so strongly about where artificial intelligence might lead us. Highly recommended.” —Christina Dalcher, author of Vox “Engaging, fast-moving and surprising . . . gives familiar science fiction themes a fresh and compassionate look, and makes of them something new.” —Ken MacLeod, BSFA Award–winning author of the Lightspeed Trilogy