Book Review – The Last Contract of Isako by Fonda Lee

I don’t think I’ve ever seen a book execute on it’s genre without being beholden to its trappings as well as The Last Contract of Isako.

This is a samurai story through and through, with the author describing it as a “science fiction cyberpunk thriller starring aging corporate samurai“, but other than a couple of terms, it uses none of the language or trappings you’d associate with a samurai story. The world of this novel is immediately evocative of feudal Japan, highly structured by clan and caste, ruled by directors with clearly defined holdings answering to a cloistered executive. There is ritualized suicide, firearms are forbidden, and the Contractors who enforce the will of the rulers abide by a strict code of conduct. Yet at no point does this feel like a society aping feudal Japan in space, with all of the genre hallmarks instead clearly flowing from the unique circumstances of a corporate colony on a desolate and inhospitable planet. That by itself is a remarkable achievement, though hardly surprising from a writer as skilled as Lee, whose Green Bone Saga likewise executed it’s take on martial arts crime drama in a way that was both clearly appreciative of the genre while still feeling unique. Far too often SFF stories playing with genres with their roots in the real world simply use the language a trapping of the real world with little to no explanation, and it stands out a lot when a writer both cares enough to develop a unique spin on those genre trappings and has the skill to do so.

This world building pulls double duty. As much as the corporate feudalism of Aquilo is evocative of feudal Japan, it is also eerily recognizable as a society that real world corporate oligarchs seem to be working towards. This is a world where participation in society is contingent on employment, where the wealthy cannot only flaunt the rules that the poor need to abide by but transcend humanity itself to cling onto their power and wealth, and dispatch private military’s to carry out their bidding all things that Silicon Valley elites seem determined to bring into reality. That doesn’t necessarily standout in a cyberpunk novel, but the framing made it stand out a lot more to me than I think it would have otherwise.

Don’t let my praise of the worldbuilding distract from the meat of things. This is also a fantastic story, a gripping mystery with twists genuinely shocked me. Things move briskly, but with plenty of time given to the thoughts and feelings of the characters. As the story progresses Isako’s inner conflict about her duty to Client Service, and the weight of the life she has lived is palpable and the counterpoint provided by other characters underscores this beautifully. This might be my favorite book I’ve read this year and if you enjoy any of the genres this is riffing on, or just a really well done mystery it is absolutely worth your time.