Once again, I veered off my TBR for an impulse read, and once again I was rewarded with a fun book. This bodes poorly for my self-discipline, but at least I am having a good time. Anyway, if you’re looking for a thriller with comfort elements that feels kind of like a contemporary science-fiction version of John Wiswell’s Someone You Can Build a Nest In, combined with a mystery/thriller by Carl Hiassen or Andrew Mayne, then I recommend indulging in The Death and Birth of Iliana Marek, by David Liss. There are some intriguing issues of memory, identity, trust, and personhood here, with past trauma and current danger, but it’s still a pretty breezy and highly entertaining read.
I’ve never read anything by David Liss, although his Wikipedia entry says he writes mostly historical mysteries, which is one of my jams. But the description of TDaBoIM caught my attention, and the blurbs fanned the flame, and then I saw that the book was coming from Tachyon Press. I’ve read and reviewed several books from Tachyon in the last few years, and enjoyed all of them, for widely varying reasons: The Unbalancing, by R.B. Lemberg; One Level Down, by Mary G. Thompson; The Adventures of Mary Darling, by Pat Murphy; The Essential Patricia A. McKillip; Rabbit Test and Other Stories, by Samantha Mills; and Precious Children, by Mary G. Thompson. Tachyon invariably rewards my investment of time with engaging characters and interesting stories. (My Skiffy and Fanty colleague Daniel Haeusser also really liked Audition for the Fox, by Martin Cahill.)
Here’s the description, from Liss’ website:
Who is Iliana Marek? Is she the bully who alongside her foster father police chief Bryce Hillard, controls and terrorizes Tylor, Florida? Or is she the reborn guardian angel of Dan Gibson, a social pariah responsible for the suicide of Faye Kristic, a death which he cannot remember ten years later.
Events in the prologue give considerable clues to the reader about what’s going on with Iliana. But Dan, unaware of that, is considerably confused, and even believes for a while that he has hallucinated a fateful meeting with Iliana. His assumption is fairly natural, given that incredible and apparently illogical experience, and the fact that he had just started a psychoactive medication with hallucinatory side effects. Since high school, he’s been seeing a psychiatrist (originally mandated by a court), who has helped him to take responsibility for the suicide of a classmate who had been stalking him, whom he had mocked on social media (although he can’t remember doing so). His life is going nowhere, or maybe from bad to worse, but at least he understands himself.
Or does he? Iliana insists on inserting herself into his life, because she’s a changed woman, and her explanations start to upend everything he’s believed since high school. Somehow, past and current events are spinning out of control; meanwhile, Iliana comes to believe it’s all connected with a sex-pervert tech genius who had disappeared, around when Faye died.
Dan really just wants to keep his head down and keep plodding through what remains of his life, but Iliana forces him out of his comfort zone, because she needs his help, and she says she likes him. He doesn’t have many friends or allies, and she doesn’t have any, just partners in former crimes. So they end up working together, and Dan starts to realize some really surprising things.
Dan’s side of the story is told in first person past tense, and Iliana’s is told in third person past. Meanwhile, the narrative chapters are interspersed with fragments of interviews and conversations on news programs, podcasts and other media, mostly castigating Dan’s actions but sometimes casting lights on various aspects of their investigations. These help to explain why Dan is so down on himself, but also highlight both how unfairly mainstream media and social media can treat people and also how sometimes things can come to light that wouldn’t otherwise.
The cast of secondary characters helps keep things interesting, from Dan’s awful parents and his somewhat exploitative boss, to his best friend Benito, to various corrupt small-town Florida cops, to an investigative reporter, to various other morally gray people. Some are just evil, and some just want money, but others are more complicated, and it’s interesting watching Dan and Iliana figure them out.
I really enjoyed seeing how Dan’s confusion and Iliana’s needs evolve into trust and friendship, despite some continuing questions, without any sexual attraction or tension between them. They just work as partners and make allowances for each other’s oddities and flaws. Iliana is sort of a scary science-based superhero, or maybe a super-vigilante who happens to be on Dan’s side; meanwhile, Dan helps Iliana navigate some social issues of her own, including acting as a restraining influence on her. Together, they manage to figure out the mysteries of Dan’s life.
Iliana’s true (technological?) origin and future still present plenty of questions, but enough is explained to satisfy me. if not her. I can easily see how there could be sequels to this book, but it doesn’t leave me hanging. Dan’s future is obviously going to be a lot brighter than his past, and he and Iliana are good enough people that I am cheering for them both by the end. So, if you’re looking for an exciting and ultimately happy diversion, with some violence and vengeance, I recommend this book.
The Death and Birth of Iliana Marek, by David Liss, will be published on Oct. 13.
Content warnings: Body horror, kidnapping, killings, sexual abuse, police corruption, stalking, dubious media and social media, gaslighting.
Disclaimer: I received a free eARC for review from the publisher via NetGalley.
