Content levels
Trigger warnings
Positive tags
Heroine archetypes
Protagonist archetypes
Themes
Synopsis
When Julia Hernandez leaves her husband, shoots a real estate developer, and then vanishes without a trace, she slips out of the world she knew and into the Simulacrum?a place where human history is both guided and thwarted by the conflict between a species of anarchist wasps and a collective of hyperintelligent spiders. When Julia's ex-husband Raymond spots her in a grocery store he doesn't usually patronize, he's soon drawn into an underworld of radical political gestures where Julia is the new media sensation of both this world and the Simulacrum. Told ultimately from the collective point of view of another species, this allegorical novel plays with the elements of the Simulacrum apparent in real life?media reports, business speak, blog entries, text messages, psychological-evaluation forms, and the lies lovers tell one another?and poses a fascinating idea that displaces human beings from the center of the universe and makes them simply the pawns of two warring species.
Sensation: content & age rating
Intended for adult readers (18+).
This allegorical fantasy contains violence (shooting of a real estate developer), political radicalism, and complex philosophical themes about humanity's place in the universe as pawns of warring species. The narrative structure is experimental and challenging.
What to know going in
This book has moderate violence, mild sexual content, and moderate language. Content notes include murder, violence, and manipulation (see the full list above).
Who'll love this
Adult readers who enjoy mind-bending philosophical science fiction will appreciate the unique perspective of non-human narrators controlling human events.