World Running Down by Al Hess has everything that one could want in a book. Apparently, as a reader, I want adventure, artificial intelligence, androids and LGBT+ romance in a post-apocalyptic world.
Even in my dreams, I don’t get all of that. In my dream last night, my dream-friends and I were trying to fly to Minnesota. However, I didn’t have the correct ID and would miss the flight.
In a similar fashion, our sweet transgender hero, Valentine, is trying to get money together to get citizenship in Salt Lake City. If Valentine becomes a citizen, he will be able to continue transitioning for free. Since he is a scavenger out in the wasteland of Utah, it’s not so easy to raise the money.
One day, Valentine and his partner, Ace, come across a handsome android, Osric, who was not always in a body. He was AI, but more like Alexa. This is his first time in a body. Thankfully, Valentine helps Osric to adjust and they form a special bond. Could it be love? Please, please, please be love and romance!
Osric has come out to the wasteland to deliver a message to Valentine and Ace. A wealthy client would like to pay the scavengers a ton of money and citizenship to retrieve their lost merchandise. They find out soon enough that the merchandise is a group of androids used for an escort service. The other problem is that the androids are becoming sentient and do not want to work as escorts.
So how will Valentine, Ace and Osric deal with the weird wealthy clients? Valentine sees his dreams of transitioning falling to the wayside. However, he is a good human and doesn’t want to exchange his morals for a dream.
If you are looking for a great transgender science fiction book, then look no further than World Running Down. I have also included artwork from the author, Al Hess. Hess is a brilliant artist as well as a brilliant author.
I suppose if you are like horrible humans like the jerkface clients, then you won’t enjoy the romance between two unlikely heroes as much as I did. Please stop being horrible so that you can enjoy this book. I wouldn’t want you to miss the good vibes.
- I received this ebook from NetGalley. This is my honest review. All opinions are my own. Obviously.
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