In the Watchful City was another impulse borrow at the library. This harder sort of sci-fi is more up my partner’s alley than mine. After they read it, they had nothing but praise, so I read it too.

The future may seem lush with life, but the lushness hides sinister lies. The city-state of Ora maintains tight control over its citizens by having its police hook up to “the Gleaming.” This biological network can sense when citizens are about to commit a crime and alerts the police. The police officer then connects bodily to the Gleaming and can use the network to possess animals. Think Minority Report with a gooey plant people jar. I found it a bit of a plot hole how animals are supposed to arrest people. In any case, the lonely new recruit Anima begins to question this form of crime-prevention when a mysterious traveler named Vessel offers to tell aer the stories behind the objects in ser cabinet of curiosities.

With this set up, In the Watchful City gifts the reader a compelling frame narrative around a series of short stories. Qiouyi’s prose is drop dead gorgeous. The biocyberpunk aesthetic is on point. Many characters use neo-pronouns, and it dawned on me that pronouns can be as personal as a name. My only quibbles are personal ones. While In the Watchful City isn’t grimdark, the novella comes to some quite depressing conclusions. Living in 2022 as I do, the relentless grief bored me. On the other hand, I read the back matter, and I think In the Watchful City was the novella Qiouyi needed to write.

Even if hard science fiction isn’t your thing, I recommend dipping your toes in In the Watchful City. It’s a beautiful tribute to language, life, and unspent love.