Ferrett Steinmetz
Angry Robot
September 6th, 2016
Aliyah Tsabo-Dawson just wants to be a 13 year old kid. Unfortunately, she’s a Videogamemancer, and her and her family are perpetually on the run from the government backed agency SMASH–an anti-‘mancer force that captures and enslaves rogue ‘mancers, turning them into Unimancers.
Aliyah convinces her parents to let her play soccer on team like a normal kid, so her father Paul Tsabo (a Bureacromancer wanted by SMASH) finds the perfect place for her to do it: a small town in Kentucky that’s just far enough away from a SMASH response team that they’ll be able to get away if Aliyah accidentally does any ‘mancy at a game.
At first, things seem to be going well–Aliyah makes some friends, and she shows up to her first game. Then, as she gets wrapped up in the game, her instincts kick in. The crowds begin chanting her name–her real name, not the fake one they gave on the paperwork–and the soccer ball lights up in a video game blaze as she kicks for a goal. In a panic, her flux–the consequences imposed by the universe that all ‘mancers must pay for doing impossible things–goes wild, and causes a broach in reality, one that Paul doesn’t have time to fix.
Fix is the third in the ‘Mancer series, and shows everything beginning to unravel. The characters are losing their grip, their relationship with the government becomes worse, both characters’ and readers’ assumptions get turned on their heads. Steinmetz reminds us that in any conflict, nothing is ever quite as cut and dry as it looks. Good guy and Bad guy are sometimes just a matter of perspective.
A beautiful conclusion to the series, we get to see Aliyah growing up and finally coming to understand who she is and who she wants to be. A tip for readers: Read through the thanks at the end of the book, there’s two additional scenes, much like those at the end of a movie, and they’re well worth finding.
JL Jamieson is a strange book nerd who writes technical documents by day, and book news, reviews, and other assorted opinions for you by night. She is working on her own fiction, and spends time making jewelry to sell at local conventions, as well as stalking the social media accounts of all your favorite writers.