by Nisi Shawl
First published 2016
The source describes this as an anthology rather than providing specific protagonist details, so I'll work with the technological themes and human transformation elements present. Multiple characters across these tales confront the merger of biology and technology. Genetic modifications reshape bodies while neural implants rewire minds. Hackers fight corporate control as nanotechnology spreads through bloodstreams. Each story examines how cybernetics, neuroscience, and transhumanism challenge what it means to be human. Characters face choices between enhancement and authenticity, connection and control. The collection captures humanity at a crossroads, where technological evolution threatens to leave Homo sapiens behind or transform the species entirely. These futures feel immediate because the science already exists in laboratories and server farms today.
Genres: science-fiction, cyberpunk
Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: choice-and-authenticity, found-family
Period: 21st-Century
250 pages · Paperback · Hex Publishers
Content warnings: body-horror, medical-trauma