by Yoss
From beloved Cuban science fiction author Yoss comes a bitingly funny space-opera homage to Raymond Chandler, about a positronic robot detective on the hunt for some extra-dangerous extraterrestrial criminals.
On the intergalactic trading station William S. Burroughs, profit is king and aliens are the kingmakers. Earthlings have bowed to their superior power and weaponry, though the aliens—praying-mantis-like Grodos with pheromonal speech and gargantuan Collosaurs with a limited sense of humor—kindly allow them to do business through properly controlled channels.
That's where our hero comes in, name of Raymond. As part of the android police force, this positronic robot detective navigates both worlds, human and alien, keeping order and evaporating wrongdoers. But nothing in his centuries of experience prepares him for Makrow 34, a fugitive Cetian perp with psi powers. Meaning he can alter the shape of the Gaussian bell curve of statistical probability—making it rain indoors, say, or causing a would-be captor to shoot himself in the face. Raymond will need all his training—and all his careful study of Chandler's hardbitten cops—to outmaneuver his quarry.
As he did in his brilliantly funny and sharp science-fiction satires A Planet for Rent, Super Extra Grande, and Condomnauts, Yoss makes the familiar strange and the strange familiar in Red Dust, giving us an unforgettable half-human hero and a richly imagined universe where the bad guys are above the laws of physics.
PRAISE FOR A PLANET FOR RENT
"A Planet for Rent is the English-language debut of Yoss, one of Cuba's most lauded writers of science fiction. Translated by David Frye, these linked stories craft a picture of a dystopian future: Aliens called xenoids have invaded planet Earth, and people are looking to flee the economically and socially bankrupt remains of human civilization. Yoss' smart and entertaining novel tackles themes like prostitution, immigration and political corruption. Ultimately, it serves as an empathetic yet impassioned metaphor for modern-day Cuba, where the struggle for power has complicated every facet of society."
—Juan Vidal, NPR, Best Books of 2015
"In prose that is direct, sarcastic, sexual and often violent, A Planet for Rent criticizes Cuban reality in thinly veiled terms. Cuban defectors leave the country not on rafts but on 'unlawful space launches'; prostitutes are 'social workers'; foreigners are 'xenoids'; and Cuba is a "planet whose inhabitants have stopped believing in the future." The book is particularly critical of the government-run tourism industry of the '90s, which welcomed and protected tourists—often at the expense of Cubans—and whose legacy can still be felt today."
—Jonathan Wolfe, The New York Times
"Some of the best sci-fi written anywhere since the 1970s.... A Planet for Rent, like its author, a bandana-wearing, muscly roquero, is completely sui generis: riotously funny, scathing, perceptive, and yet also heart-wrenchingly compassionate.... Instantly appealing."
—André Naffis-Sahely, The Nation
"This hilarious and imaginative novel by Cuba's premiere science-fiction writer gets my vote for most overlooked novel of the year. Yoss's book imagines a world where Earth is run as a tourist destination by capitalist aliens who have little regard for the planet or its inhabitants. A Planet for Rent is a perfect SF satire for our era of massive inequality and seemingly unchecked environmental destruction."
...From beloved Cuban science fiction author Yoss comes a bitingly funny space-opera homage to Raymond Chandler, about a positronic robot detective on the hunt for some extra-dangerous extraterrestrial criminals.
On the intergalactic trading station William S. Burroughs, profit is king and aliens are the kingmakers. Earthlings have bowed to their superior power and weaponry, though the aliens—praying-mantis-like Grodos with pheromonal speech and gargantuan Collosaurs with a limited sense of humor—kindly allow them to do business through properly controlled channels.
That's where our hero comes in, name of Raymond. As part of the android police force, this positronic robot detective navigates both worlds, human and alien, keeping order and evaporating wrongdoers. But nothing in his centuries of experience prepares him for Makrow 34, a fugitive Cetian perp with psi powers. Meaning he can alter the shape of the Gaussian bell curve of statistical probability—making it rain indoors, say, or causing a would-be captor to shoot himself in the face. Raymond will need all his training—and all his careful study of Chandler's hardbitten cops—to outmaneuver his quarry.
As he did in his brilliantly funny and sharp science-fiction satires A Planet for Rent, Super Extra Grande, and Condomnauts, Yoss makes the familiar strange and the strange familiar in Red Dust, giving us an unforgettable half-human hero and a richly imagined universe where the bad guys are above the laws of physics.
PRAISE FOR A PLANET FOR RENT
"A Planet for Rent is the English-language debut of Yoss, one of Cuba's most lauded writers of science fiction. Translated by David Frye, these linked stories craft a picture of a dystopian future: Aliens called xenoids have invaded planet Earth, and people are looking to flee the economically and socially bankrupt remains of human civilization. Yoss' smart and entertaining novel tackles themes like prostitution, immigration and political corruption. Ultimately, it serves as an empathetic yet impassioned metaphor for modern-day Cuba, where the struggle for power has complicated every facet of society."
—Juan Vidal, NPR, Best Books of 2015
"In prose that is direct, sarcastic, sexual and often violent, A Planet for Rent criticizes Cuban reality in thinly veiled terms. Cuban defectors leave the country not on rafts but on 'unlawful space launches'; prostitutes are 'social workers'; foreigners are 'xenoids'; and Cuba is a "planet whose inhabitants have stopped believing in the future." The book is particularly critical of the government-run tourism industry of the '90s, which welcomed and protected tourists—often at the expense of Cubans—and whose legacy can still be felt today."
—Jonathan Wolfe, The New York Times
"Some of the best sci-fi written anywhere since the 1970s.... A Planet for Rent, like its author, a bandana-wearing, muscly roquero, is completely sui generis: riotously funny, scathing, perceptive, and yet also heart-wrenchingly compassionate.... Instantly appealing."
—André Naffis-Sahely, The Nation
"This hilarious and imaginative novel by Cuba's premiere science-fiction writer gets my vote for most overlooked novel of the year. Yoss's book imagines a world where Earth is run as a tourist destination by capitalist aliens who have little regard for the planet or its inhabitants. A Planet for Rent is a perfect SF satire for our era of massive inequality and seemingly unchecked environmental destruction."
...Reviews-
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May 18, 2020
Cuban author Yoss (Condomnauts) brings a hard-boiled noir aesthetic to this uproarious space opera about a wisecracking, Raymond Chandler–loving robot detective. Raymond, an android cop on the Galactic Trade Confederation outpost William S. Burroughs, is tasked with capturing an alien fugitive, Makrow 34, whose psychic power to scramble the laws of probability makes him particularly dangerous. Inspired by the film 48 Hours, Raymond recruits criminal Vasily Fernández, a human imprisoned for the illegal use of the same ability as Makrow, to help track down the alien. Vasily uses his connection to a Romani crime lord to help Raymond hunt for clues, leading to an ill-planned showdown at an asteroid hideout that the two only escape thanks to Vasily’s physics-defying mental skill. Yoss plays the mix of sci-fi and square-jawed detective fiction for some big laughs while layering in loving allusions to the greats of both genres. Though the mile a minute plot briefly stalls for some late-night philosophizing between the heroes, it regains its footing and barrels into a cinematic shoot-out of a finale, complete with bullets, blasters, and samurai swords. This is good fun. -
May 1, 2020
Cuban sf writer Yoss adds a dash of detective noir to his latest space opera. Set on an intergalactic trading post wryly named William S. Burroughs, this tale is narrated by Raymond, a robot clothed in a trench coat and fedora, a futuristic homage to detective-fiction great Raymond Chandler. The trading post robots were created to enforce the law and to handle customs among the three races who control intergalactic trading: Colossaurs are hulking, armadillo-like beings; Grodos are insect-like creatures that communicate via pheromones; and Cetians are aliens that closely resemble humans, but live for thousands of years. Humans still exist, but they are mostly small-time purveyors who trade Earth materials for sophisticated extraterrestrial technology. Making money is paramount and violence is to be expected in such high-stakes commerce, but no one is prepared to encounter a mysterious Cetian who possesses unusual powers. Raymond is tasked with subduing the rogue alien with whatever means necessary. Yoss has created inventive and dimensional characters within a meticulously orchestrated, richly detailed, world-building mystery that will appeal to Terry Pratchett fans.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2020, American Library Association.) -
June 15, 2020
The latest novel by acclaimed Cuban writer Yoss is a quirky blend of science fiction and hard-boiled mystery that follows a robotic police officer as he attempts to catch an infamous criminal--and save humankind in the process. A thinly veiled homage to Raymond Chandler, the novel's main character is a humanoid robot named Raymond, after his favorite writer, whose main character he emulates by wearing a trench coat and broad-brimmed hat. A police officer working on the William S. Burroughs trading station--which orbits around Titan and is the only station in the solar system where humans can make intergalactic deals with aliens--Raymond finds his mundane existence turned upside down when a wanted alien escapes his bounty-hunter captors while on the station. The criminal, Makrow 34, has unparalleled psionic powers and kills another alien while fleeing. Raymond's bosses--the Galactic Trade Confederation--want the potentially volatile situation resolved as quickly as possible and tell the positronic police officer to apprehend Makrow 34 before he leaves the system. After asking himself "What Philip Marlowe would do," Raymond enlists the help of a human with similar psionic abilities who's currently imprisoned on the station, and together the unlikely duo set out on a highly dangerous escapade. The trench coat-wearing robotic detective makes for an appealing and at times comedic protagonist, and Yoss' clear and focused writing style keeps the reader turning pages throughout. But while the worldbuilding is exceptional in some parts (an independently owned space station held together by superglue and staples, for example), the characters never rise above two-dimensionality. The narrative, however, is action-packed--literally jumping from one adventure to another--and the conclusion's highly satisfying. No real thematic punch but a fast, furious, and genuinely fun read.COPYRIGHT(2020) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
