Blackfish City

Paperback, 336 pages

English language

Published Oct. 2, 2018 by Ecco.

ISBN:: 978-0-06-268487-5
OCLC Number:: 1083307281
ASIN:: 0062684876
Goodreads:: 37880092

(1 review)

After the climate wars, a floating city is constructed in the Arctic Circle, a remarkable feat of mechanical and social engineering, complete with geothermal heating and sustainable energy. The city’s denizens have become accustomed to a roughshod new way of living, however, the city is starting to fray along the edges—crime and corruption have set in, the contradictions of incredible wealth alongside direst poverty are spawning unrest, and a new disease called “the breaks” is ravaging the population.

When a strange new visitor arrives—a woman riding an orca, with a polar bear at her side—the city is entranced. The “orcamancer,” as she’s known, very subtly brings together four people—each living on the periphery—to stage unprecedented acts of resistance. By banding together to save their city before it crumbles under the weight of its own decay, they will learn shocking truths about themselves.

Blackfish City is a remarkably urgent—and ultimately very …

After the climate wars, a floating city is constructed in the Arctic Circle, a remarkable feat of mechanical and social engineering, complete with geothermal heating and sustainable energy. The city’s denizens have become accustomed to a roughshod new way of living, however, the city is starting to fray along the edges—crime and corruption have set in, the contradictions of incredible wealth alongside direst poverty are spawning unrest, and a new disease called “the breaks” is ravaging the population.

When a strange new visitor arrives—a woman riding an orca, with a polar bear at her side—the city is entranced. The “orcamancer,” as she’s known, very subtly brings together four people—each living on the periphery—to stage unprecedented acts of resistance. By banding together to save their city before it crumbles under the weight of its own decay, they will learn shocking truths about themselves.

Blackfish City is a remarkably urgent—and ultimately very hopeful—novel about political corruption, organized crime, technology run amok, the consequences of climate change, gender identity, and the unifying power of human connection.

6 editions

Sally Strange reviewed Blackfish City by Sam J. Miller

Aquatic cyberpunk, queer love, indigenous family, and real estate.

5 stars

It's not a mystery; when people are killed, we know who killed them. When city dwellers protest the housing shortages, it's obvious that the city's ruling cabal of machines and rich people are responsible. Grief for lost worlds, cultures, cities, and people is built into the premise and violence is omnipresent; this rings true as our current reality and foreshadowed future. Thus, it was a delightful wonder to be surprised by two things: first, the sincerity of the family love among the characters who sought to find and save their loved ones, and second, how seamless and artful was the build towards the final act.

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