Teaser

When a grisly murder shocks a peaceful gated community, fingers are soon pointed at the nearby criminal rehabilitation programme. The truth, however, is rarely so clear cut, as the investigation team soon discovers . . .

Review

The first time I encountered Amanda Bridgeman’s writing was in the Warhammer 40,000 anthology The Emperor’s Finest. Her story ‘Reconsecration’ was one of the high points, and I’m still holding out hope that she’ll return to the grim, dark future. In the meantime, however, it has taken me far too long to look into her original fiction. So today I’m heading beyond the Black Library to review The Subjugate.

I think I’ve harped on long enough about how well science fiction and crime stories work together, so all you need to know on that front is that The Subjugate is one of the best examples of the SF crime genre I’ve come across. It has all the best elements of a police procedural and pairs those up with some well-developed science fictional ideas

Anyone who watches cop shows will tell you that they hinge on the cops in question. Salvi and Mitch are the archetypal odd couple in this book. Co-workers who share an inevitable spark, but have very different personalities and approaches to the investigation. This aspect isn’t the most innovative in the world, but it doesn’t need to be. Salvi and Mitch each have their traumatic backgrounds to unpack, but this never feels like character arcs are padding out the investigation. Instead they are a complimentary layer of the narrative that enriches proceedings.

As a crime thriller, The Subjugate would be wonderful, but I’m here for the science fiction aspects of the case. Since this is an SF blog, there’s a good chance that’s why you’re here too. The Subjugate is set a few decades in the future, in a world that has been affected by both climate change and a technological crash. Still very much recognisable, but starting to diverge from our own reality. There are still cars, still trains, still trouble with security cameras and paperwork.

But there is also the ability to hack somebody’s brain. That’s where the book really shines. Among the murder suspects are the residents of a rehabilitation centre. Here, criminals are not simply housed, they are experimented on. The rough overview of this experimentation is that the subjects are dosed with chemicals and have their brains electronically tampered with in order to render them harmless. Naturally, these procedures are only performed on incredibly violent offenders. In terms of plot, the question is whether or not the subjugation process works, or if one of these seemingly rehabilitated offenders could yet be out there committing murders.

What really matters, however, is that Bridgeman doesn’t shy away from asking the hard questions. Even if it’s possible to rewire a criminal’s brain, what right do we have to actually do it? Is it worth preserving a life if you have destroyed the original personality? And once you have docile rehabilitated criminals, is forced labour really the best use for them? It is a very complicated issue that Bridgeman tackles in The Subjugate, and to the credit of both book and author, there are valid arguments made on all sides of the debate. Good science fiction should make you think, and that’s exactly what The Subjugate does. It’s a tricky moral issue that challenges assumptions, and that is exactly what science fiction needs to be.

One final aside is a personal anecdote about the cover of the book. I am sure the profile on the cover is facing in a different direction every time I look at that photo. Possibly the Mandela Effect in action. Possibly me overworked brain falling apart. Either way, let me know if this happens to you.

Bridgeman’s novel works as both crime and science fiction, and I know I’ll be checking out the sequels at the first chance I get. I suggest you do the same.

Book Stats

• Narrated by Lyssa Brown
• The Salvation Sequence (#1)
• First Published 2019
• Runtime 13 hrs 29 mins