House Immortal

Eleven color-coded Houses control the technology and resources of Earth. The 12th House, House Brown, is democratic but has little real power. Many people find freedom only by living hidden from the Houses’ movers and shakers. Matilda Case has spent her life on an isolated farm, carefully avoiding notice, but all that is for naught when a bleeding Abraham Seventh appears at her door. Abraham is one of the galvanized—a group of 12 immortals created centuries ago—and Matilda appears to also be galvanized, even though she’s not one of the 12. The secret of Matilda’s origins makes her a treasure beyond compare, and it also makes her the key to megalomaniac Slater Orange’s plan to rule the world forever. Monk’s corporatist feudal future is painted in broad strokes, and while the technology that drives the plot is uninhibited by any sort of plausibility, the melodramatic story moves with such energy that readers will be inclined to forgive its slip-ups. Like Monk’s Allie Beckstrom, Matilda has the misfortune to be sought after by powerful, immoral men; she has been dealt a no-win hand, and the entertainment is in watching how she plays it out. [em](Sept.) [/em]