Defekt

January 11, 2021
Cipri returns to the IKEA stand-in LitenVärld (first visited in 2020’s Finna) to deliver a delightful middle finger to capitalism and conformity. Otherworldly incursions are a common occurrence at LitenVärld, but as a member of the store’s new Special Exempt Employee program, Derek takes the supernatural in stride. He also lives in a shipping container in the parking lot, has no interests outside of LitenVärld, and doesn’t understand why people find him unsettling. When he coughs up blood from a new mouth that appears at the base of his throat, he takes his first ever sick day—and the next day, Corporate reassigns him to an overnight shift and tasks him with quelling any sentient furniture that might have popped up through the store’s latest wormhole. Then things get weirder: the team Derek’s supposed to be working with is entirely composed of alternate versions of himself. As Derek unravels LitenVärld’s secrets, he slowly figures out who he is beyond Employee of the Month. Though the story wraps up too quickly, the characters and atmosphere are expertly handled. Fans of Finna and new readers alike will be won over by this empathetic, anti-capitalist romp. Agent: DongWon Song, Howard Morhaim Literary.

May 7, 2021

Cipri's follow-up to last year's Finna takes place in parallel with that first story in the LitenVerse series. While Finna followed the adventures of Jules and Ava as they chased a wayward customer through the multiverse of LitenV�rld (TM) stores, Defekt follows the misadventures of "Special Exempt Employee" Derek as he joins the inventory crew and learns that his entire life has been a lie. He discovers that he's just one of a batch of misfit LitenV�rld(TM) clones, who were built to be perfect employees but have turned out to be perfect failures, only good for finding other failures and eradicating them. But those "irregular" parts are all facets of Derek, and through interacting with them, he learns who he might be--and what he has a chance to save. VERDICT This book isn't a wild adventure like its predecessor's romp through the multiverse. Instead, it's filled with subtle joys and quiet horrors, as Derek discovers not just who he is but who he might be, through his relationship with the other clones. This extremely quirky genre-blending story, with its middle finger aimed squarely at big corporations and profit-at-any-cost capitalism, will appeal to fans of Cory Doctorow or anyone who loved Grady Hendrix's Horrorst�r.--Marlene Harris, Reading Reality, LLC, Duluth, GA

Copyright 2021 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from February 1, 2021
This follow-up to 2020's Finna follows Derek, coworker of Ava and Jules and seemingly the perfect corporate employee at the dimension-spanning LitenV�rld furniture store. While incredibly loyal and hardworking, one day Derek wakes up to discover a strange pain in his throat, takes his very first sick day, and finds his entire life and world turned upside down. Assigned to work the overnight ""inventory"" shift, Derek discovers that the inventory staff not only have to hunt sentient ""defective"" furniture, but are also all alternate versions of him (or her, or them). As Derek is torn between his first-ever feelings of connection and belonging to a team and his deep empathy for the ""defects,"" he will end up changing not only the lives of his alternate selves but also the status quo of this ruthlessly capitalist, wormhole-ridden furniture chain. Expanding on the universe of their previous novella, Cipri continues to mix queer characters and anti-capitalist themes with energetic, bouncy prose. Highly recommended for readers looking for sf with queer protagonists, or who are interested in a short but exciting trip through some dimension-defying showrooms.

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