Last year I had the privilege of hearing Mur Lafferty read from her novella, Marco and the Red Granny. The reading hooked me, but at the time, the novella was still unpublished. I have to say, it was worth the wait.
Marco and the Red Granny is a fast-paced story set in a future where an alien race, the Li Jun, have become the driving force behind human art forms. The Li Jun have seven senses rather than the standard five and are able to combine human art forms in ways that twist the mind. They have a colony on the moon where they live and provide patronage to chosen talented artists.
Marco is a graphic artist who thought he had been passed by. His agent thought so too, but within hours of withdrawing representation, she ended up relaying to Marco a Li Jun offer of patronage. Marco believes his ship has come in and catches the next flight to the Moon. On the journey, he meets Heather, the Red Granny, the champion of a death-match reality show created and sponsored by the Li Jun. She doesn’t look like much of a killer to Marco.
The old adage about things looking too good to be true applies. Marco soon makes this realization and realizes the stakes are higher than he could have imagined.
The story that follows moves quickly with sharp turns, and the ending felt just right. The world building is comprehensive enough to give the depth to the story and make me curious to learn more. Marco and the Red Granny was a lot of fun to read and a bargain for the price.
Marco and the Red Granny is available from Amazon in Kindle format:
It’s also available in audio from Podiobook.com.
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