THE SEVENTH PERFECTION

Years ago, the artist Laqip, the student Amata, and the soldier Kiri led a revolution all the way up the Spire, where Kiri toppled the Divine Empress and took her place as the God King Ba‘l Melqart; his beloved companions never returned. Today, a young woman named Manet serves the God King as an Amanuensis, having successfully achieved the seven perfections of body and mind. When someone sends her a locket bearing the image of an unknown woman, Manet puts all her considerable skills to bear in pursuit of the woman’s identity, aggressively questioning a variety of people at all levels of society, from brothel guard to fortuneteller to religious authority, leaving a trail of blood (her own and others’) behind her as she learns new truths about Kiri, Amata, and Laqip…and herself. The use of second person seems to have become a more popular choice for SF/fantasy writers in recent years, and Polansky wields it expertly here, with all the different characters addressing themselves directly to Manet. Since we never hear Manet’s thoughts or what she says (except in one section), we are forced to figure out who she is and what her goals are based on what the other characters say and how they respond to her. She is a protagonist-shaped point of focus around which the story forms, an open window through which readers can observe every conversation and monologue, accreting knowledge as they are directed to a seemingly inevitable conclusion.

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