Miss Archer, by Jordan Harrison

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Miss Archer, by Jordan Harrison, is an intriguing dystopian novel set sometime in the future when human beings are in rapid decline after being taken over by a mysterious entity. This reader assumed that this was a timely cautionary tale about the rise of AI, though that is never explicitly revealed.

We meet a young woman named Dre Archer, born in an area known simply as The Squares, where life is poor and pointless. She and her generation have grown up with the knowledge that they are the last of the human beings. The girls have all been sterilized, everyone wears clothes handed down from previous generations, and for entertainment, they have old books and old movies. 

One day, Dre is offered the opportunity to change her life and improve the lives of her family members by accepting a mysterious job in service of the unknown beings in power. Dre's life does indeed change: her challenges, discoveries, and adventures in pursuit of this mysterious new undertaking are riveting and thought-provoking. 

Without giving away too much, this novel wants to remind us about the rich languages and cultures that humans have both created and destroyed, and the idea that we are more than the facts and artifacts that get left behind. Even if an advanced technology can recreate the DNA of humankind's greatest geniuses, nuance and creativity will be lost, were humans to be deemed completely superfluous.

 This was an engaging and captivating read. Dre Archer is a very likable and intelligent character, and her actions and feelings seem real. The ending is suitably uncertain and compelling. I would certainly recommend Jordan Harrison's debut to anyone interested in speculative and dystopian stories. 

Thank you to Netgalley and William Morrow for providing me this experience, in exchange for an honest review. 



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