The wild dead

I really love the layering of genres in this series. Blending police procedural and post-apocalypse sci-fi breathes new life into both. It also opens lots of room for world-building, character study, and philosophizing, in ways that don't seem overbearing.

One thing that really knocks me out is how Vaughn has constructed the most sympathetic oppressive regime I can imagine. While actively reading about Enid's police work in a fragile, painstakingly-rebuilt society, I found myself nodding along with the cultural and legal restrictions. It makes sense. It helps communities survive and even thrive. In the midst of a story where Enid regrets the loss of everything from refrigeration to photography in her quest for truth and justice, it's easy to allow for strict measures that preserve some modicum of post-industrial civilization.

But of course, the driving theme of the series is the draconian controls placed around reproduction, and the perverse incentives and downstream effects that can produce, along with the intended assurance that resources will support the population.

And naturally, that curves back into the larger setting for these stories. The books ask, “What is modern civilization worth?” in the context of personal autonomy and bodily self-determination. But we're currently answering that question in the context of global climate change - the very issue that led to the dire circumstances humanity grapples with in the Bannerless saga.