We Lived on the Horizon (A Novel) - Swyler Erika

A bio-prosthetic surgeon and her personal AI are drawn into a revolution in this “haunting, suspenseful, and nuanced look at the future we may already be barreling toward” (Esquire) from the author of The Book of Speculation. The city of Bulwark is aptly named: a walled city built to protect and preserve the people who managed to survive a series of great cataclysms, Bulwark was founded on a system where sacrifice is rewarded by the AI that runs the city. Over generations, an elite class has evolved from the descendants of those who gave up the most to found mankind’s last stronghold, called the Sainted. Saint Enita Malovis, long accustomed to luxury, knows that the end of her life is near. As the lone practitioner of bio-prosthetics, Enita is determined to preserve her legacy and decides to create a physical being, called Nix, filled with her knowledge and experience. In the midst of her project, a fellow Sainted is brutally murdered and the city AI inexplicably erases the event from its data. Soon, Enita and Nix are drawn into the growing war that could change everything between Bulwark’s hidden underclass and the programs that impose and maintain order. “Singularly stunning and stunningly singular” (Kirkus Reviews, starred review), We Lived on the Horizon is a “powerhouse” (Publishers Weekly, starred review) that grapples with concepts as varied as the human desire for utopia, body horror, and what the future holds for humanity and machine alike.