January 4, 2021
Stewart’s dark debut takes readers deep into the ocean, where a religious brotherhood mans the last ballistic missile submarine in the world. On his deathbed, the Leviathan’s “caplain” (a mix of ship captain and chaplain) Amita reveals that he knows that Remy, the ship’s Cantor, is a girl hiding her gender from the rest of the crew. Amita bequeaths to Remy the missile key, trusting her judgment with the weapon over that of the rigid man who will take his place as caplain. It’s a struggle for the crew to keep the aging Leviathan seaworthy and secure even minimal supplies, relying on fishing and occasional raids of “Topsider” ships. Remy’s closest friend, Lazlo, returns from one such raid with disturbing stories of the world above that earn him banishment to the engine room, where all eventually die of radiation poisoning. A Topsider prisoner is brought on board at the same time, and, between the prisoner’s revelations and those from Lazlo, Remy begins to doubt the brotherhood’s precepts. Stewart skillfully melds the specters of nuclear apocalypse and religious fanaticism with a story of survival, and orchestrates a surprising twist that will reorder readers’ understanding of this world. This bracing examination of humanity’s weaknesses and strengths marks Stewart as a writer to watch.