Ex-KOP by Warren Hammond

From The Week of March 13, 2011

Where KOP offered a rich world and a weak mystery, this sequel is the opposite. The world, now familiar in its crime, its destitution, its depravity, takes a back seat to what must be, even for a corrupt world like Lagarto, an unusually repugnant crime.

Juno, the antihero from the first novel, is rather the worse for wear. Events in KOP have taken their toll on him, professionally and physically, obligating a semi-retirement into the life of a private investigator, chasing after sleazy off-worlders who assume that their privilege and their superhuman bodies will protect them from Lagarto and its slums. But his life is interrupted by the return of Maggie Orzo who, still intent upon her mission to reform, reaches out to Juno to get him to investigate a murder that she believes leads back to the mayor of Lagarto's capital city, Koba. Juno isn't so sure, but he needs the money, so he accepts and begins an investigation that, in true Lagartian style, can only end in misery and vengeance.

In Mr. Hammond's universe, actions have consequences, especially for his protagonists. Ex-KOP is a wonderful demonstration of how neglecting ones marriage in the service of ones self-appointed duty can only lead to heartbreak. Juno's pain here bursts out of his cool facade and transforms him from just an angry man into a crusader, determined to see his last case through. The book's other major theme, the abuse of power, is just as riveting. Rich off-worlders, who have the wealth to create for themselves superhuman bodies capable of the darkest depravities, descend to Lagarto to slum around with the planet's poor, playing with them like they are toys to be used and discarded. It's not a perfect analogy, but this reminds me of Western sex tourism in countries like Thailand and Vietnam, where rich first-worlders can get their darkest fantasies fulfilled by people compelled by poverty to participate. It is vivid and foul, but its repellent energy animates the mystery here and elevates it into the first class.

If Mr. Hammond does not revisit this series again, I hope he considers it a success. It has its warts, but his thoughtfulness, his willingness to use his future world to examine contemporary problems, has made Juno and Lagarto stand out as worthy fiction fueled by a genuine sense of purpose. Just, well, readers may want to have a sickbag handy, just in case. (3/5 Stars)