A Song for Rust-City

by Simina Lungu

Deirdre Morgan is a Reconstructor working at the Rust-city Criminal Investigations Agency. She is one of the Touched, people with extrasensory perception serving society but always kept on the fringes, feared and mistrusted for what they can do. Deirdre has been transferred from one team to another, until she becomes a part of Agent Sebastian Cadwalder’s unconventional squad.

Everything changes when Deirdre’s new team must look into the kidnapping of the famous Gaila Starborne, beloved opera singer, daughter of a powerful businessman, and fiancée of the first alien ambassador on Earth. Conspiracies will be unmasked, painful secrets will be uncovered, and by the end of it all the world will feel a little less safe…

Part science-fiction, part mystery, A Song for Rust-City blends atmosphere and suspense, offering an entertaining and thoughtful glimpse into a possible future.

Genres: Audiobook, Science Fiction, Fantasy

352 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 21, 2025

About the author

Simina Lungu is a Romanian writer of fantasy and speculative fiction. Her works are both in English and in Romanian. She enjoys writing about the unusual and thinks the most important aspect of a book is for it to have a good story that can resonate with anyone. Her published titles include a fantasy novel for children (though adults have been known to enjoy it as well), a science-fiction mystery, and several short stories at various online venues.

She is currently living in Timisoara, Romania, together with her old lazy dog and her young hyperactive cat.

Reviews

[Bill Blume · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simina Lungu has crafted a distant-future sci-fi noir set on Earth at a time when humanity has colonized other planets and aliens have made contact. The story starts with a missing celebrity singer. As the team of investigators tasked with investigating her disappearance delve into the mystery, it quickly unravels a conspiracy involving a well-known alien and the city’s most powerful citizens, who are determined to push humanity towards a carefully constructed future. The team is targeted by enemies within and without, and it doesn’t take long before they’re the ones on the run. It’s an intricately, well-woven adventure. As always, narrator Amber McCulloch delivers a phenomenal performance with a large cast of characters. I think this story is perfect for anyone who enjoys “Bladerunner” and the political debate over mutantkind in “X-Men.”

[Jason Bradley]

Narration is seriously overacted. This could be a good story but I couldn’t with the narrator

[Cassie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sometime after World War 4, Earth's population has spread into galactic colonies. New prejudices aren't tied just to those born to outposts not on Earth who return. The greatest skepticism is reserved for those select humans who after facing extremely traumatic events gain a new life with an astounding new sense. Some tell the future. Some absorb others emotions in an extreme form of empathy. Diedre has the ability to read a room, a person, like no other. As a Reconstructor, looking can give her a glimpse of the recent past.

Though it is a talent that has gained her a position within the official investigation agency, she'd be the first to call it more of a burden than a curse. People, filled with fears and misconceptions, keep her at a distance. Some all out reject the Touched- preferring them to be denounced and isolated rather than upheld in positions of power even with their mandatory signifying badge. The only group that may have more whispers of conspiracy is the sole alien species that we've yet to come in contact with.

Assigned to a new team, Deidrre starts to think things might be different this time. The leader of her team and frequent partner are tough and not entirely comfortable around people of her kind but they seem to value honest work. She finds common connects with, of all beings, the office robot who has more beyond the circuitry other see. This delicate balance is put to the test when the find themselves on a deadly chase to find out what happened to a superstar opera singer that just happens to be the daughter of a wealthy investor and the fiancee of Earth's only alien ambassador.

Conceptually I should have loved this story. It's a grimy, realistic look at a future that takes into count human's inability to evolve in some basic ways. Even the shades of what were once forests haven't been enough for us to contain our destructive tendencies. It has a strong sense of teamwork that doesn't immediately descend into a romantic subplot. The reasons and persons behind the chaos don't exactly feel original, but unfortunately reflect patterns that would unfold in life as we now know it.

Sadly despite enjoying the characters and enjoying their nearly too sensible application of how privilege level, personality, and passion manifest, I never got the best sense of the town itself that I hoped for. I appreciate the great twists not wanting to be overly dramatic or for the story to have an entirely fairy-tale ending. But it also feels a little lackluster, frustrating. At times despite it having interesting concepts to play with, those who aren't new to the genre, might even find it predictable.

But there was good character work. I liked the group dynamics. I like the concept of the agency and how well the technology and attitudes of the world are depicted. This wasn't a bad read. It just didn't stand out.

[Misspanchi · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was mediocre at best. I picked this up because I truly have been craving blade runner/cyberpunk vibes in a book and, unfortunately, this book did not deliver. The book did start with promise, a decent set up with a mystery that would allow a reader to discover and learn of the world that is Rust City. The introduction of the Touched was done well and I will give the book points for easing the reader into the world. I will also say that there were some pretty banger lines like “I’ll never forgive you for teaching me what it feels like for someone to give their life for me.” But that is where the positives end.

I feel like this book tried to do a lot but didn’t have enough time to delve into each thing it was trying to do. Character development? None. We were introduced to a few characters that had the potential to be lovable but we didn’t go beyond some interactions. Honestly the antagonists were much more intriguing.

The mystery? I could smell the plot twist from a mile away.

And the ending is truly where it all went downhill. At the climax we somehow got all the characters in the same room to just…talk??? I feel like the ending tried to give us payoff that was never promised. For example there was a “betrayal” but I didn’t care about the betrayer at all so that beat fell short. We got some of Deidre Morgan’s backstory towards the end??? I don’t mind being in the dark but I do mind things being revealed out of the blue. There is an odd confrontation between two characters that had so much potential but fell incredibly flat and felt like a petty argument.

And then the aftermath of the climax where we’re supposed to get all the answers is also just a conversation??? All telling. No showing.

And then the final final part of the book with the grand reveal fell short because all we the characters were doing was just talking. I don’t mind conversation per se but there was nothing else to the scene other than “this is why I did it.” K great. Also smelled it from a mile away.

And I guess spoiler alert one of my biggest complaints is the massive plot hole that the opera singer literally could’ve escaped her captivity at anytime but just chose points that conveniently continued the plot to do so.

The best thing about this book was Max.

[Elise · Rating 3 out of 5]

This had an interesting premise but it ultimately fell flat.