In the Cube

by David Alexander Smith

A century from now, Boston is like no other place on an enormous Cube containing millions of human and alien beings. Boston is slowly sinking, but it’s also the site of Earth’s only interstellar port—a gateway that has brought dozens of extraterrestrial races to the Cube.

Beverly O’Meara is a private detective, a finder of lost people and things. Akktry, her partner, is a small, sharp-clawed animal that has an inhuman affinity with the past, able to recreate the history of any place or person from the remains of the present. A useful talent for a detective…

Especially since the most powerful—and hated—woman in the Cube has hired Beverly to track down her missing daughter. Especially since Diana Sherwood’s trail leads straight into the Basement, the oldest, lowest, most dangerous part of Boston. The part below sea level.

The part you can down in…

“In the Cube is David Alexander Smith’s best book.… Not only do his humans live and breathe, but he has drawn some of the strangest and most convincing aliens you’ll ever meet.” —Hugo, Nebula, and Locus award-winning author James Patrick Kelly

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction, Mystery

315 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 1, 1993

Reviews

[Ian Mathers · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just read In the Cube, but that makes about the seventh time I've done so since my dad picked up a copy years ago when it came out. It's not actually a perfect novel, but it's one of the few I can come back to every so often without feeling like I'm wasting my time. The setting is intriguing and well-crafted, the characters are good, and Smith's alien races are among the best I've ever read. For a guy who never wrote much science fiction, Smith sure came up with a rich and fertile setting; not only do I need to track down Future Boston, every time I re-read this I lament Smith's lack of productivity again.

[Kerry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Published 1993. David Alexander Smith, as far as I can tell, did not publish much. Prior to this book he had three books called the Marathon Series (all out of print). I don't think they stood up to the test of time. This book does and I think it is a great one. Not Dune great but 286 pages of a sharp story with intriguing characters, a demented Boston with multiple aliens and a mystery. Trivia note: the hardback copy I have retailed for $18.95 in 1993 and it's not a large book at all. I would think that was rather expensive for the time.

[David Alexander · Rating 4 out of 5]

My only problem was that it was too short.

[Scott Chen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating characters. Highly original plot. While the action is great I also enjoyed the calm, 'everyday' scenes. Highly recommend.

[Rob Worth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not quite a 4, but rounded up because I love Akktri. Pretty well written sci-fi mystery, but I figured a few of the people out that were behind the scheme pretty early.

[Becca Parker · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really enjoyed the character Akktri and loved the premise of the book. But it didn’t feel complete-felt there could have been so much more done with descriptions and character development with the amazing premise. Also really difficult to visualize everything.

[Victoria Gaile · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was ok. The proliferation of alien races seemed pretty gratuitous, and I'm not sure I buy the primarily-featured alien race. The PI-type protagonist character was good and the mystery was mostly interesting. It got more violent than I prefer in a few scenes.

I'll let it sit a few months & try it again. For now it's shelved alongside Alien Blues and its ilk.

[Kevin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent genre mystery. It probably benefits from a first-hand knowledge of Boston, as "Neverwhere" demands a familiarity with London.

[Fiona · Rating 2 out of 5]

With the odd moment of un-PC language (which in any case merely adds to the setting) this novel remains an intersting view of a dystopian futute, and a clever story with good characters.

[Claudius · Rating 4 out of 5]

[reread]