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Kismet
The River: a hodgepodge of arcologies and platforms in a band around Ceres full of dreamers, utopians, corporatists and transformed humans, from those with simple biomods to the exotic alien xenos and the totemics, remade with animal aspects. Gail Simmons, an itinerant salvor living aboard her ship Kismet, has docked everywhere totemics like her are welcome...and a few places they're not.
But when she's accused of stealing a databox from a mysterious wreck, Gail lands in the crosshairs of corporations, governments and anti-totemic terrorists. Finding the real thieves is the easy part. To get her life back, Gail will have to face her past and what's at stake may be more than just her future.
But when she's accused of stealing a databox from a mysterious wreck, Gail lands in the crosshairs of corporations, governments and anti-totemic terrorists. Finding the real thieves is the easy part. To get her life back, Gail will have to face her past and what's at stake may be more than just her future.
- GenresScience FictionFiction
323 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2017
12 people are currently reading
315 people want to read
About the author
Watts Martin
16 books36 followersWhen not designing spacecraft AIs, racing to stop terrorists, or romancing werewolves, Watts Martin writes stories for fun and documentation for a living. (Which is, for the record, often still fun.) Most of Watts's stories involve anthropomorphic animals, which may be why they've been nominated for multiple Coyotl and Ursa Major Awards. In addition to the short story collection Why Coyotes Howl and the Coyotl-winning novella Indigo Rain, you can find other works by Watts in anthologies including Inhuman Acts, Five Fortunes, and The Furry Future, and magazines including New Fables and Heat. Watts's first novel, Kismet, was released in early 2017.
Watts's writing, including several free stories, is available at Coyote Tracks.
Watts's writing, including several free stories, is available at Coyote Tracks.
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
February 12, 2017
Stunning depiction of a future in which anthropomorphic transforms (voluntary changes in physiology and psyche) are possible through medical and genetic science. This highly political thriller is quite believable as it unfolds the tension between conservatives who oppose the very existence of humans who have chosen to adopt animal characteristics and progressives who believe in peaceful cooperation and coexistence. Those who have undergone transformation, either partial or complete, are referred to as "totemics" though no religious or spiritual connection is inferred.
Human civilization has spread into space, with the homeworld remaining largely conservative and the totemics colonizing other locations in the solar system. When technology is developed that can either be used as a weapon to destroy the totemics by using their DNA variations or to allow them to reproduce and pass their animal characteristics and enhancements to their offspring, the corporations that created the technology become divided against each other. The divisions are supported by the conservative and progressive factions through both legal and illegal means.
Protagonist Gail Simmons, a rat totemic and literally a space rat who lives by running a salvage operation with her AI-controlled ship, Kismet, becomes embroiled in the fight when a valuable data store comes into her hands. Apolitical and unwilling, she is forced to figure out which undercover operatives want to use that data to destroy the totemic population, and which of them only want to profit by selling the reproductive capabilities it can engender.
This novel is fast paced and captivating not just because of the plot tensions, but because of the very real characters and emotional relationships that lie at its center. I do not generally read suspense or action thrillers, but Gail's connections to her friends and the strangers with whom she must deal are very real and (sadly in some cases) believable. The intolerance of some humans for anyone who is different from themselves is a reality we struggle with now, in real life. Watts Martin has predicted a future in which that rigid intolerance has yet to be overcome. In light of the current political situation in the US and the world, this novel has immediate relevance.
Human civilization has spread into space, with the homeworld remaining largely conservative and the totemics colonizing other locations in the solar system. When technology is developed that can either be used as a weapon to destroy the totemics by using their DNA variations or to allow them to reproduce and pass their animal characteristics and enhancements to their offspring, the corporations that created the technology become divided against each other. The divisions are supported by the conservative and progressive factions through both legal and illegal means.
Protagonist Gail Simmons, a rat totemic and literally a space rat who lives by running a salvage operation with her AI-controlled ship, Kismet, becomes embroiled in the fight when a valuable data store comes into her hands. Apolitical and unwilling, she is forced to figure out which undercover operatives want to use that data to destroy the totemic population, and which of them only want to profit by selling the reproductive capabilities it can engender.
This novel is fast paced and captivating not just because of the plot tensions, but because of the very real characters and emotional relationships that lie at its center. I do not generally read suspense or action thrillers, but Gail's connections to her friends and the strangers with whom she must deal are very real and (sadly in some cases) believable. The intolerance of some humans for anyone who is different from themselves is a reality we struggle with now, in real life. Watts Martin has predicted a future in which that rigid intolerance has yet to be overcome. In light of the current political situation in the US and the world, this novel has immediate relevance.
February 6, 2017
This book made my heart smile in the very best of ways, as much as I was scared for those I came to care about while reading it. I don't know exactly how to put this, but man, I feel that pain so deep inside. >.<
Thank you for the hope, and the love. <3
Thank you for the hope, and the love. <3
February 5, 2017
I read an early copy of this and really really enjoyed it. Look for KISMET to take home the Cóyotl Award for Best Novel of 2017.
January 17, 2017
For those familiar with Watts Martin’s anthologized short story, "Tow," be assured that Kismet successfully carries on the wit and creativity of its predecessor into a fulfilling, richly rendered excursion into The River and its variegated slices of culture. If you have yet to read "Tow," I suggest reading it for free on Martin's website, although this isn't required if you just want to start with Kismet.
Kismet is a tale which draws its intrigue through both the classical frontier of space and the more inward, intimate intersection of identity and the physical augmentation of one’s appearance and ability. Here, humanity's control over its own physicality manifests in the form of diverse array of profitable consumer services, where one can opt for anything from the outwardly subtle power of implant-driven strength and sensory amplification to procedures which confer a more overt transformation of ability and appearance, from utterly alien to animalistic. Of course, adoption of this sort of thing is far from universal in the human race, and the widespread stigmatization of such "transformed" members of society serves as the primary source of adversity which Gail Simmons, the zoomorphic "totemic" protagonist, must circumnavigate while attempting to exonerate herself from a mysterious crime she did not commit.
However interesting the setting, speaking too much about background here would be a bit of a disservice, as the author truly won me over through the arguably more difficult feat of building all this into an exciting, decently paced page-turner. Martin is a skilled writer with a knack for clever dialogue and humor, and the wry and cynical, yet likable personality of the protagonist gives the story a touch of verisimilitude that's otherwise hard to find in sci-fi.
This leads to a more critical note of mine: the relatively small amount of screen-time the ultimate baddies of Kismet get seems like a missed opportunity, if not something which made it feel just a tad incomplete. I think that Martin's aptitude for characterization would have been more than suited to the job of rendering a more whole, impacting portrait to the twisted brand of psyche and fear that I feel the book strives to buck against. Given the central importance of this counter-ideology to the story, the fact that its purveyors were tucked into an exciting, but brief finale made for an itch left unscratched.
That small gripe aside, Kismet was an awesome read, and I eagerly anticipate Martin's future excursions into this universe, given the quality of this debut novel-length introduction.
Kismet is a tale which draws its intrigue through both the classical frontier of space and the more inward, intimate intersection of identity and the physical augmentation of one’s appearance and ability. Here, humanity's control over its own physicality manifests in the form of diverse array of profitable consumer services, where one can opt for anything from the outwardly subtle power of implant-driven strength and sensory amplification to procedures which confer a more overt transformation of ability and appearance, from utterly alien to animalistic. Of course, adoption of this sort of thing is far from universal in the human race, and the widespread stigmatization of such "transformed" members of society serves as the primary source of adversity which Gail Simmons, the zoomorphic "totemic" protagonist, must circumnavigate while attempting to exonerate herself from a mysterious crime she did not commit.
However interesting the setting, speaking too much about background here would be a bit of a disservice, as the author truly won me over through the arguably more difficult feat of building all this into an exciting, decently paced page-turner. Martin is a skilled writer with a knack for clever dialogue and humor, and the wry and cynical, yet likable personality of the protagonist gives the story a touch of verisimilitude that's otherwise hard to find in sci-fi.
This leads to a more critical note of mine: the relatively small amount of screen-time the ultimate baddies of Kismet get seems like a missed opportunity, if not something which made it feel just a tad incomplete. I think that Martin's aptitude for characterization would have been more than suited to the job of rendering a more whole, impacting portrait to the twisted brand of psyche and fear that I feel the book strives to buck against. Given the central importance of this counter-ideology to the story, the fact that its purveyors were tucked into an exciting, but brief finale made for an itch left unscratched.
That small gripe aside, Kismet was an awesome read, and I eagerly anticipate Martin's future excursions into this universe, given the quality of this debut novel-length introduction.
May 4, 2017
Set an unspecified time in the future, humanity has spread through the inner Solar System, and established a large number of bases and arcologies in the asteroid belt in the vicinity of Ceres. (This allows a certain 'spread out' feel between some major locations in the book, but travel times are in hours instead of days or months.) Gail, the main character, is something of a loner, with a small ship named Kismet that she uses for a salvage business. A tip off on a wreck turns into trouble that keeps getting bigger at every turn and drives the plot to a surprisingly high-stakes climax.
Along the way, Gail is pushed back into the unfinished business of her own life, and the novel does a great job driving the action forward, expanding the scope of the mystery, and making the situation matter more and more to Gail herself. I actually have some trouble with some of the early 'pushes' into the plot, but that fades fast.
An interesting major theme is transhumanism-as-furry. "Totemics", people who have undergone a combination of surgical and genetic alterations to take on anthropomorphic traits, are a major part of the background. There are some minor improvements to senses and the like available, as well as much more capable (and tempermental) bio-mechanical options, but most modifications are more cosmetic. There's a number of examples of more individual forms of self-expression with these mods, but the totemics are the most cohesive group, even though their own motivations behind their modifications vary. There's a number of fragments of interesting philosophical arguments along the way, and one that caught at my attention towards the end dealt with the choice of form inherent in the modifying process.
It all makes for a satisfying and well-rounded SF novel. Action, mystery, philosophy, and a glimpse of a possible future all coexist gracefully between two covers.
Finally, I'll note that FurPlanet's hardcopy version has an elementary formatting mistake. The body text margins are weighted on the fore edge of the page instead instead of the spine, pushing the text towards the spine. Thankfully, there's still room enough that there's no real reading problem, but it gets uncomfortably close. It's like they got their left/right templates reversed.
Along the way, Gail is pushed back into the unfinished business of her own life, and the novel does a great job driving the action forward, expanding the scope of the mystery, and making the situation matter more and more to Gail herself. I actually have some trouble with some of the early 'pushes' into the plot, but that fades fast.
An interesting major theme is transhumanism-as-furry. "Totemics", people who have undergone a combination of surgical and genetic alterations to take on anthropomorphic traits, are a major part of the background. There are some minor improvements to senses and the like available, as well as much more capable (and tempermental) bio-mechanical options, but most modifications are more cosmetic. There's a number of examples of more individual forms of self-expression with these mods, but the totemics are the most cohesive group, even though their own motivations behind their modifications vary. There's a number of fragments of interesting philosophical arguments along the way, and one that caught at my attention towards the end dealt with the choice of form inherent in the modifying process.
It all makes for a satisfying and well-rounded SF novel. Action, mystery, philosophy, and a glimpse of a possible future all coexist gracefully between two covers.
Finally, I'll note that FurPlanet's hardcopy version has an elementary formatting mistake. The body text margins are weighted on the fore edge of the page instead instead of the spine, pushing the text towards the spine. Thankfully, there's still room enough that there's no real reading problem, but it gets uncomfortably close. It's like they got their left/right templates reversed.
March 1, 2017
This was excellent.
I would recommend it, first of all, to aspiring writers who want to know how to escalate stakes and keep the plot moving, because this is how you do it. Read Jack M. Bickham's Scene and Structure as your textbook, and then read this, because it's Bickham's advice put into action. (I don't know whether the author has read Bickham directly, but if not, the advice has filtered through somehow.)
Secondly, I'd recommend it to anyone - and there are a good many people like this - who thinks that you can't have a fast-moving, fun, tense, exciting, high-stakes space adventure that is, at the same time, about queer furries and the politics of oppression. Because you absolutely can, and this is it.
And finally, I'd recommend it to people who enjoy fast-moving, fun, tense, exciting, high-stakes space adventures.
A couple more words about the adventure/politics thing. I'll approach it by talking about the McGuffin.
A McGuffin (variously spelled) is a term Alfred Hitchcock used for the thing that everyone wants, which usually functions mostly as a plot driver. In the classic McGuffin scenario, it doesn't matter what it is. The briefcase in Pulp Fiction contains something - we never find out what. The point is that the characters want it and are prepared to do drastic things in order to get it.
Here, the McGuffin is a data store which contains information that actually is important to the plot, indeed essential to the plot, both because of why everyone wants it and because having it will eventually enable a character's life to be saved (someone important to the protagonist). It's inextricably entwined with the plot and the theme; it couldn't be substituted with a Maltese falcon or a briefcase of unknown contents. This is next-level McGuffining.
Exactly the same thing is true of the political aspects of this novel. Without them - without the history of prejudice and oppression, without the main character's mother's status as a martyr, without all the questions that are raised and struggled with (not necessarily answered), there is no story. It's not "I shall now address you on the subject of minority rights under the thin cloak of a story." It's "here is a story which arises organically out of the realities of what being a despised minority is like." And, as already intimated, it's an excellent story, full of adventure and conflict and escapes and chases and wonderful and terrible events.
In short: great character, excellent setting, competent prose, near-flawless copy editing, and a masterful plot.
I would recommend it, first of all, to aspiring writers who want to know how to escalate stakes and keep the plot moving, because this is how you do it. Read Jack M. Bickham's Scene and Structure as your textbook, and then read this, because it's Bickham's advice put into action. (I don't know whether the author has read Bickham directly, but if not, the advice has filtered through somehow.)
Secondly, I'd recommend it to anyone - and there are a good many people like this - who thinks that you can't have a fast-moving, fun, tense, exciting, high-stakes space adventure that is, at the same time, about queer furries and the politics of oppression. Because you absolutely can, and this is it.
And finally, I'd recommend it to people who enjoy fast-moving, fun, tense, exciting, high-stakes space adventures.
A couple more words about the adventure/politics thing. I'll approach it by talking about the McGuffin.
A McGuffin (variously spelled) is a term Alfred Hitchcock used for the thing that everyone wants, which usually functions mostly as a plot driver. In the classic McGuffin scenario, it doesn't matter what it is. The briefcase in Pulp Fiction contains something - we never find out what. The point is that the characters want it and are prepared to do drastic things in order to get it.
Here, the McGuffin is a data store which contains information that actually is important to the plot, indeed essential to the plot, both because of why everyone wants it and because having it will eventually enable a character's life to be saved (someone important to the protagonist). It's inextricably entwined with the plot and the theme; it couldn't be substituted with a Maltese falcon or a briefcase of unknown contents. This is next-level McGuffining.
Exactly the same thing is true of the political aspects of this novel. Without them - without the history of prejudice and oppression, without the main character's mother's status as a martyr, without all the questions that are raised and struggled with (not necessarily answered), there is no story. It's not "I shall now address you on the subject of minority rights under the thin cloak of a story." It's "here is a story which arises organically out of the realities of what being a despised minority is like." And, as already intimated, it's an excellent story, full of adventure and conflict and escapes and chases and wonderful and terrible events.
In short: great character, excellent setting, competent prose, near-flawless copy editing, and a masterful plot.
March 31, 2020
Definitely a fascinating and interesting book. I enjoyed the main character, Gail. I didn't quite resonate with some of the supporting cast, however - I think a big problem here was that Gail refers to some characters with multiple names, and it got difficult to keep track of who everyone was.
I do feel like a lot of thought was put into the worlds these characters inhabited, and I enjoyed learning more about the history of it all.
If you're looking for an action novel, this one probably won't be for you. The beginning and end are both full of action, but the middle slows down dramatically, and much of the conflict is through conversation, rather than action.
The present tense narration did catch me off guard at first. However, much like Chuck Wendig's Aftermath, I found myself settling in with the narration after about 20% of the book. Apart from that initial awkwardness, I had no issue with it - and this is very much a personal thing, rather than an problem with the book itself.
Overall, a good read.
I do feel like a lot of thought was put into the worlds these characters inhabited, and I enjoyed learning more about the history of it all.
If you're looking for an action novel, this one probably won't be for you. The beginning and end are both full of action, but the middle slows down dramatically, and much of the conflict is through conversation, rather than action.
The present tense narration did catch me off guard at first. However, much like Chuck Wendig's Aftermath, I found myself settling in with the narration after about 20% of the book. Apart from that initial awkwardness, I had no issue with it - and this is very much a personal thing, rather than an problem with the book itself.
Overall, a good read.
October 18, 2024
You ever bite into an oatmeal raisin cooking thinking it’s chocolate chip? There’s nothing wrong with oatmeal raisin—despite my wife’s claims to the contrary—but there’s a moment of deep disappointment when you realize that’s what you have.
Kismet by Watts Martin seemed a lot that way to me. I liked it, and I wanted to love it, but the disappointment kept that from happening. Let’s take a bit to go through some of the reasons. I’ll try to talk about details in vague terms so I won’t spoil anything, but if you’re worried, stop reading now.
First off, a couple mechanical things. Kismet was written in third-person limited, and though I generally like third person, I really feel like that choice was huge a mistake in this book. I really wanted to be intimately involved in Gail’s thoughts and feelings. First person would have done that far more effectively than third ever could. There’s times where Gail’s life is going horribly (okay, most of the book, honestly), and we’re ready for Watts to pour out some real pathos, some real insight into what’s going on in her mind, and instead we get, “She is sad.” Disappointing.
And while I’m on the topic of “She is sad,” who the hell writes narration in present tense? I hated that. Every book you pick up would have written, “She was sad,” and to see it all in present tense irritated the every-loving crap out of me. You might not mind present tense narration, but I sure as hell do.
But what made it an oatmeal raisin cookie rather than a chocolate chip? Well, the start of the book has all kinds of sci-fi action goodies: a main character who was surgically transformed into an anthropomorphic rat at a young age, space travel, an unlisted ship taken out by a bomb hidden on board, and an innocent bystander being blamed for things she wouldn’t logically have done. There’s lots of sci-fi action goodies in the end too: spaceship crashes, shoot-outs, weapons of mass destruction, and cyber-enhanced fistfights.
But then, the ninety percent of the book between those two bookends is… Well, it’s like Watts wanted to write an essay about creating a working libertarian society but was afraid we wouldn’t read it, so he wrapped it up in a science fiction novel to make it more palatable.
In this futuristic setting, the inhabitants are expected to “keep a judiciary on retainer”, but if you’re imagining keeping a lawyer on retainer, this doesn’t seem to be the same thing. Judiciaries seem more akin to renting some of those human rights that we think of as free, but in a society with practically no government, I guess there’s no one to just give you that sort of thing. Regardless, a huge fraction of that middle ninety percent of the story is about just how screwed over you get if don’t have enough money to buy those freedoms.
Additionally, that bomb going off on the spaceship? That kills everyone on board (or perhaps everyone but the guy who set it off). That makes him a murderer. But yet, nobody seems to care. No one starts a murder investigation. All they really care about is recovering the McGuffin that’s been stolen off that ship. Is murder a no-big-deal here?
Also, I’m one of those readers who seldom sees the twists in a story coming. Not sure why that is, but if I see it coming, then the author was spoon-feeding it to us, and every reader probably saw it coming too. I definitely saw some of the bigger twists coming, and I regretted not feeling more surprised when they were revealed.
The book also had a number of moments that were really immersion-breaking for me. In the story, it turns out that the McGuffin—and I’m being vague here intentionally—can be used as a weapon. Okay, fine, that happens in lots of books, but in this case, the weapon’s existence is such an atrocious war crime that… Well, think about it like this: Imagine that a weapons manufacturer invents a doomsday weapon that only kills black people or perhaps jews or maybe gay people. Whatever the group, let’s say, if you turn this weapon on, then all of the people in that group die. What would happen?
Well, this isn’t like inventing a new kind of pistol! You wouldn’t be okay with the company inventing it and then angry at the person who eventually used the damn thing. The creation of such an unthinkable abomination would just be too much. I’d like to think that once word got out of its creation, everyone would be so incensed that we’d bulldoze the company, destroy everything, and then throw everyone who helped invent the damn thing into an oubliette. There’s no way to frame this in a way that the company was within its rights to make this legitimate weapon and that we should instead be angry at the person who used it.
But yet, that kinda happens in Kismet. The McGuffin can be used in an unthinkable way, and instead of everyone rallying together and stamping it out, Gail has to risk everything to keep someone from using it. That didn’t seem particularly plausible to me. It was very immersion-breaking.
And while we’re talking about Gail risking everything to go stop it, wow! When she heads out to do this, it really doesn’t seem like there’s any way she’s going to survive. I’m not saying she wouldn’t go, but I really would have liked to read more hesitation, some real soul searching before agreeing to it. Gail isn’t a particularly heroic character, and I’m not saying she would have decided not to go, but I wanted a whole lot more there instead of just, “I’ll do it.”
And one last point while we’re talking about Gail. The story’s climax focuses on how much Gail loved her ship. She said multiple times, throughout the book that she does love her ship, but this felt more like telling rather than showing. I wanted to see more of Gail and Kismet interacting when there wasn’t a pressing, urgent problem. I wanted to see that love, to discover it for myself, but instead I was just assured it was there.
I guess that review sounded awful negative. I’m sorry about that. Despite all my gripes, I’m still giving it four stars. It’s not a bad book. It’s entertaining and fun, and I did enjoy it. I just wanted to enjoy it a whole lot more than I did. I wanted it to be chocolate chip.
Kismet by Watts Martin seemed a lot that way to me. I liked it, and I wanted to love it, but the disappointment kept that from happening. Let’s take a bit to go through some of the reasons. I’ll try to talk about details in vague terms so I won’t spoil anything, but if you’re worried, stop reading now.
First off, a couple mechanical things. Kismet was written in third-person limited, and though I generally like third person, I really feel like that choice was huge a mistake in this book. I really wanted to be intimately involved in Gail’s thoughts and feelings. First person would have done that far more effectively than third ever could. There’s times where Gail’s life is going horribly (okay, most of the book, honestly), and we’re ready for Watts to pour out some real pathos, some real insight into what’s going on in her mind, and instead we get, “She is sad.” Disappointing.
And while I’m on the topic of “She is sad,” who the hell writes narration in present tense? I hated that. Every book you pick up would have written, “She was sad,” and to see it all in present tense irritated the every-loving crap out of me. You might not mind present tense narration, but I sure as hell do.
But what made it an oatmeal raisin cookie rather than a chocolate chip? Well, the start of the book has all kinds of sci-fi action goodies: a main character who was surgically transformed into an anthropomorphic rat at a young age, space travel, an unlisted ship taken out by a bomb hidden on board, and an innocent bystander being blamed for things she wouldn’t logically have done. There’s lots of sci-fi action goodies in the end too: spaceship crashes, shoot-outs, weapons of mass destruction, and cyber-enhanced fistfights.
But then, the ninety percent of the book between those two bookends is… Well, it’s like Watts wanted to write an essay about creating a working libertarian society but was afraid we wouldn’t read it, so he wrapped it up in a science fiction novel to make it more palatable.
In this futuristic setting, the inhabitants are expected to “keep a judiciary on retainer”, but if you’re imagining keeping a lawyer on retainer, this doesn’t seem to be the same thing. Judiciaries seem more akin to renting some of those human rights that we think of as free, but in a society with practically no government, I guess there’s no one to just give you that sort of thing. Regardless, a huge fraction of that middle ninety percent of the story is about just how screwed over you get if don’t have enough money to buy those freedoms.
Additionally, that bomb going off on the spaceship? That kills everyone on board (or perhaps everyone but the guy who set it off). That makes him a murderer. But yet, nobody seems to care. No one starts a murder investigation. All they really care about is recovering the McGuffin that’s been stolen off that ship. Is murder a no-big-deal here?
Also, I’m one of those readers who seldom sees the twists in a story coming. Not sure why that is, but if I see it coming, then the author was spoon-feeding it to us, and every reader probably saw it coming too. I definitely saw some of the bigger twists coming, and I regretted not feeling more surprised when they were revealed.
The book also had a number of moments that were really immersion-breaking for me. In the story, it turns out that the McGuffin—and I’m being vague here intentionally—can be used as a weapon. Okay, fine, that happens in lots of books, but in this case, the weapon’s existence is such an atrocious war crime that… Well, think about it like this: Imagine that a weapons manufacturer invents a doomsday weapon that only kills black people or perhaps jews or maybe gay people. Whatever the group, let’s say, if you turn this weapon on, then all of the people in that group die. What would happen?
Well, this isn’t like inventing a new kind of pistol! You wouldn’t be okay with the company inventing it and then angry at the person who eventually used the damn thing. The creation of such an unthinkable abomination would just be too much. I’d like to think that once word got out of its creation, everyone would be so incensed that we’d bulldoze the company, destroy everything, and then throw everyone who helped invent the damn thing into an oubliette. There’s no way to frame this in a way that the company was within its rights to make this legitimate weapon and that we should instead be angry at the person who used it.
But yet, that kinda happens in Kismet. The McGuffin can be used in an unthinkable way, and instead of everyone rallying together and stamping it out, Gail has to risk everything to keep someone from using it. That didn’t seem particularly plausible to me. It was very immersion-breaking.
And while we’re talking about Gail risking everything to go stop it, wow! When she heads out to do this, it really doesn’t seem like there’s any way she’s going to survive. I’m not saying she wouldn’t go, but I really would have liked to read more hesitation, some real soul searching before agreeing to it. Gail isn’t a particularly heroic character, and I’m not saying she would have decided not to go, but I wanted a whole lot more there instead of just, “I’ll do it.”
And one last point while we’re talking about Gail. The story’s climax focuses on how much Gail loved her ship. She said multiple times, throughout the book that she does love her ship, but this felt more like telling rather than showing. I wanted to see more of Gail and Kismet interacting when there wasn’t a pressing, urgent problem. I wanted to see that love, to discover it for myself, but instead I was just assured it was there.
I guess that review sounded awful negative. I’m sorry about that. Despite all my gripes, I’m still giving it four stars. It’s not a bad book. It’s entertaining and fun, and I did enjoy it. I just wanted to enjoy it a whole lot more than I did. I wanted it to be chocolate chip.
October 14, 2017
Kismet has something to please both fans of Science Fiction / Space Opera and Anthropomorphic Fiction. And for the intersection of the reading populous who enjoy both, such as myself, this book is a gem.
The world Watts has crafted is fully-realized and well through through. It is a living, breathing thing with its own flavors, sights and textures. It is filled with lovable (and hate-able) characters. Delightful. From strange artificial environments to passing mention of our own planet's precarious future, to the cold, ominous void of outer space, there is hardly a place where there is too little (or too much) said.
The pacing is excellent. The message is powerful and topical without being overbearing. This world, its imagery, its characters and its underlying message will linger with me for a long time still. I highly recommend this book.
PS. The time it took me to finish reading this book (~6 months) is completely related to personal circumstances and is no reflection on the accessibility or quality of the book itself.
The world Watts has crafted is fully-realized and well through through. It is a living, breathing thing with its own flavors, sights and textures. It is filled with lovable (and hate-able) characters. Delightful. From strange artificial environments to passing mention of our own planet's precarious future, to the cold, ominous void of outer space, there is hardly a place where there is too little (or too much) said.
The pacing is excellent. The message is powerful and topical without being overbearing. This world, its imagery, its characters and its underlying message will linger with me for a long time still. I highly recommend this book.
PS. The time it took me to finish reading this book (~6 months) is completely related to personal circumstances and is no reflection on the accessibility or quality of the book itself.
October 25, 2020
Mostly, I feel like I can appreciate the evident time and effort the author put into this book. It's a detailed, well-thought-out setting, with interesting and complicated characters and dynamics and a good far-reaching conspiracy thriller plot that brings the personal and political together in a big way. I was satisfied by the end of it. Even a little emotional. It's full of powerful ideas, and I felt that the writing conveyed them well, when it chose to convey them.
It should be stated, though, that many passages in this book are dedicated almost completely to world-building--I recall one chapter in which the only event that occurred was that two characters walked from one location to another, explaining the new setting. This seems to require that one's mind switch easily from one mode (a kind of active academic learning mode) to another (a more passive, emotional mode) very easily, and mine unfortunately can't. So that hampered my own personal enjoyment of the story a fair amount. Readers for which this isn't a problem, of course, will find a whole lot more to enjoy, because as I've stated all of the content itself is fascinating.
It should be stated, though, that many passages in this book are dedicated almost completely to world-building--I recall one chapter in which the only event that occurred was that two characters walked from one location to another, explaining the new setting. This seems to require that one's mind switch easily from one mode (a kind of active academic learning mode) to another (a more passive, emotional mode) very easily, and mine unfortunately can't. So that hampered my own personal enjoyment of the story a fair amount. Readers for which this isn't a problem, of course, will find a whole lot more to enjoy, because as I've stated all of the content itself is fascinating.
January 2, 2020
I just want to preface this review by saying I did not finish this book. I tried my very best, I bought this book over two years ago and over those two years I could only get to 79%. It's boring. What few moments there are of action/physical violence, I felt that Watts wanted them to be over as quick as possible and wasn't terribly keen to be writing them. This book for a certain type of person, and I'm just not one of them.
Watts is a good writer, I've been enjoying his works since my teens in the early oughties back when his shorts were hosted on Belfry. 'A Gift of Fire, A Gift of Blood' I still remember very fondly, and Kismet is also well written for what it is. But what it is, is not for everyone. Its political, it has a “message”.
Therein lies the rub these type of political books I feel you can only really enjoy if you agree with the politics contained within already. Especially with a book like this one. I didn’t.
Now if you want a book that explores the legal system and society of a future society almost completely through dialogue and inner monologues, while wrapped in a left-wing polemic against libertarianism. Then this book is for you.
But it ain’t for me. I hope this review will serve people like me. People who thought they were buying a thriller, and hopefully warn you off. Don’t let the other reviewers fool you, its not a thriller, nothing in this book is particularly thrilling. But it is a well written drama, dialogue never feels stilted, nor do the interactions really slip into melodrama, and it all feels like realistic interactions for the situations the characters are in.
But that wasn’t what I thought I paid for, nor was it enough to carry me to the end of the book.
TLDR: Don’t think its a thriller, it’s not. Its for people of the left-wing persuasion. 'Libertarianism bad, cause people can be mean.' 'Ethnostates good, as long as they’re for animal people.'
Watts is a good writer, I've been enjoying his works since my teens in the early oughties back when his shorts were hosted on Belfry. 'A Gift of Fire, A Gift of Blood' I still remember very fondly, and Kismet is also well written for what it is. But what it is, is not for everyone. Its political, it has a “message”.
Therein lies the rub these type of political books I feel you can only really enjoy if you agree with the politics contained within already. Especially with a book like this one. I didn’t.
Now if you want a book that explores the legal system and society of a future society almost completely through dialogue and inner monologues, while wrapped in a left-wing polemic against libertarianism. Then this book is for you.
But it ain’t for me. I hope this review will serve people like me. People who thought they were buying a thriller, and hopefully warn you off. Don’t let the other reviewers fool you, its not a thriller, nothing in this book is particularly thrilling. But it is a well written drama, dialogue never feels stilted, nor do the interactions really slip into melodrama, and it all feels like realistic interactions for the situations the characters are in.
But that wasn’t what I thought I paid for, nor was it enough to carry me to the end of the book.
TLDR: Don’t think its a thriller, it’s not. Its for people of the left-wing persuasion. 'Libertarianism bad, cause people can be mean.' 'Ethnostates good, as long as they’re for animal people.'
March 8, 2017
The first full-length novel by long-time short story and novella author Watts Martin, Kismet could best be described as social SF with elements of hard SF. It takes place in a world of space ships controlled by AIs, city-sized habitats scattered through the solar system, and humans transformed into animal-form ‘totemics.’ But the plot could be taken from today, with fears of terrorism, anti-totemic sentiment from ‘cisform’ humans, estranged siblings and children trying to deal with the legacy of a famous parent.
Gail, a young female rat totemic, inadvertently gets on the wrong side of a powerful corporation during what should be a routine salvage operation, and soon finds herself, her friends and her adopted sister drawn into a far-reaching conspiracy.
“Ripped from today’s headlines” is kind of a cliché`, but if you replace ‘totemic’ with ‘transgender,’ the things the totemic characters deal with will seem eerily familiar to contemporary readers. Referring to unaltered humans a ‘cisform’ just drives it home (in a way that term is a bit too current and will date the book. In a few hundred years I’m pretty sure there will be another term in use that means the same thing.)
The first half of the book has a lot of discussion about totemic rights between Gail, her friend Ansel the fox totemic, her wolf totemic sister and a human law enforcement officer. Gail’s mother, a famous totemic rights activist who was killed by a terrorist’s bomb, makes Gail both a rallying point and an object of hatred, depending on which side someone is on. Her trying to deal with that legacy is one of the themes that run through the story.
While the action does pick up during the latter part of the book, a lot of the story is devoted to Gail’s personal and professional struggles, speculations on corporate motivations as well as discussion about problems and discrimination faced by totemics.
I had no problem with the prose, although the choice of some terms and names was puzzling. I already mentioned that ‘cisform’ may quickly be outdated, but I honestly had a lot more trouble with the names of the two big corporations: Keces and Quanata. Why would anyone name their company something that’s one letter off from ‘feces?” That’s what I saw every time I saw the word. And Quanta is very close to the famous Austalian airline Qantas, which was also distracting because I kept thinking the characters were talking about the airline.
Of course, other people’s mileage may vary on how distracting they might find the names. This story is definitely not the nasty dystopian SF world that seems so common now, and will appeal not only to furry readers but those interested in a SF take on contemporary social issues.
Gail, a young female rat totemic, inadvertently gets on the wrong side of a powerful corporation during what should be a routine salvage operation, and soon finds herself, her friends and her adopted sister drawn into a far-reaching conspiracy.
“Ripped from today’s headlines” is kind of a cliché`, but if you replace ‘totemic’ with ‘transgender,’ the things the totemic characters deal with will seem eerily familiar to contemporary readers. Referring to unaltered humans a ‘cisform’ just drives it home (in a way that term is a bit too current and will date the book. In a few hundred years I’m pretty sure there will be another term in use that means the same thing.)
The first half of the book has a lot of discussion about totemic rights between Gail, her friend Ansel the fox totemic, her wolf totemic sister and a human law enforcement officer. Gail’s mother, a famous totemic rights activist who was killed by a terrorist’s bomb, makes Gail both a rallying point and an object of hatred, depending on which side someone is on. Her trying to deal with that legacy is one of the themes that run through the story.
While the action does pick up during the latter part of the book, a lot of the story is devoted to Gail’s personal and professional struggles, speculations on corporate motivations as well as discussion about problems and discrimination faced by totemics.
I had no problem with the prose, although the choice of some terms and names was puzzling. I already mentioned that ‘cisform’ may quickly be outdated, but I honestly had a lot more trouble with the names of the two big corporations: Keces and Quanata. Why would anyone name their company something that’s one letter off from ‘feces?” That’s what I saw every time I saw the word. And Quanta is very close to the famous Austalian airline Qantas, which was also distracting because I kept thinking the characters were talking about the airline.
Of course, other people’s mileage may vary on how distracting they might find the names. This story is definitely not the nasty dystopian SF world that seems so common now, and will appeal not only to furry readers but those interested in a SF take on contemporary social issues.
July 10, 2025
Kismet has something to please both fans of Science Fiction / Space Opera and Anthropomorphic Fiction. And for the intersection of the reading populous who enjoy both, such as myself, this book is a gem.
The world Watts has crafted is fully-realized and well through through. It is a living, breathing thing with its own flavors, sights and textures. It is filled with lovable (and hate-able) characters. Delightful. From strange artificial environments to passing mention of our own planet's precarious future, to the cold, ominous void of outer space, there is hardly a place where there is too little (or too much) said.
The pacing is excellent. The message is powerful and topical without being overbearing. This world, its imagery, its characters and its underlying message will linger with me for a long time still. I highly recommend this book.
PS. The time it took me to finish reading this book (~6 months) is completely related to personal circumstances and is no reflection on the accessibility or quality of the book itself.
The world Watts has crafted is fully-realized and well through through. It is a living, breathing thing with its own flavors, sights and textures. It is filled with lovable (and hate-able) characters. Delightful. From strange artificial environments to passing mention of our own planet's precarious future, to the cold, ominous void of outer space, there is hardly a place where there is too little (or too much) said.
The pacing is excellent. The message is powerful and topical without being overbearing. This world, its imagery, its characters and its underlying message will linger with me for a long time still. I highly recommend this book.
PS. The time it took me to finish reading this book (~6 months) is completely related to personal circumstances and is no reflection on the accessibility or quality of the book itself.
November 7, 2021
Absolutely incredible. I've just finished it and I'm still in that stunned/relived/grieving mood. I've been looking for some sci-fi just like this and I was so excited to have found it- and that excitement was totally correct.
I found myself immediately looking to see if there were any sequels right after finishing, even though the story felt as if it'd gone nicely through its arc.
Seriously, if you're looking for some serious social commentary in space with some furries, lgbtq folks, an epic adventure, and more, please consider this book.
It's not often I tense up while reading an intense or emotional scene, but this book grabbed my heart and ran with it. I'm still a little devastated at a loss right at the end. No spoilers, though. Those characters are so special and I attached maybe a bit too much-
If the author sees this, please know that this book was awesome- and I'm eagerly waiting for more. Even if it's just a few extra chapters appended to the story 😉
I found myself immediately looking to see if there were any sequels right after finishing, even though the story felt as if it'd gone nicely through its arc.
Seriously, if you're looking for some serious social commentary in space with some furries, lgbtq folks, an epic adventure, and more, please consider this book.
It's not often I tense up while reading an intense or emotional scene, but this book grabbed my heart and ran with it. I'm still a little devastated at a loss right at the end. No spoilers, though. Those characters are so special and I attached maybe a bit too much-
If the author sees this, please know that this book was awesome- and I'm eagerly waiting for more. Even if it's just a few extra chapters appended to the story 😉
March 14, 2023
I love this for being an anarchist utopianism story. I love it for the lesson it teaches about progress, and how progress doesn't have to be dependent on state force. I want a second copy because my first copy has a loose page on 274. I wish I could get this book in hardback.
At first, this book depressed me. I really liked the protagonist and the trouble she got tangled up in seemed so hopeless that I didn't think the author could get her out of it. That problem varied a bit and never entirely went away. I thought I'd give it a four star review, for a while. Gail is just in too much trouble the whole way through. Despite that, I had to raise the rating back to five again. I love the River and I love all the characters in the story.
At first, this book depressed me. I really liked the protagonist and the trouble she got tangled up in seemed so hopeless that I didn't think the author could get her out of it. That problem varied a bit and never entirely went away. I thought I'd give it a four star review, for a while. Gail is just in too much trouble the whole way through. Despite that, I had to raise the rating back to five again. I love the River and I love all the characters in the story.
March 24, 2020
My first anthro read in a long time. Kismet and Gail prove to be a strong partnership that really are the only spice to this story. It turned out to be less of a sci-fi and more of a drama/who did it kind of story, with too much time spent in discussions and courtrooms, with the good action not really ramping up until the latter half of the story. Gail is someone I could relate to, just trying to find her place and her sanctuary amidst all the mess going on. But alas, I'm ready for more anthro reads now.
October 2, 2024
it was good. the last quarter of the book was a bit too much government stuff for me. i really liked the dynamic between Gail and the ship. i found the big reveal at the end unsatisfying, but i know a lot of people probably liked it. also, it's rare to find a book were you spend a good amount of time in zero g, especially in a domestic or normal setting and not some world changing, lift off moment. the variety in the totemics and just the people was also really interesting to here about. and the way the mods were portrayed and their intricacies and downsides. they felt real and not some scifi magic power.
February 17, 2017
While I enjoyed this book I do think that readers who haven't read the short story Tow might find themselves a bit lost in this world. It's a nicely developed science fiction world but it doesn't always take the time to explain terminology and history in way that will help readers better understand the world Gail is living in. It would have been nice to have the addition of a small glossary of terms in the back of the book for easy reference.
When Gail is accused of stealing a databox she has to figure out how to find out who really did it while also not getting herself in deeper trouble. For a good portion of the book it was simply decent but once Gail returns to her childhood home and learns what is in the databox she's trying to deal with the story gets much better.
The political elements of the plot and the added complication of Gail's past mix together into a great climax and a satisfying ending that elevates the book from good to great furry fiction that shows a different world that is still struggling with many of the same problems that we do.
When Gail is accused of stealing a databox she has to figure out how to find out who really did it while also not getting herself in deeper trouble. For a good portion of the book it was simply decent but once Gail returns to her childhood home and learns what is in the databox she's trying to deal with the story gets much better.
The political elements of the plot and the added complication of Gail's past mix together into a great climax and a satisfying ending that elevates the book from good to great furry fiction that shows a different world that is still struggling with many of the same problems that we do.
February 11, 2017
Kismet offered up a great combination of interesting characters, a well-developed world with satisfying depth, and a fun story to run them all together. I really appreciated the way that, while the central plot revolved around tension between 'cisform' (human-shaped) and 'totemic' (humans who'd undergone genetic modification to give themselves varying degrees of animal traits), characters were not crudely lumped into groups based on that external characteristic. It was a pleasantly-complex representation of the conflict. Additionally, I appreciated the way that characters' romantic lives, while touched on here and there, felt like organic parts of the story, without ever pulling focus off of the plot. Finally, I really, really enjoyed the setting. It feels a lot like The Expanse, or a bit Firefly, with a single solar system (our familiar one) feeling like a large place, despite the action occurring almost entirely in the Asteroid Belt.
February 11, 2017
Anthropomorphic-animal science fiction is not a typical read for me. However, when I was asked to provide an honest review, I was happy to oblige.
Gail is a totemic rat: mostly human anatomy with some extra rat-like features. In a Firefly-esque universe, Gail gets pulled into the political underworld of biotechnology companies, each trying to sabotage the other. As a former con artist and the daughter of the founder of an intergalactic totemics, Gail has to call on the help of a fox tech whiz, her activist sister, and an Earth Interpol agent to save totemics everywhere.
Although the book had a slow start, the plot quickens as it thickens, and the characters each have such unique personalities, none of them fitting common literary archetypes. The novel's greatest strength is in its sheer emotional impact. Rarely can a science fiction novel make me empathize consistently with its protagonist; but KISMET just does that.
Watts Martin is a delightful evocateur who paints a universe (not too separate from our own) that is battling progressive and conservative ideals in a way that has us siding with the reluctant activist and standing against corpocracy.
....and yes, I want a ship like Kismet.
Gail is a totemic rat: mostly human anatomy with some extra rat-like features. In a Firefly-esque universe, Gail gets pulled into the political underworld of biotechnology companies, each trying to sabotage the other. As a former con artist and the daughter of the founder of an intergalactic totemics, Gail has to call on the help of a fox tech whiz, her activist sister, and an Earth Interpol agent to save totemics everywhere.
Although the book had a slow start, the plot quickens as it thickens, and the characters each have such unique personalities, none of them fitting common literary archetypes. The novel's greatest strength is in its sheer emotional impact. Rarely can a science fiction novel make me empathize consistently with its protagonist; but KISMET just does that.
Watts Martin is a delightful evocateur who paints a universe (not too separate from our own) that is battling progressive and conservative ideals in a way that has us siding with the reluctant activist and standing against corpocracy.
....and yes, I want a ship like Kismet.
February 7, 2017
A solid, fun, and sometimes moving read. The setting is an interesting twist on the "inner system / outer system / belter” trope (a la The Expanse, Niven’s Known Space, etc), and the characters are well-rounded and well-written. This is a novel that should appeal to science fiction and furry fans alike - the setting and subject matter make it especially fun for furry fans, but the storytelling and characterization don’t limit its appeal.
Although the novel works as a self-contained tale, it’s worth reading Martin’s two other short stories in this setting, “Tow” (The Furry Future) and “Trade All The Stars” (Fragments of Life’s Heart) that fill in the backstory for some of the characters in “Kismet”.
Although the novel works as a self-contained tale, it’s worth reading Martin’s two other short stories in this setting, “Tow” (The Furry Future) and “Trade All The Stars” (Fragments of Life’s Heart) that fill in the backstory for some of the characters in “Kismet”.
February 18, 2025
Rating it a very solid four.
liked it very much, two points of contention though, pacing at the start is inconsistent and very YA like, then it gets so so serious(in a good way) also theres this major plot point that leads to the final conflict that is revealed to most of the main characters when revealing it would not have made sense, at best a major miscalculation from one of the minor antagonists.
So despite being a furry that fawned at the ending profusely i am giving it a very solid four stars.
edit: The next day i realized how nice it would have been to see some of the radical totemic activists, they are mentioned a few times but not really seen.
edit2: planning to read it again, maybe will rethink my rating but still have a hard time giving it a 5
liked it very much, two points of contention though, pacing at the start is inconsistent and very YA like, then it gets so so serious(in a good way) also theres this major plot point that leads to the final conflict that is revealed to most of the main characters when revealing it would not have made sense, at best a major miscalculation from one of the minor antagonists.
So despite being a furry that fawned at the ending profusely i am giving it a very solid four stars.
edit: The next day i realized how nice it would have been to see some of the radical totemic activists, they are mentioned a few times but not really seen.
edit2: planning to read it again, maybe will rethink my rating but still have a hard time giving it a 5
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