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ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Lavanya Lakshminarayan is the award-winning author of Analog/ Virtual: And Other Simulations of Your Future, featured on Tor.com's Best Books of 2021 list. She’s a Locus Award finalist and is the first science-fiction writer to win the Times of India AutHer Award and the Valley of Words Award, and has also been nominated for the BSFA Award.

She’s occasionally a game designer, and has built worlds for Zynga Inc.’s FarmVille franchise, Mafia Wars, and other games. For more, follow her on Twitter: @lavanya_ln and Instagram: @lavanya.ln

Publisher: Solaris (March 28, 2023) Page count: 368

You're either productive or culled. The future Bangalore, renamed Apex City, isn't an easy place to thrive. What counts is productivity, virality or Engager-to-Lurkers ratio.

Ten Percent Thief is structured as a collection of interconnected short stories with recurring characters. The stories build on each other and lead to an interesting culmination. Consequently, there's no distinct plot or central character to root for. In my opinion, Ten Percent Thef sacrifices character development and plot in favor of ideas and dark satire. Each story shows a different facet of society and leads to an intense climax.

Let's take a look at life in the Apex City. The Bell Corporation has established a "meritocratic technarchy." It determines how people should live. The "Virtuals" live in the virtual world and despise the "Analogs" forced to live in a world that's succumbed to climate change, where there's almost no fresh food or water and no technology. The society is literally split into two and divided by electric shield known as a Carnatic Meridian.

Sounds harsh? It is, but the "Virtuals" don't have it easy, either. Their productivity metrics are constantly being recalculated, and it's easy to slide down the ladder. And if you slip, you can be harvested or turned into an Analog.

By telling the story through interconnected short stories, Lakshmirayan is able to present multiple perspectives of the citizens of Apex City and show readers how the revolution begins and develops. While the narrative is complex, the storyline is quite simple. A subgroup of the Analogs are planning revolution to gain equal rights, and equal access to the technology. Nothing new here. The way of telling it, though, is new.

Lakshminarayan's world-building is detailed and technology-oriented. She's created a world where productivity is the only thing that counts and citizens receive benefits according to their calculated value to society. The narrative allows readers to see every aspect of the world from different perspectives (Bell Corp executives, employees, adopted analog musicians, tour guides, and more). It's an interesting, kaleidoscopic journey.

I appreciate the concise and intelligent writing style. Ten Percent Thief does everything right if you're here for the ideas and world building. However, if you're looking for good science, I'm not convinced it's here. If you're looking for emotional characters' arcs, some stories have them, but overall the book lacks an emotional core or central characters to sympathize with.

All in all, I have mixed feelings about Ten Percent Thief. It's certainly an interesting read, but not one I was emotionally invested in. There's nothing wrong with intellectual stories, but I'm not sure the science here would stand up to scrutiny. I think it's more of an interesting look at how technology and social media can corrupt and dehumanize people. Don't get me wrong. I'm glad I read Ten Percent Thief. I simply feel it sacrifices parts that are subjectively important to me (characters, plot) in favor of ideas and themes.