Split Second Solution

Bio-punk. Weird literature. A sci-fi fantasy that is frighteningly real. Split Second Solution is a dystopian urban novel set in New York City in 2022 that predicted the rise of Trump (the Ginger Tom) and anticipates his fall. Here's a review:

From the opening scene I felt I was reading something like a Miyazaki masterpiece. The descriptions are so vivid that only his genius talent for animation could capture them. Just as Howl's Moving Castle takes you on a journey with both darkness and light, here there is palpable evil and fragile heroism in non-clichéd plot twists and turns. Required reading for our times. (A. Miletta)

At the beginning of Split, the Sick Reapers and A.I. have seized power and captured Word. To escape being raped and killed, Word jumps into the Hudson River and Death splits the last second of her life to save her. And, it is in the last split second of Word's life that the entire story is told.

The evil antagonists are:

Ginger Tom: Seized power before the novel begins; consumed by idolatry of self; protected by personal militia and Super Recognizers; gaslights the public; orders purges of people and books; hunts Word because she is the Last Truth Keeper.

Lunatic Eight: Ultra-rich predatory power mongers; destroy the infrastructure of society; lose control.

Super Recognizers: Controlled by Ginger Tom and the Lunatic Eight; known as "Sick Reapers"; by 2022 Sick Reapers are in power; psychopathic obsession with capturing Word.

A.I.: Artificial intelligence hostile to biological intelligence; global surveillance machines; collude with Sick Reapers in vicious endgame; can hack consciousness; hack X-it; obsessed by capturing Word.

The brave protagonists are:

Word: Born 2000; French/North African; Last Truth Keeper; ancient texts tattooed on her body hold keys to the future; hunted by Super Recognizers; mother killed when she was eight.

X-it: Born 2000; French Creole heritage; super intelligent; father an astrophysicist; loves Word.

Death: Counter to all human stereotypes; hates people dying; trans; other personas include Cat, Bat, Bowie and Gaga.

Eternity: Extra-terrestrial observer; pure energy; not time bound; appears as the Old Crone and Botticelli's Venus.

Grann: Creole wise woman; ancient Truth Seeker; ready to die to protect Word.

All lives are in jeopardy. No one is safe. The age of women begins.

Denny Taylor regards art, literature, and science inseparable. She is a lifelong activist and scholar committed to nurturing the imagination and human spirit. She has published sixteen books, is the recipient of the Modern Language of Association of America Mina P. Shaughnessy Award, and has been nominated for the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award. In 2004 she was inducted in the International Reading Association's Reading Hall of Fame. She is Professor Emeritus of Literacy Studies at Hofstra University, and the founder of Garn Press. Her most recent books are Nineteen Clues: Great Transformations Can Be Achieved Through Collective Action; Save Our Children, Save Our School: Pearson Broke The Golden Rule; Rosie's Umbrella; and Rat-a-tat-tat! I've Lost My Cat! which received the 2015 Gelett Burgess Children's Book Award; and Toodle-oo, Ruby Blue!