Husk by J. Kent Messum
My rating: 4/5 cats
“We’re all whores now, kid.”
this is another great book by the man who gifted the world with Bait – the best “junkies vs. sharks” novel of all time. sadly, this book has zero sharks in it, but it features the same kind of imaginative setup and barreling pace as Bait, which is some consolation for its stubborn refusal to be about sharks.
i feel like this book would be friends with Shovel Ready, although they would agree to disagree on a few issues. both books take place in a near-future new york where things are horrible, the class divide is even more pronounced than it is in the real world, and both feature an occupy central park situation and their own version of virtual living. but while Shovel Ready manages to find a dark comedy in these things, this book is all business.
here, we have a technology-gone-too-far situation where the one-percenters have the option to be downloaded after their deaths and remain in a virtual world of their choosing until they want to take a vacation into the world of the living again by renting out a husk – a living person who gets paid very handsomely to put themselves on hold into a chemically-induced coma while allowing their client full access to their bodies and minds.
what could go wrong with that??
husking is a profession which most regular folk assume is just an urban legend, but it is very real. as real and as kept-from-the-public as the cure for AIDS, which is crucial to husks, whose bodies get up to all sorts of shenanigans while they are being borrowed by people who have only a limited time to fit in all the debauchery they are unable to experience now that they’re dead and all. renting out one’s body can lead to embarrassing misunderstandings in the husk’s personal life, when it’s unclear who’s driving the body, but sometimes the drivers get into far more sinister things. and so begins our tale.
in order to remain viable for husking, the hosts have to be very attractive and keep their bodies – the merchandise – in mint condition. therefore, there are some rules for general care of the bodies for their temporary inhabitants. following the old “you break it, you buy it” system, those who are test-driving the husks are not permitted to use it too recklessly and visible injuries to the husk are costly. it’s in the renter’s best interests to keep the husk in good condition, since they frequently have a favorite husk and it’s smart to keep them viable for re-use. husks may be rented out as frequently as the client chooses, but they are limited to a maximum 72-hour rental period. anything longer risks too much disorientation to the husk’s mind upon re-entry. with vaccines for stds and rapid detox meds ready for the husk upon their return to their own bodies, the physical risks are diminished somewhat, but not knowing what acts were performed when someone else was wearing your face can leave the husk vulnerable to physical attacks from parties wronged during the rental period.
rhodes is an attractive man in a crazy world. a childhood of poverty taught him to take whatever opportunities came his way, and after some time spent as a regular prostitute, he turned to husking, with “no kiddie stuff” being his only hard limit. his sort-of girlfriend ryoku is also a husk, and their professions make their relationship complicated, but there is genuine affection between the two, despite the occasional awkwardness of occasionally encountering other people wearing the skin of their partner.
everything is working out as well as it can in a messed-up world where the government watches over its citizens with drones, meat is grown in labs, people can become homeless in the blink of an eye, and women are going missing all over manhattan. thousands of people are living in central park, poor and protesting and plotting revolution, but rhodes gets fancy new suits and other expensive gifts from his clients and is able to stockpile money away, ensuring that he never has to return to the deprivation of his childhood – his biggest fear.
but then rhodes’ friend and fellow husk miller is killed during a job that was originally supposed to be rhodes’. and rhodes begins having visions, weird brief glitches of faces and violence following his jobs. his husking equipment does not seem to be malfunctioning, and rhodes writes off the phenomenon to overwork and too many jobs with too little recovery time in-between. however, as the glitches continue, rhodes begins to investigate, discovering similar complaints from other husks that seem to all originate after being hired by the same client.
i’m not saying anything else.
this is a fantastic fast-paced thriller that combines sci-fi, horror and psychological suspense into a truly original story that hits its mark every step of the way. i truly loved it, despite its lack of sharks. great concept, great execution and a very strong second novel.
