Walter Mosley may be best known for his Easy Rawlins mysteries, but he's no stranger to science fiction. Merge/Disciple is the second collection of two short SF novels from Mosley in 2012 (after The Gift of Fire and On the Head of a Pin); like the previous volume, it presents the pair in "Ace Doubles" format, where readers flip the book over after finishing one story to start the other.
In Merge, Raleigh Redman is a recent lottery winner with tons of money and very few friends. Alien visitors appear around the world, retaliating with violence when attacked. One of these aliens visits Raleigh, who slowly nurses it back to health. Disciple tells of Hogarth "Trent" Tryman, a data entry clerk with few prospects in life. He's contacted via his computer to Bron, an intelligence with extensive knowledge and power. Bron gives Trent the top spot at his data company, a series of tasks to complete and a vision of the future that doesn't always have humankind's best interest at heart.
Both novels feature a lonely, discarded black man--disconnected and neglected by society--in the central role, placing the fate of the world in their hands. The stories sparkle with literary energy, shedding light on the human condition from an atypical perspective. Mosley proves himself a master of both outsider and speculative fiction, rising above mere genre to ask the big questions. --Rob LeFebvre, freelance writer and editor