Martha Moody's Sharp and Dangerous Virtues follows in the footsteps of novels like James Howard Kunstler's World Made by Hand and Brian Francis Slattery's Lost Everything, offering an emotionally resonant and intelligent vision of a cataclysmic dystopia brought on by the collapse of 21st-century technology. The year is 2047; the United States has experienced massive food and water shortages and has created a "heartland grid" near Dayton, Ohio. Meanwhile, a multinational group in Cleveland vies for power and makes overtures to Lila, the commissioner of water. Chad and Sharis, a married couple, attempt to help their children navigate their uncertain future while retaining knowledge of the past, while Tuuro, the gentle church custodian, becomes entangled, through compassion, in an unthinkable crime.
Moody creates a wonderful, workable vision of one possible future where new technologies seem real and the powers that maneuver for control over them even more so. She excels in the quieter, mundane moments, frail domestic set pieces that would ring true in any era. Character after character comes alive in her hands.
Sharp and Dangerous Virtues is a great hybrid of smart, well-plotted, science fiction and a literary novel where characters of depth and recognizable humanity struggle to keep their loved ones alive and their souls intact. It's an admirable book and a pleasure to read. --Donald Powell, freelance writer