What if Zem Sparak hadn’t died?

Laurent Gaudé reunites with Zem Sparak and Salia Malberg in the dystopian universe of Magnapole and offers an addictive and political sequel to Chien 51.

Zem Sparak, a former cop dog, has gotten over his Oikos overdose and is now responsible for the personal security of the head of the Major Works Commission, who is overseeing the reunification of the city of Magnapole. As the two of them are waiting to receive delivery of a cargo of glacier water earmarked for the wealthiest citizens, a container ship propelled towards the crowd turns out to be harbouring a macabre secret: five corpses packed together like sardines of whom there is no trace in the records of GoldTex, despite the company being under constant surveillance by artificial intelligence. It is an opportunity for Zem to hook up again with Salia Malberg, who has also been dispatched to the scene, and to investigate what the World Company is hiding from its citizen-employees, which turns out to be a revolutionary source of energy that is being kept under wraps.

Laurent Gaudé’s latest novel holds up a mirror to the disastrous collapse of contemporary society. But far away from the sound and fury, there does exist a safe haven where it is possible to resist, providing one can surmount the pervasive cynicism of humankind.