EDITOR’S CHOICE
Arielle Emmett delivers a bold, thought-provoking debut—brilliantly imaginative, emotionally resonant, and richly layered with futuristic and political depth.
Arielle Emmett’s The Logoharp is a dazzlingly inventive, genre-defying cyberpunk novel set in a chilling vision of the year 2121. In this richly imaginative and politically charged future, we meet Naomi—a half-human, half-cyborg Reverse Journalist employed by the Chinese state. Her job is not to report events as they unfold, but to foresee and script the probable future, ensuring the regime stays one step ahead of chaos.
Naomi’s tool, the Logoharp, is a mysterious, almost mystical device that transmits instructions in all world languages, guiding her actions and shaping the very fabric of reality. Yet when her past collides with her future in the form of a brilliant architect and former lover, Naomi begins to question her programming—and her humanity.
Emmett’s narrative is intellectually daring and laced with sharp commentary on surveillance, state control, eugenics, and identity. The world-building is intricate and immersive, drawing from both ancient Chinese tradition and high-tech dystopian aesthetics. Naomi, as a heroine, is strikingly original—beguiling, deeply flawed, and profoundly sympathetic.
What sets The Logoharp apart is its fusion of lyrical prose, philosophical depth, and narrative experimentation. This is not a fast-paced thriller, but a cerebral, emotionally resonant exploration of what it means to resist when the future itself is pre-written.
Bold, provocative, and richly imaginative, The Logoharp stands as a vital entry in the canon of speculative fiction, drawing comparisons to Orwell, Gibson, and Bacigalupi, while carving out a voice entirely its own.
A remarkable debut that lingers long after the final page.
