A diverse team of ex-criminals reunite to solve the mystery of their disastrous mission and rescue a missing comrade, facing highly-evolved AI and sapient ageships in a battle for control of the universe. The novel explores themes of trauma, loyalty, and identity in a fast-paced, violent, and profanity-laden sci-fi setting.

Reader Review Summary

"The All-Consuming World" is a thrilling and visceral sci-fi novel that takes readers on an exhilarating ride through a richly imagined universe. Cassandra Khaw's writing is simply breathtaking, wielding language like a master artisan sculpting with words. Her prose is dense, evocative, and endlessly surprising, blending gritty realism with soaring lyricism.

The premise alone is gripping - a ragtag crew of broken, traumatized former criminals reuniting for one last, desperate mission to rescue a missing comrade. But Khaw takes this familiar heist/space opera setup and elevates it into something transcendent. Her imagination seems to know no bounds as she layers mind-bending concepts like sentient AI gods, immortality through cloning, and consciousness running through networks. These massive, thought-provoking ideas rain down in an exhilarating frenzy.

At its core, this is a story of what it means to be human in a post-human world. Khaw explores themes of identity, trauma, sexuality, and the malleability of the body and mind with nuance and unflinching honesty. Her characters are not stereotypes but beautifully flawed, morally ambiguous beings just trying to survive in a harsh universe that seems determined to break them.

The novel is a kaleidoscope of genres skillfully blended - part hardboiled cyberpunk noir, part gothic body horror, part metaphysical future shock. Khaw wields profanity, violence, and visuals of visceral brutality with the same deft hand as she does tender emotional interludes and melancholy character beats. This tonal whiplash could easily fall apart in less capable hands, but Khaw's command of her craft is awe-inspiring.

Underpinning it all is a series of messy, tangled romances and obsessions that make the high-stakes world-ending stakes feel deeply personal and meaningful. When the mercurial leader Rita manipulates and gaslights the ferocious Maya, you feel Maya's anguish and rage in your bones. Their dynamic is one of the most compellingly toxic yet tragically romantic relationships put to page. The queer representation here is seamless and fully integrated into the very fabric of the story and world.

"The All-Consuming World" is not just an electrifying tale of high-stakes action and weird science fiction concepts - it's a challenging, re-readable piece of literary art that lingers in the mind long after completing it. Khaw has created something truly special here, a breathtakingly original novel with depths to dive into over and over again. For readers craving nutritious fiction that stretches the limits of the genre, this is a feast that must be devoured.