Book Review: But They Will Remain

Reviewed by J.B. Leddington

A gritty reality, a dark future, an immersive world—But They Will Remain is as action-packed as it is fascinating.

 Four cyberpunk stories are set in the grim near future of a world that has been devastated by a monumental war and then only imperfectly rebuilt in But They Will Remain. This collectionrelates the exploits of four seemingly disparate men—James-Patrick Boseman, Rhys Hanson, Donovan Grimes, and Franklin Blanchard—who actually have a fair bit in common, not much of it good. 

Author Ross Deaton has accomplished quite a feat in fleshing out this world—a deeply immersive book. The people of all four stories are madly different from one another—and from us—and they provide their own unique perspective of this full and complicated world. 

“Story 1”—rather than descriptive titles, the four stories that comprise But They Will Remain are differentiated in this way—begins on January 7, 2070, about twenty years since the end of the war, in what remains of the United States. Amidst the devastation and waste left by the conflict, James-Patrick Boseman ekes out a living as a scrap miner. “Under the mounds of garbage which towered around him like mountains there were valuable bits. Junk that wasn’t quite ready to die, or rare parts that were worth big money to the right people.”

On this particular day, Boseman and his friend Matty dig up “the filthy remains of a computer tower still bearing the logo of the Oroki Computing corporation. For the last three months JP and the rest of his group had been in a very, very quiet arrangement to salvage any Oroki technology and pass it to an interested party.” Satisfied with their haul, the crew travel almost Mad Max-style in convoy to   California, where unbeknownst to most of them, Boseman and crew leader Red Greene will rendezvous with the buyer for the Oroki salvage.

Their ultimate destination is Alfesi, California, the first city principally designed by artificial intelligence (AI). Alfesi is “a world unto itself. Not a self-sufficient world, it owed its fortune in great deal to other states and many other nations. But the city was an ecosystem unlike any other place on earth.” Boseman hates the city more each time he visits, and this latest trip is no exception. 

When the deal with the Zhi Shang Commonwealth quickly goes south and it becomes clear that other parties—dangerous parties—are interested in the Oroki computer, he is forced to survive and find answers in the unfamiliar city with only a female Zhi cyborg, Ke, to assist him.

The worldbuilding and scene-setting is especially strong in “Story 1.” It is well-suited to establish the current dystopian state of this world. The view presented of the conflict is quite philosophical, highlighting both the futility of war and the potential futility of peace: “When nations of the war had agreed to a ceasefire it had been a necessity, not goodwill. No one, not even those countries with the most robust economies could handle the steady financial bleed the fighting demanded. So they gave up…”

Still, aside from such musings, the story is packed with a serious amount of action, featuring plenty of gunplay, explosions, and chaos. Humanity has clearly broken down into factions that are willing to do whatever it takes to ensure the survival of their group. 

While the post-apocalyptic landscape is familiar from other works of fiction set in a devastated near future, Deaton’s inclusion of a city created by AI is innovative, as is his portrayal of the technologically enhanced Zhi. On the human front, Boseman is a solid guy trying his best in a hostile world. Plus, many of his interactions with Ke are very funny.

In “Story 2,” the perspective shifts to that of Rhys Hanson. It’s now February 9, 2070, and the setting has changed to Jacksonville, Florida. Hanson doesn’t attract much attention as he walks toward the train station. In fact, no one suspects that he has just pulled off a near-impossible assassination.

At Hickory’s Hideout, a bar that’s “happy to lend a space to freelancers, guns-for-hire, and mercs of all stripes,” Hanson confirms to Delilah, a fixer, that the target has been killed. After receiving payment for services rendered and being shocked to learn that Delilah has no more work for him, Hanson considers approaching another fixer but decides against it. “There were stories, not many but enough to be concerning, of fixers sacrificing mercs on jobs that turned out to be ambushes.” Instead, he agrees to join up with a junta, a group of fellow mercenaries seeking a long-range   expert, and their first mission together is when his trouble really begins.

Contrary to the more overtly dystopian and disordered society in “Story 1,” the society in “Story 2” is organized in a way that is beyond faction membership. The societal breakdown in this case seems more along class or wealth lines, and the political divisions seem clearly reflective of the contemporary situation.

Hanson is a more complex character than Boseman. He’s a contract killer who’s not willing to take just any job, and despite his solitary existence, he is battling loneliness and the desire for human connection. Deaton portrays him as morally ambiguous, a likable character who engages in heinous actions. It’s an unusual and interesting character combination, perhaps influenced by the strange state of society following the war. The mercenaries Hanson joins up with are an eclectic and eccentric bunch, and Deaton takes pains to ensure they all have unique character attributes.

“Story 3” shifts the focus again, this time to March 13, 2070, and Detroit, Michigan, where Donovan Grimes appears to be “just another unfortunate in a city of unfortunates.” He’s spent the night sleeping rough in a rubbish-strewn alley and now he’s looking for work from a fixer. “Two burnouts over on North 20th, been dealing weight without consent of the homeowners association. You go in, make ‘em stop.” It sounds straightforward enough, but when posing as a potential customer doesn’t gain him access to the dealers, Donovan has to resort to breaking into their house. 

Subduing the armed dealers requires a serious beatdown, but it’s no big deal for Donovan. Overall, the job pays well and he is able to spend the rest of the day and night doing what he does best. “Donovan withdrew one of the tablets, carefully bit it in half, and swallowed the two sections. Then, the world became perfect. All the colors around him were vivid without being harsh. Every sound became a note in a symphony.” He doesn’t mind where he ends up, provided it’s somewhere he can get lost amongst the crowd.

The Detroit that Donovan inhabits is something of a mashup of RoboCop’s Detroit and Ready Player One’s Columbus, particularly life in the “container stacks.” As in the previous two stories, the war has exacerbated the divide between rich and poor, and the powerful corporations are looking for any way possible to enhance their market share, even if it involves exploiting people. It’s all eerily plausible—recognizable. The process by which Donovan is given his cybernetic implants is described in sparse, brutal language, with Deacon emphasizing the inhumanity of his treatment. This story raises interesting questions of where humanity begins and end.

Finally, “Story 4” introduces Franklin Blanchard as he participates in the BB 18 street race in El Flete, Texas. It’s April 18, 2070, and the race is going well until Blanchard gets cocky, failing to take account of a coming turn. “The car drifted to one side, bounced up on the curb, and slammed its full broadside against the concrete wall of a construction site.” He survives but doesn’t manage to cross the finishing line. Instead, in an effort to avoid the cops, Blanchard attempts to “drunkenly run off his whiplash.” Luckily, there’s a luxury car waiting across town to whisk him home.

Blanchard has a secure if not amazingly paying job with the Odia Corporation, “the single largest fuel company on the planet,” but he prefers to spend his time racing, whether virtually or in reality. This is where he makes the acquaintance of a young woman named Bethany who comes to his aid when his attempt to slum it is almost thwarted by the inability to open a beer bottle by hand.

His pride tells him to move on, but there’s something about Bethany that he just can’t resist. “For whatever reason he felt an odd recognition of her that he couldn’t quite put his finger on. The answer came when Bethany took to her vehicle on the starting line. It was the same motorcycle he’d raced against in the BB 18.” This chance encounter—or is it?—with a fellow racer leads to a rivalry that Blanchard doesn’t want to end. In fact, he wants far more from Bethany than that. But can he really trust her or is the whole thing part of some elaborate con job? 

Unlike the other three guys who feature in But They Will Remain, Blanchard lives a life of luxury, with both human help and robotic assistance, including AI monitoring his health and offering to call the medics when he behaves differently. He also has a cerebellum implant, but it’s very different from the cybernetics that Donovan has installed, meaning that he seems to benefit from technology rather than being a slave to it. In this way, Deaton draws another intriguing contrast between the haves and the have nots. 

However, while the others may well envy him, life’s far from perfect for Blanchard, including the inability to pursue the career he wants and the fact that he’s expected to have an arranged marriage. Clearly, all the money in the world can’t buy him freedom. Still, in the same way that he’s privileged in the story, Blanchard’s story is privileged in the collection due to being the longest. It does drag a little in the middle, but it’s ultimately another action-packed story of a life gone awry. With the street racing, gun running, and heists, it’s like a post-apocalyptic installment in the Fast & Furious series.

Taken together, the four stories that comprise But They Will Remain tell the tales of four disparate men who are united by a shared sense of dissatisfaction and a belief that the world has somehow let them down. That’s not to say they’re self-pitying, as all four guys are (anti)heroes in their own right. They may be an imperfect bunch, but it just makes their stories all the more fascinating.

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