Review: The Sigma Surrogate by JT Lawrence

The Sigma Surrogate is available in print and for Kindle at Amazon.

I'm a great fan of the near-future South African world JT Lawrence created in the When Tomorrow Calls series and rejoiced when she revealed that a prequel was in the works. It is now available and I couldn't be happier with the result. This is a world with nifty "I wish I had" technological advances but are not so far into the realm of science fiction as to be unrelatable. It is also a world in serious trouble, a nanny state rapidly descending into a full-on dystopia: fertility crises, crumbling infrastructure, shortage of potable water, religious terrorists, and a doomsday cult are some of the problems plaguing South Africa.

The Sigma Surrogate focuses on Keke, an investigative journalist and major supporting character in the trilogy. Here she is following a lead that promises an explosive story that will shock the country if it pans out. It involves the SurroSisters, a tight, militaristic, female, tribe-like organization. Their mission is to combat the ongoing fertility crises by recruiting women capable of conceiving into the order of the Surrogate Sisters. The Sisters are above reproach and anything that affects them will shake an already tottering society. Keke ropes her best friend Kirsten (main protagonist of the trilogy) into the investigation and enlists the help of a dark web hacker with unexpected talents.

I've read all of Lawrence's fiction and she has real talent for realistic world-building and smoothly combining plot, characters, dramatic tension, and action into fast paced narratives that are hard to put down once you start reading. She is firmly on my "will always read" list.

Since The Sigma Surrogate is set immediately before the beginning of Why You Were Taken, the first book in the trilogy, should it be read first? Honestly, it works either way. If you haven't read the trilogy then start here and immediately purchase Why You Were Taken, How We Found You, and What Have We Done: you'll want to see how the story plays out. And you'll have a "I know something this character doesn't" experience. If you have read the trilogy then you will have the fun of discovering the back story of several characters and enjoy the subversive twists that will upset what you thought you knew.


JT Lawrence's website

My reviews for the trilogy:
Why You Were Taken, When Tomorrow Calls Book 1
How We Found You, When Tomorrow Calls Book 2
What Have We Done, When tomorrow Calls Book 3

Also in the world of When Tomorrow Calls is The Stepford Florist: A Short Cyberpunk Conspiracy Thriller