I was scared for a bit but this book definitely delivered. The science fiction novel, Those Beyond The Wall, is a sequel to The Space Between Worlds by Micaiah Johnson. Taking place years after the end of book 1, several unexplained deaths occur, the most devastating being the death of Helene X. As a result, the runners of Ashtown begin to investigate. The reader follows this investigation through the lens of Mister Scales, a woman who has been keeping her backstory a secret from nearly everyone while also being in love with a friend who’ll never love her back, hating a man who denigrated Mister Scales as a child, and balancing her needs and wants with her loyalty to Ashtown.
This book is very character driven so I ALMOST gave up but my friend Rae, said “Keisha we like the same books, finish it!” So I listened because Rae is very rarely wrong. And let me tell you, the build up was worth it. This is not to say that the rest of the book is boring because the book is written well. I’m just not a character driven plot type of person as it usually slows the pacing of a book to a lackluster crawl for me. So the slow realization that the main character may be in love with the man she hates most didn’t really grasp my attention too much. Neither did her pining for her best friend, or the secret she “needed” to keep from everyone. What kept me interested during those bits was her worry about Mister Cross’ mental health. But yes, that slow build catapults into a dazzling climax, all the while providing commentary on love, sexuality, politics, mental health, gender, polyamory, and social justice.
Now in retrospect, the political intrigue was great. Being a fly on the wall as Mister Scales learns and uses the politics both in the runners’ society and how they interact with the rest of the world. The book goes into great detail about this which, I admit, I questioned quite a bit. But halfway through the book, I noticed how much I enjoyed how the book models a more fair yet brutal society and hypothesizes the requirements for a world that is more balanced in both power and influence. You see it in the code of the runners, the loyalty to the community, the reasons and procedures of the runners’ parade.
Another aspect of this book that I was pleasantly surprised with was the arc of Adam. In The Space Between Worlds, Adam is a terrible human being but in this book you learn more about him and his relationship with Nic Nic. Initially I was irritated. Pissed even because why give this atrocious man a redemption arc? But I feel it may have been necessary. It serves as a reminder that people can change. People should change. Every character surrounding Adam processed that change in their own way, from constantly condemning his heinous acts refusing to accept Adam to a genuine outpouring of love, support, and sacrifice. Johnson seems to make it clear that acceptance is up to the groups impacted. They (the groups) will process however they see fit and the perpetrator needs to accept this.This is a message that needs to be relayed to our reality.
That message definitely wasn’t the only parallel to our world. When the youth of the city used their bodies as a barrier to help Ashtown runners, it reminded me of the current college and university encampments happening as students protest for their schools to divest from Israeli military investments. It should never be the sole responsibility of the youth to speak up for equal rights, but it does give me hope that with every generation, it gets better. This book, much like the first, sends a strongly worded message that a mere modification of our current systems isn’t enough. We must dismantle the systems entirely as they benefit no one but the wealthy, powerful, and influential.
Micaiah Johnson became an immediate autobuy author for me. I fear this book was better than the first book. What about you? Have you read it yet?
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