Obstetrix by Naomi Kritzer

 

I have been so excited for this book and it did not disappoint!

I first encountered Naomi Kritzer’s writing when her short story “Cat Pictures, Please” was nominated (and later won) the Hugo Award. It was just delightful in every way and I cannot recommend it enough. It’s about a benevolent artificial intelligence that just wants to help people and to look at pictures of cats. This story was included in a short story collection after it won, Cat Pictures Please and Other Stories, and I enjoyed that collection very much. 

Later, Ms. Kritzer took this premise and turned it into the award winning Catfishing on Catnet, in which the AI hangs out with a bunch of teens in a chat room and helps out when the protagonist is pursued by her stalker of a father.  It was a delight and deserved every award it won. (And more!) I also very much enjoyed the sequel, Chaos on Catnet, and her more recent book, Liberty’s Daughter. 

So of course, when I went to Worldcon for the first time this past summer and I saw that Ms. Kritzer was reading from a new upcoming work, I had to be there! She read from this book, Obstetrix, which is set in a not too distant future in which an obstetrician is kidnapped by a cult. I couldn’t want to read the rest of it, so I was so thrilled when Tor and NetGalley approved me for an eARC in exchange for an honest review!

It did not disappoint. Once again, the author creates an immersive world with believable characters that make you unable to stop turning the pages. You really feel you are there, captive, with the protagonist, and you share her creeping dread.

I predict this book will be on the Hugo ballot next year - it’ll certainly be on mine!