DRC Review: Scion by James Islington

Release date: 1 September 2026

Rating: 4.5/5

Synopsis:  John Wick meets Blade Runner in this fast-paced cyberpunk thriller by the #1 NYT bestselling author of The Will of the Many.

My job, when you think about it, isn’t so different from a lot of people’s. I have to deal with a ton of boring planning. Inconvenient hours. Some pretty awkward face-to-face interactions. And like most of us, I’m really only clocking in to try and crawl out from beneath my debts.

The more old-fashioned crowd do still get hung up on the ‘killing people’ part, I guess, but that’s a them problem: it’s been perfectly legal to take out lifers for ages. Besides, once ultrawealthy morons realised they had a way to live forever—limited resources be damned—there was only ever going to be one genuinely practical deterrent. So someone’s got to do it. 

And luckily, my genetic compatibilities make me really, really good at it.

Still. This next job… I don’t know. It’s something I haven’t had to deal with in years. Kind of the opposite of my regular duties. Strange, that it got thrown my way.

I’m sure it’ll all go totally fine though.

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Review

Once again, and not surprisingly, I have read a popular author's latter work first despite owning more than one of said author's backlist. If Scion is an accurate indication of how good (I'm aware of the prolific amount of rave reviews) The Licanius Trilogy and the Hierarchy series are, I will be putting more effort into overcoming their bulky intimidation and just crack those books open already. Islington artfully balances an addictive, compelling plot with finely narrated action scenes and wonderful, dry humor. I got through this short novel in one day and couldn't put it down.

In the vein of Edward Ashton and Andy Weir, Islington pairs dry humor with high stakes and dark premises. I would also add that the book could be better comp'ed with Altered Carbon and Johnny Mnemonic in certain aspects. Assassin Azure finds himself in an undesirable situation in order to make some extra currency to dig out of a financial hole. Circumstances of the job unfold in such fun ways that it's hard to root for him because the slog he has to put up with is way too funny to feel any sympathy. He's not cute and fuzzy or endearing in any way; he's just a highly-skilled jerk who's really good at his job. Yet…

Azure's job puts him in proximity with a testy, awesome old lady who feels the same way because she subjects him to no end of difficult situations seemingly for her own amusement. Despite the hairy situations and complete annoyance the two have with one another, they form a ride-or-die bond and make a great buddy story in the end. Islington writes one of the best unlikely friendships I've read, and that alone earns the book a place on my physical shelf—I will be buying this book.

My thanks to S & S/Saga Press for the DRC, for which I willingly give my own, honest opinion.

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