Carl Marsalis is a Variant Thirteen–the result of a near future project to genetically engineered abnormally strong and quick and hyper-aggressive soldiers. His kind are feared as humanoid monsters, and most are kept in camps or exiled to colonies on Mars. Marsalis has been hired to help track down a virtually untrackable renegade thirteen who is on a vicious killing spree.

There’s a Blade Runner feel to the world inhabited by the Thirteens–the U.S. is no longer dominant (in fact, it’s split into the coastal Pacific Rim states, a New England allied with Europe and the UN, and the internal “Jesus Land”) and corporations wield power comparable to the most powerful national and international governments. Technological advances have not done much to improve the social circumstances of this world. The balance of power has shifted, but the proportion of haves to have-nots has not changed, and prejudices persist, if with different targets.

What keeps Morgan’s Thirteen from falling into the “I’ve read this before” disposal are the believability of his world and his characters and his deep exploration of race, genetics, politics, religion and tech. Occasionally Morgan spends a little too much time in preachy explication, but for the most part, the richness of detail makes this seem like a world we could be inhabiting all too soon.

I listened to this as an audiobook, and Morgan’s movie-like storytelling and the excellent voice acting got me (relatively painlessly) through a month of exercise–including my first seven mile run in nearly two years.