A review by jentidders
Surrender by Ray Loriga

2.0

Surrender by Ray Loriga is a Spanish dystopian sci-fi novel, which I read translated into English by Carolina De Robertis. I really enjoyed the first half, where our first-person narrator, his wife, and the mute child they have taken in, are evacuated from their town and sent to the “transparent city”. I liked how it felt part-historical with references akin to the Spanish Civil War, whilst also being clearly set in the future or an alternate reality. However, I became disengaged with the story once they reached the city and things began to drag. I feel like the author was going for an Orwellian "big brother' vibe, but failed to match this. There are no final answers in this tale, so it depends on how that kind of thing sits with you.