Smart LeGuin-like sci-fi, a great political kidnapping thriller, and "cyberfunk"

Roundup 08/04/2023

Greetings from Read Max HQ, and welcome to our weekly roundup column, in which I pick out some worthwhile and often overlooked books, articles, movies, and music to recommend to paying subscribers. For this week’s round-up I’ve got:

• A good new sci-fi courtroom drama/alien translation story with a strong LeGuin influence;

• a great 1970s political thriller;

• a Read Max-approved “new genre” with s.

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Now, the roundup. First, as always, a dispatch from the future: