Passion Play
{4.5/5} “Being a shaper makes you look behind the surfaces of things. It was my father and his discipline of History that first showed me the patterns running below the skin of life. But where he studied the march of nations, I followed the twisted ways of the individual heart.”
Passion Play by Sean Stewart, published in 1992
Shapers are people who experience other people’s emotions. Diane is a shaper who is also a hunter — she works with the police to track down bad guys. When Jonathan Mask, a famous actor, is killed Diane is called to investigate. He was electrocuted, seemingly by accident, by the complex technology in his costume. Diane secretly hopes it was murder.
It’s a murder mystery set in a country where the wall between church and state has been knocked down. The dystopian nature of the society is uncomfortably similar to things happening in the US now.
It’s not my favourite type of story, but it’s told very well. The ending is unique — Stewart should be applauded for doing something different.
This is the 2nd book I’ve read by Stewart. I read Nobody’s Son some years ago and loved it.