Family First

When Lazarus opens, we see a woman being shot with a description of where each bullet hits her body and the damage it inflicts. She looks dead. The woman is Forever Carlyle, Lazarus to the Carlyle family, and she cannot be killed. She kills the three men who tried to kill her, but expresses sadness because they were just looking for food. This is of concern, because the power structure won’t last if the enforcer is questioning the structure.

In the future, states have disappeared and territory has been divided among wealthy families. If you aren’t family, you are either a serf or waste. Or a Lazarus. A Lazarus is made, not born. Forever Carlyle thinks she is the youngest child of Malcolm Carlyle. Malcolm Carlyle and his true children know that she is a tool. At some point, this is going to blow up in their faces. Not in this Volume, but it seems likely.

One of the first things that struck me is how much Jonah Carlyle looks like a Trump. Of course, Malcolm Carlyle is much smarter than the current Trump paterfamilias. Jonah, though, is as stupid, self satisfied and venal as Eric or Don Jr., and we even have Johanna Carlyle who looks like a smarter Ivanka. 

Forever Carlyle is beautiful young woman who wears a lot of tank tops and can kill you with a punch. She’s a killing machine with feelings and vulnerabilities. The young woman ass kicker is not new, or subversive, any more.  As of this volume, there is nothing new in Lazarus. That’s fine. There is always going to be a place for familiar stories told well. Lazarus is told well. We’ve been given just enough to feel comfortable with world, but still curious about what is going on.