Sweet Harmony by Claire North

I would like to thank Nazia and Orbit Books for an advance copy of this novella in exchange for a fair and honest review

Publisher – Orbit

Published – 21/9

Price - £1.99 Kindle eBook

Harmony is tired. Tired of working so hard, tired of the way she looks, tired of being average. But all that changes when she decides to splash out and upgrade her nanos. 

And why not? Everyone's doing it now. With a simple in-app purchase, you can update the tech in your bloodstream to transform yourself - get enhanced brain power, the perfect body or a dazzling smile. 

Suddenly, everything starts going right for Harmony. She's finally becoming the person she always wanted to be. But when she ends up running too many upgrades on her body all at once, the effects will be more catastrophic than she could have imagined.

No sooner as lockdown (part 1) ended we started seeing stories about to remove your lockdown fat, fix your hair and make your zoom screen shine with personality. Humans think image is important – this isn’t a recent development. Nobility would have their double chins airbrushed from history but these days it is getting easier with filters, screen tricks and so much more on the horizon. New technology could finally make our bodies show the world whatever you want to be seen as. In Claire Orth’s new novella Sweet Harmony, we get a glimpse of a world where we could cure most ailments but the biggest attraction of that new world is what it can do for our image and of course how it will aid capitalism.

Harmony Meads wakes up to a truly terrible sight – a spot. This isn’t terrifying because this high-flyig twenty-something is on an important date or expecting to be photographed. This means the nanites she has for years to control her fitness; her beauty and lifestyle are no longer working. Harmony Meads is behind on her payments and her provider have removed all capabilities bar basic functions and so her body is going to do some rebalancing. This novel explores Hamony’s life; the decisions that led her to use this new technology and how her life falls apart because of it and how the world will treat people those with and those without.

This novella is a tour through a life and a world just a few years in our future. Nanotechnology can cure many health issues such as cancer or prevent strokes, but it also is becoming a key part of people’s health and fitness. They can give you the perfect skin, care, physique and so much more. Eat what you want; drink without getting drunk – get the perfect smile and now for just a regular monthly payment it is all yours to play with. To help us walk through the wonders and dangers of this world North introduces us to Harmony – her first nanites are for school vaccinations but an early hostile reaction from a potential lover makes her start to look into the wider benefits of this new technology.

What I loved about this story was not that this is just about Harmony’s choices but how the world she lives in capitalises on and pushes for perfection. Three key themes come into play. One it explores a world where the best-looking and best sounding person gets promoted the most and a few bad hair days can lead to job losses. Is this really a change from our world or if everyone can now get this technology does that push people to greater extremes in making their body godlike? We see Harmony’s rise and fall over a few years and it’s a strange world where people all compete to be extravagant in drug binges, alcohol and yet nothing matters (like 80’s yuppies pushed to the max). Its all about image and so once you no longer fit in you can chillingly be pushed out to the side-lines of society.

This leads very much to capitalism and what is very clear is this technology is now a huge cash cow for the manufacturers. We see adverts that practically scare you into not wanting to look bad and what is worse is that these companies are very canny on what happens if you start getting behind on payments. Is your body really just responding to the loss of the nanites or is something more sinister going on? North explores debt for the young as Harmony’s quest for perfection leads to more and more extreme nanite combinations. Perfection comes at a high price in monthly instalments with penalties. And of course, in such a world any major treatments to help regular conditions such as diabetes or cancer would be at a high price. North introduces a debate on health poverty and exactly when should people be made to live past their natural lifespans which is not a million miles away from our current world at all.

In such a chilling tale perhaps the most sinister examination is of patriarchy and toxic relationships. One driver for what happens to Harmony is caused by key men in her life. At university she is shamed by a lover for not taking her own contraception and expecting him to use some. At work the men ogle all the women using the nanites and it’s a world of constant harassment and where women are viewed as toys for bragging rights. Finally, we have the character of Jiannis – wealthy, handsome and fun so a perfect match for her own perfection. But he wants her to reach for more (at her own cost) to become the woman he truly desires compliant without any debate he knows best. This toxic relationship and its aftermath were one of the hardest parts to read but I was really impressed how saw male behaviour such as this control Harmony pushing her ever more into what could be soon seen as addiction. Is Harmony alone responsible for her decisions in this story or has the world made these the only acceptable options?

This story is chilling but impressively intelligent science fiction and while nanites are many years away from what this story reminds us that the trio of patriarchy, sexism and consumerism are with us now causing just as much damage. North makes the reader look at the world and ask us can this happen? The answer is easily yes but it’s the kind of SF that makes you think how can we stop this or be better people ourselves. Strongly recommended