Touched

Mosley’s (Every Man a King) sci-fi novella thrums with the kinetic energy of a crime thriller. Mild-mannered family man Martin Just awakens one morning to discover that he is back on Earth after spending thousands of years becoming much more than human. Because of this awakening and the fact that he was wandering outside naked, Martin is arrested. He soon becomes a target of both a white supremacist gang and another recently awakened being named Tor Waxman, whose mission is to destroy all life. Martin and Tor will ultimately battle for the fate of Martin’s family and, indeed, all of humankind. Readers familiar with Mosley’s work might associate him with crime fiction, but his latest is an insightful and focused science fiction story with elements that recall anthology shows like The Twilight Zone and Black Mirror. With his steady delivery, narrator Leon Nixon’s portrayal of the ever-evolving everyman Martin grounds the story. Mosley’s crime writer roots are evident in the book’s pacing and through the perspective of Martin, a Black man who must navigate a complex judiciary system.