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An Unstable System: Holding it Together
Paperback
General FictionLiterary Fiction
ISBN13: 9781913818999
Publisher: First Element
Published: Mar 1 2026
Pages: 506
Weight: 1.08
Height: 1.02 Width: 5.06 Depth: 7.81
Language: English
An Unstable System pretends to be about corporate science and polished Europeans with good cars. It isn't.
It's about calibration.
Matt sees structure where others see noise. At Brant Industrie, that makes him useful. It also makes him vulnerable.
Juliette doesn't flirt. She measures. She adjusts the frame before anyone realises there was one. Watching her reposition Matt is almost unfair. Almost.
Cyclone isn't a weapon. It isn't therapy. It optimises. Optimisation feels clean. Truth feels clean.
There's a moment - no spoilers - when colour fractures the air around him. It's brief. Easy to dismiss. Don't. The book doesn't waste anomalies.
This is not a loud novel. The voltage sits under the dialogue. The blade is on the table. Nobody touches it.
By the time Matt understands the system, he isn't analysing it. He's load-bearing.
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