Pluralistic: Jo Walton's "Everybody's Perfect" (30 Jun 2026)
Cory Doctorow reviews Jo Walton's "Everybody's Perfect," a novel set in a misty, belief-driven phantom Venice called the Serenissima where eight parallel human races coexist. Structured as multiple first-person accounts, it blends dream logic, philosophical speculation, and emotional depth.
Background
- Jo Walton is a highly acclaimed science fiction and fantasy novelist, known for literary, philosophical works that often play with alternate history and parallel worlds. She won the Hugo and Nebula Awards for *Among Others*.
- Ada Palmer is a historian and novelist (the *Terra Ignota* series) whose nonfiction book *Inventing the Renaissance* examines how the Renaissance has been reinterpreted across centuries. Walton's new novel is in direct dialogue with Palmer's work.
- *Everybody's Perfect* is set in the "Serenissima" (a phantom, mist-shrouded Venice that exists at the crossroads of many parallel worlds). In this city, shared belief makes things real, and anything forgotten can vanish — including people. The story follows eight beings from different races/worlds, each giving their perspective on a prophecy about a low-born doge.
- Cory Doctorow, the author of this newsletter/blog post, is a prominent tech journalist, activist, and novelist (the *Enshittification* books, *Little Brother*). His site Pluralistic covers technology, politics, and culture with a focus on digital rights and monopolies.