The Last Contract of Isako
Hardback Published on: 05/05/2026
RRP Recommended Retail Price: £22.00
Price: £18.99Save £3.01 (14%)
Bookseller Reviews
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Cyberpunk Mystery done Expertly
Woven incredibly throughout the book; it kept me guessing with every twist, with amazing depth to its world-building. It makes me want more books with Isak... READ MORE
Corporate samurai in space
I received this as an advance reader copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All opinions my own.
I came to this novel, firstly becau... READ MORE
Last but not least...
The honour codes of the Samurai have always fit well into the dystopian tales of cyberpunk science fiction, with its shadowy corporate wars standing in for... READ MORE
Political Intrigue and Conspiracy
As a reader of a certain age, it is hugely enjoyable when the protagonist is a middle-age lady, who has worked hard all her life and is feeling her body co... READ MORE
Dystopian Space Samurai
Thank you to the publisher for this ARC.
I went blind into this book, only knowing it featured samurais and was science fiction, and I can say I was absol... READ MORE
Live by the Code until it kills you
Having enjoyed the Green Bone saga, I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this book. The premise, cover, and opening chapters evoked Blade Runner with i... READ MORE
Whip-smart and highly entertaining
I adored The Last Contract Of Isako, and it easily gets a 5-star rating from me! This standalone is a highly entertaining, whip-smart story that felt excel... READ MORE
Synopsis
Get ready to be blown away by this searing standalone science fiction epic where corporate samurai fight beneath merciless stars, and death is always a mere breath away.
Isako is a legendary swordswoman, but every legend has to come to an end. When her long-time client unexpectedly retires, she plans to follow-to walk out into the frozen wasteland of their planet with her head held high and her family enriched by her legacy. But when a competitor offers her a final mission, it's one she can't refuse. Soon, she's thrust deep into a world of corporate espionage, duty-bound duels, and shadowy secrets. What she uncovers will change humanity's existence in the stars forever.
The Last Contract of Isako is the sci-fi you didn't know you needed: corporate samurai... in space. This is the first adult science fiction novel from the award-winning author of Jade City.
'A knife-sharp intense dystopian ride - this is Fonda Lee at her very best. A gritty, heartfelt, and explosive masterpiece' Tasha Suri, Sunday Times bestselling author of The Isle in the Silver Sea
'Dazzlingly inventive and pure fun, this Rashomon-esque story of a jaded corporate swordswoman kept me guessing until the last twist. Highly recommend!'
Shannon Chakraborty, author of The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi
Publisher information
- Publisher: Little, Brown Book Group
- ISBN: 9780356526713
- Number of pages: 528
- Dimensions: 238 x 156 x 50 mm
- Weight: 774g
- Languages: English
Customer Reviews
View allMurder Mystery in Space
As much as I did enjoy this it was more murder mystery then samurai in space. I love her writing and I did like the characters but having the book split in... READ MORE
Awesome Tale!
I absolutely loved this story about Isako, a ronin after the man she worked for voluntarily retires (which is a lot harsher than what would be on Earth) wh... READ MORE
Isako: a waking migraine
This book had me at: legendary swordswoman, assassinations, political intrigue, corporate espionage. Say less. I was ready. And then I spent most of the bo... READ MORE
A corporate samurai space adventure in the cinematic way AND in the grounded way. It earned the epic moments!
Thank you to Orbit (Little, Brown Book Group UK) for providing an ARC via NetGalley. This is my honest review.
Buzzwords: space, women wielding swords, ... READ MORE
Played with my expectations throughout!
The Last Contract of Isako is a wonderfully twisty dystopian sci-fi that played with my expectations throughout. From the cover and marketing, I expected s... READ MORE
Corporate Samurai Sci-Fi
This is my first Fonda Lee book and it certainly won’t be my last!
The Last Contract of Isako is set on a distant planet that is slowly being terraforme... READ MORE
not for me perhaps.
Having heard very positive things about this author, with Jade City already sitting on my reading list, I was really happy to have been granted an ARC for ... READ MORE
Impressive
This was a fantastic read. I read an eARC of this book on NetGalley so thank you to the author and the publisher.
There’s so much to love about this bo... READ MORE
Fonda Lee does it again!
I always have high expectations when it comes to Fonda Lee's work, and I have yet to be disappointed. The Last Contract of Isako is such an intricate liter... READ MORE
FANTASTIC!
I will read anything by Fonda Lee, even if is her groceries list! Thank you so much for the ARC, much appreciated!
The Last Contract of Isako, is a sci... READ MORE
Fun, fast paced and awesome heroine
This was somehow both a great crowd pleaser and an original story. You get a fantastic ‘I’m too old for this shit’ protagonist (that flips the trope on its... READ MORE
This must be an amazing series
There are novels out there that defy something; anything. It could be an obstacle, a height to overcome. In one sense, Isako is on a journey of her own. Pe... READ MORE
Espionage, politics, samurais and space
Isako is a highly renowned contractor, one of the best at what she does. So when her boss takes the final walk into the unterraformed vastness of Aquilo, s... READ MORE
The Queen, Fonda Lee!
This has to be the best book Fonda Lee has ever written. The worldbuilding, the writing, the plot, the purest of pure elegance in every sentence. I was com... READ MORE
Exactly the multi-layered story I expected from Fonda Lee!
The Last Contract of Isako was my first novel by Fonda Lee and safe to say that my expectation were through the roof based on the praise her Green Bone Sag... READ MORE
Action packed adventure
We follow Isako, a woman over 50, with some knee pain and prominent career as an atier. Even if she is 50, it is not that old in this setting. Most influen... READ MORE
The Last Contract of Isako
The Last Contract of Isako follows Isako, a legendary swordswoman after her client unexpectedly retires and she is given a final contract by a competitor w... READ MORE
Brilliant sci-fi dystopian book with cyber punk vibes
I loved this! I knew pretty early on that this was going to one of my favourite books of the year and I wasn't wrong.
"Contractors serve their clients, ... READ MORE
Fonda Lee always delivers!
4.5
4.5
Thank you, NetGalley and Orbit, for providing me with this E-ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I did not realise how much I missed Fo... READ MORE
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