Book Review: The Last Contract of Isako by Fonda Lee
ARC provided by the publisher—Orbit Books—in exchange for an honest review.
Cover art designed by Tommy Pocket
The Last Contract of Isako by Fonda Lee
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Series: Standalone
Genre: Science Fiction, Space Opera, Cyberpunk
Pages: 514 pages (ARC Edition)
Published: 5th May 2026 by Orbit Books
The year is off to an explosive start. The Last Contract of Isako is the best science fiction standalone novel I’ve ever read.
5 stars. Easily a 5-star rating. Choosing The Last Contract of Isako as the first book of this year is an amazing decision on my part. Last year, just as a refresher, I found a total of three new 5-star reading experiences. That’s horrible statistics for me. The worst reading year to date. And I fully intend to prevent this tragedy from happening again by reading my most anticipated books—old or new. In the case of this book, it is new. Being a massive fan of The Green Bone Saga, ever since I knew about the existence of this novel, I knew the moment it stumbled upon my doorstep, it would be a drop everything and read it kind of book. How could I not? Lee has mentioned The Last Contract of Isako is her mashed-up love letter to the cyberpunk genre. Seriously. A combination of John Wick, Blade Runner, and Akira Kurosawa in space illuminated by Lee’s prose? The result is an absolutely enthralling tour de force.
“Live by the Code. Die by the knife.”
If you’re unfamiliar with the premise of this book, The Last Contract of Isako is a story about Isako, a battle-worn corporate samurai and legendary swordswoman who undertakes one last mission on a merciless planet named Aquilo where death is always a mere breath away. Every legend must come to an end. When her long-time client unexpectedly retires, she plans to follow his footsteps by walking out into the frozen wasteland of their planet with her head held high and her family enriched by her death. But when she’s offered a final mission instead, she can’t refuse, especially when she realises who lies at the center of it all: Dragonfly Martim, her last—and worst—apprentice, who’s somehow made his way to the top. As she’s thrust into a world of corporate espionage and shadowy secrets, what Isako uncovers in her mission could forever change humanity’s existence among the stars. I will elaborate upon the harshness of life in Aquilo further later.
“What you’re doing is admirable, but the best way to honor the dead is by creating the future.”
The Last Contract of Isako is not a big book. It’s less than 200,000 words long. And yet, the myriad of themes conveyed impactfully within it is simply awesome. Among many of these are aging, loyalty, honor, fame, legacy, and justice. Is the meaning of our life judged by the collection of deeds we gathered? What does it mean to be human? Is serving our Code of life uncompromisingly the correct form of righteousness? Some of these themes are narrative elements you can find in The Green Bone Saga as well, and they are still evident in The Last Contract of Isako. Told through a different lens and framing, but not lacking in quality. According to Lee herself, The Last Contract of Isako is the most difficult book she has ever written. I, selfishly and desperately, will beg her to write more books like this. Science fiction, epic fantasy, or urban fantasy. I don’t care. At this rate, I’ll even read a romance or romantasy written by her, to be honest. Not many authors get what I love to read as Lee does. The murder mystery was interesting, the stakes were high, the action scenes—my god, the battojutsu with the triggersheath—were badass, and most importantly, the characters burst through the pages.
“She lingers on the last lines. She figures it’s only respectful to do so. The last thing a person says is important, the coda to their entire life.”
Look here. If you have read The Green Bone Saga, and you are obsessed with the series like I am, you can skip reading this paragraph. I am only going to repeat something you’ve embraced with your whole heart. I can write thousands of words about how terrific The Green Bone Saga was, but at its core, we became obsessed with the trilogy because Lee has successfully crafted characters that felt completely real. It takes a special novel or series to make me, in the middle of my daydreaming, recollect the chain of events or characters of a specific story months or years after I finished the books. The Green Bone Saga did that for me. And I am gratified to confirm that Lee’s sublime characterizations and emotionally-charged dialogues were not missing from the pages of The Last Contract of Isako. Not a single page. Isako, Kob, Martim, Uchi, and Thea are more-than-meet-the-eye type of characters. It is an incredible skill to write characters with respective internal turmoils and motivations on this level in a standalone title. I have no doubt old—or new—fans of Lee’s work will find themselves captivated by these characters. The dialogues, once again, was more gripping than many battle scenes I’ve read.
“It’s such a tired cliché to reach a certain age and say you feel your mortality. Atiers are always aware of their mortality. What she’s actually been experiencing is a rebirth.
Additionally, I’ve been thinking about aging and mortality more frequently lately. This is not meant to be a grim discussion. We cannot live forever. Ever since I had my first son, and I assume this is a normal thing to reflect on in parenthood, I’ve been thinking about legacy and what I need to do with the limited time I have to ensure my family has a good life. On top of achieving things I genuinely want to do for myself! Our mindset could potentially remain unchanged, but priorities and ordeals will influence our actions. This can differ when the digit in front of our age shifts. It brings me to one factor I’ve always wanted to read more about in fantasy and sci-fi books. Main characters who are above 30 or 40 years old. Such as Logen Ninefingers in The First Law by Joe Abercrombie or Sigrud je Harkvaldsson in The Divine Cities trilogy by Robert Jackson Bennett, to mention a few examples. Comparatively speaking, main characters of these ages are rare in epic fantasy and science fiction. The Last Contract of Isako will satisfy your thirst if you are in need of this variation in your reading. With the exception of Martim, who is in his late 20s, Isako and most of the other characters are 50 years old or more. They are seasoned warriors. Their priorities and thoughts contrast a lot with Martim, who is still young, more reckless, and willing to do everything to make a name for themselves. The older individuals, on the other hand, seek to leave a good legacy or make the world a better place for their loved ones with the limited time they have. It is all so damn good.
“Young people like Martim are motivated by fear of failure. Old hands like her and Kob are just trying to redeem themselves for failures already made.”
Lastly, for those who seek to know more about the book, I will now elaborate on the world-building further before I end this review. There will be no spoilers here, but if you want to jump into The Last Contract of Isako without knowing anything about the world, feel free to skip this paragraph. The world of Aquilo is brutal and dystopian. The setting in The Last Contract of Isako takes place on a planet cut off from communication with Earth for hundreds of years. This era of no communication is called The Great Silence. About 4 million people remain stranded in Aquilo. And to make things worse, cities on this planet need to be protected by a barrier called an airshield. This is essential to protect humanity from The Vastness—a merciless frozen wasteland that dominates the planet. Through all of this, corporate overlords rise to take control of the planet. Isako is one of the Atiers—the best of the best contractors with the code “To serve is to live. To live is to die.”—who receives contracts with rules established by The Agency. The Agency operates like The Continental Hotel from John Wick. They are a sanctuary or location where the Atiers are not allowed to hurt or kill each other. From The Agency, or directly from The Directors, Atiers can receive a contract to help their clients—including corporate overlords—execute what the contract demands. The utmost devotion to the Code is the guiding compass of the Atiers or contractors, and it is also their justification for killings and assassinations in the name of loyalty and the contract. The elite and the extremely wealthy, similar to many Cyberpunk themes, also have the means to prolong their life by transferring their brain to another body. There is more to all of these, of course, and they were astonishingly delivered as efficiently and effectively as possible to the readers. I can’t imagine those who love reading cyberpunk disliking the setting of The Last Contract of Isako. If anything, I wanted even more books out of this universe.
“Some things in the world are up to us, while others are not. Up to us are our faculties of judgment, motivation, desire, and aversion. In short, whatever is our own doing.”
By the end of the last page, I felt like a gift and a curse were cast on me at once. It is a gift to encounter such a fantastic standalone novel. It is also a curse to have no continuation to this title. Do not get me wrong here. The Last Contract of Isako ended fittingly. But it is undeniably brimming with potential to be expanded into a series of standalone novels. But anyway, this is my selfish side speaking. It was the same with The Green Bone Saga. I was immensely satisfied by the series, and although I am happy with where things end, I wouldn’t complain about reading more about the world and the series. The same situation is applicable to The Last Contract of Isako as well. The feeling of fulfillment and craving for more dance in harmony.
“Memento mori. You become what you give your attention to.”
Statistically, due to the huge number of books I’ve read in the genre, it is getting more and more challenging for me to find a fantasy or science fiction novel that absolutely compels. I am talking about books that drive me to stop whatever I am doing in life and immerse myself in turning the pages of a magnificent story instead. The year has only just started, but I am extremely confident that the resonating themes, impeccable pacing, superb characterizations, imaginative world-building, engaging dialogues, and well-placed pulse-pounding action scenes will safely cement The Last Contract of Isako in readers’ “Best Books of 2026” list by the end of the year. Not only will it be on mine, but to repeat what I stated at the beginning of this review, The Last Contract of Isako is the best science-fiction standalone novel I’ve read to this day. This is cinematic cyberpunk samurai at its best.
You can pre-order this book from: Amazon | Blackwells (Free International shipping)
The quotes in this review were taken from an ARC and are subject to change upon publication.
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