The Last Contract of Isako
On sale
5th May 2026
Price: £29.99
Genre
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
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
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Reviews
A cinematic cyberpunk novel that gripped me from the first page and never let go. Flawlessly plotted, each reveal is another twist of the knife deeper into a world of corruption, codes of honour and no easy choices. A modern science fiction masterpiece
The Last Contract of Isako proves yet again that Fonda Lee is an author at the top of her game. Flawed, hardscrabble characters stalk across a harsh landscape, through an intricate plot that twists and turns with deft precision. An absolute masterpiece!
Dazzlingly inventive and pure fun, this Rashomon-esque story of a jaded corporate swordswoman kept me guessing until the last twist. Highly recommend!
Fonda Lee has outdone herself. The Last Contract of Isako is totally gripping -- the work of a master at the top of her game
A knife-sharp intense dystopian ride-this is Fonda Lee at her very best. A gritty, heartfelt, and explosive masterpiece
Like the best scifi should, The Last Contract of Isako holds up an incisive mirror, with a world where life is the Company and a person's value lies in employment. A corporate space samurai twist to the classic hero on one final mission, this sleek, action-packed mystery asks: who do you choose to be with the last job of your life? No one brings blades to a boardroom like Fonda Lee. I was hooked till the end
In a far-flung dystopia, Isako is a swordswoman bound by a code of honor, who finds herself caught between competing interests--where corporate powers, semi-immortal elites, and disgruntled radicals clash over an uncertain future. Released unexpectedly from her contract and made a ronin, Isako must plunge into the scheming underbelly of a hostile world to uncover a secret that might change everything. Fonda Lee has once again written a tale full of intrigue, nuanced characters, unexpected surprises, and action that keeps you on the edge of your seat!
A masterclass in concise world building, incisive characterisation, and a classic action plot that highlights honour, competency and compassion against a background of betrayal, dazzling fight sequences, and secrets that must not be told