Reviews

The Little Homo Sapiens Scientist by S.L. Huang

hannah_cau's review

4.0

Nooooooooo 😭

jjcrafts's review

5.0

An amazing f/f scifi retelling of the little mermaid but backwards so a human scientist is the curious one that falls in love and changes. Brilliantly written and imagined. I loved the mode the story was told in - which sounds vague but you should read it. It's awesome. Fair warning it has a tragic ending like the original story. I can't wait to read more from this author.

lunatic_jg's review

4.0

.

Apparently I'm really interested in mermaids these days.

This was a great retelling of little mermaid but I needed it to be at least 3times longer.

zmeyche's review

4.0

--> ревю на български

To be honest, the very first thing that made me want to read that novella was its front cover. I saw it on twitter, I asked if there was an e-book and not even 15 minutes later I was already going through it on my reader.
/I was in a process of changing my payment card at that moment and I did not have any money in my paypal so I asked a friend lo lend me some bucks to get the book right now!/
That is what a good cover can do for a book.

Of course, a good book is made by good writing and that's the example we have here.
To me "The Little Homo Sapiens Scientist" is not just a queer retelling of a well-known fairy tail, it's more of exploration of what defines being human and what the definition of true love should/could be.

It's a dark story and you need to now it if you've already read the original fairy tale. Could it be lighter? Of course. But it wouldn't be the same story and it wouldn't have the same impact it has now.
So, if you want something light and optimistic as a Disney story don't bother starting it.

"The Little Homo Sapiens Scientist" strikes a chord somewhere deep asking you what are you ready to sacrifice for love? Or let's call it love for lack of better word for this sickening need to meet, feel and be with the other person once again.

But I can't seem to think clearly anymore. I'm hurtling toward this and it's the only thing that matters.

"If you knew you'd never find her, or that you'd find her only to be disappointed - would you still do it?".
Yes. The answer was yes.

The fact that "The Little Homo Sapiens Scientist" is filled with queer characters and the main character is a lesbian does not define it but definitely helps with understanding the lengths she is going just for the opportunity to meet her love once again.
I generally enjoyed a species not defined by two genders as humanity still is.

And truly enjoyed the very idea of melding and becoming multiple beings in a single body leading to almost a hive mind.

Truth be told, we have no idea what could be hiding in the depths of the ocean and the idea of alien-like species from human perspective is thrilling.
I'd probably love to see Aíoëe's POV of the story but nevertheless "The Little Homo Sapiens Scientist" is a great story.

lizshayne's review

4.0

I don't know why my brain is convinced that short books are cheating - that I somehow am a better reader if the books I complete are 750 pages rather than 75. It's not like the purpose of a book is to be as long as possible and encountering new authors and their works is just as important regardless of the book's length.
Anyway, this month has been my excuse to read all the short fiction I've been meaning to get around to. Including this one, which I knew was going to be dark and sad because it's The Little Mermaid and that story is always going to be dark and sad, but I was somehow surprised at how much I was invested in things maybe being okay anyway...
Anyway, Huang's inventiveness shines through every aspect of the story and the impossible plausibility of her fairy tale is both delightful and fascinating. Her most impressive translation, however, is the way she takes the quest for humanity and a soul from the HCA original and turns it into something deeply resonant with contemporary life. The story is so good--and so painful--because Huang succeeds in that translation.

wakenda's review

5.0

This was an incredible reversed queer retelling of the Hans Christian Anderson version of the Little Mermaid. The main character, a lesbian scientist, is the only human who can speak the atargati language, and also an anthropologist for the non-gendered world of the atargati (what the scientists call the mermaids). The mix of curiosity and love that drives her actions gets all the themes and the darkness and the yearning sadness of the little mermaid story right. I loved it.

dearbhla's review

4.0

Interesting and enjoyable retelling of The Little Mermaid - http://www.susanhatedliterature.net/2017/12/the-little-homo-sapiens-scientist/

wyvernfriend's review

4.0

I really shouldn't have but I got sucked into reading this online and just had to keep going with the story. Very interesting and well thought-out. What happens to Magical Girls when they grow up and try to have lives and fall in love, marry, and be themselves as well as fight the big bads, keep their secret and all that. This is pretty short but very interesting and well done.
Recommended for those who like superheroes and chosen ones, this is an interesting meditation on what having to fight can do to you psychologically. Interesting.

simonlorden's review

5.0

Well. I'm crying.

I suppose it's my fault for letting Disney make me forget that the original Little Mermaid did not have a happy ending.

Nevertheless, this was a beautiful, wonderful, perfect reverse retelling of the Little Mermaid story. I loved every word of it, despite the fact that it tore my heart out.

Excuse me while I go and keep crying.

danikaellis's review

4.0

I really liked a lot of aspects to this: the specific ways the author found to retell this fairy tale were fascinating, and I loved the introspection about the main character's identity (what does it mean to ID as a lesbian and then fall for an ungendered person?)

I also appreciated that there's a genderqueer side character who uses hir/ze pronouns, so that the alien/mythical creature characters weren't the only representation of nonbinary people.

I was a little disappointed by the ending, though.

She dies, like the original Little Mermaid fairy tale.