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anexuberantraccoon's review against another edition
5.0
Dalí Tamareia is a Sol Fed Diplomat, genderfluid changeling, and badass. Dealing with the painful loss of their family, Dalí struggles to find a purpose, especially as their home system targets changelings for their newest crusade.
That crusade and the cruel underworkings of the Sol Fed soon become Dalí’s reason for living—someone is targeting and abducting third-gender changelings, and Dalí has all the components to become the perfect undercover operative.
General
Honestly? Holy shit. I’ll come out and say it: I had more fun reading Dalí than I’ve had in a long time. In one of the most alien settings I’ve experienced, Dalí delivers beautifully human characters and a beautifully human story.
Plot
This is one of the most well-executed narratives I’ve come across. Perfectly paced, Dalí gives you everything you didn’t know you wanted while withholding exactly enough to make you clamor for more. It catches your attention from the first scene, and even then the plot is planting seeds to bloom later. It allows the reader and character to decompress when they need it, and slams them with tension and action in perfect intervals. I was engaged from start to finish without a single hang-up or complaint.
Setting
The world building was done with extensive care. It would have been so easy to info dump or drag the descriptions of the space stations and aliens on for pages, but Hamill doesn’t. Instead it’s delivered naturally, in perfectly palatable pieces. The fear many authors (and readers!) experience at the idea of crafting and narrating never-before-seen alien races is nothing to scoff at. It feels risky to force everyone’s mind into that space, but Hamill does it with such ease that the reader simply can’t be bogged down. It was so smooth and matter-of-fact, I left the book wondering why it often feels so difficult for other creators (myself included).
Characters
I love Dalí. I think part of what makes this book a shining masterpiece is the character work. Dalí is a third-gender changeling—this means they can change their sex at will, and have an intermediate “sexless” state. This is the state Dalí occupies most often, as they don’t mentally lean in either direction.
What’s wonderful about Dalí is that they just are. While reading, their gender or sex never feels strange. The narration never feels gendered in any way, and it’s never something to gawk at. It is a phenomenal experience of true neutral, and as a gender queer pansexual, I felt more at home with Dalí’s disposition than I could have imagined. I think people who may struggle with the concept of gender-queerness would benefit from a read of Dalí. It teaches you something, very gradually. It teaches you that relatability is not limited in ways we might think, and that our experiences are ultimately human, and can always be shared and understood.
Dalí is also irreparably human, with scars and flaws that run deep. But these things brought the character to life, enhancing rather than hindering. They were still relatable—more so, I’d say—and Hamill doesn’t use the character’s flaws to simply extort the narrative for their desired plot. It all feels logical and real, and you wind up loving and rooting for Dalí throughout the piece.
I’m obviously a Fan of Dalí, but the secondary characters are wonderful as well. They’re all layered, none just thrown in to take up space. You get a real sense of everyone who surrounds Dalí at any given time, and I want to know many of them better. I don’t know if Hamill is planning more for this universe, but I would gobble it up in a heartbeat.
Just read the book. I could go on and on about how much I enjoyed this piece, and how I’ll instantly preorder anything else E. M. Hamill writes. But the moral of this review is that Dalí is a fantastic piece of literature, and you should give it a go.
More reviews at LAAshton.com
That crusade and the cruel underworkings of the Sol Fed soon become Dalí’s reason for living—someone is targeting and abducting third-gender changelings, and Dalí has all the components to become the perfect undercover operative.
General
Honestly? Holy shit. I’ll come out and say it: I had more fun reading Dalí than I’ve had in a long time. In one of the most alien settings I’ve experienced, Dalí delivers beautifully human characters and a beautifully human story.
Plot
This is one of the most well-executed narratives I’ve come across. Perfectly paced, Dalí gives you everything you didn’t know you wanted while withholding exactly enough to make you clamor for more. It catches your attention from the first scene, and even then the plot is planting seeds to bloom later. It allows the reader and character to decompress when they need it, and slams them with tension and action in perfect intervals. I was engaged from start to finish without a single hang-up or complaint.
Setting
The world building was done with extensive care. It would have been so easy to info dump or drag the descriptions of the space stations and aliens on for pages, but Hamill doesn’t. Instead it’s delivered naturally, in perfectly palatable pieces. The fear many authors (and readers!) experience at the idea of crafting and narrating never-before-seen alien races is nothing to scoff at. It feels risky to force everyone’s mind into that space, but Hamill does it with such ease that the reader simply can’t be bogged down. It was so smooth and matter-of-fact, I left the book wondering why it often feels so difficult for other creators (myself included).
Characters
I love Dalí. I think part of what makes this book a shining masterpiece is the character work. Dalí is a third-gender changeling—this means they can change their sex at will, and have an intermediate “sexless” state. This is the state Dalí occupies most often, as they don’t mentally lean in either direction.
What’s wonderful about Dalí is that they just are. While reading, their gender or sex never feels strange. The narration never feels gendered in any way, and it’s never something to gawk at. It is a phenomenal experience of true neutral, and as a gender queer pansexual, I felt more at home with Dalí’s disposition than I could have imagined. I think people who may struggle with the concept of gender-queerness would benefit from a read of Dalí. It teaches you something, very gradually. It teaches you that relatability is not limited in ways we might think, and that our experiences are ultimately human, and can always be shared and understood.
Dalí is also irreparably human, with scars and flaws that run deep. But these things brought the character to life, enhancing rather than hindering. They were still relatable—more so, I’d say—and Hamill doesn’t use the character’s flaws to simply extort the narrative for their desired plot. It all feels logical and real, and you wind up loving and rooting for Dalí throughout the piece.
I’m obviously a Fan of Dalí, but the secondary characters are wonderful as well. They’re all layered, none just thrown in to take up space. You get a real sense of everyone who surrounds Dalí at any given time, and I want to know many of them better. I don’t know if Hamill is planning more for this universe, but I would gobble it up in a heartbeat.
Just read the book. I could go on and on about how much I enjoyed this piece, and how I’ll instantly preorder anything else E. M. Hamill writes. But the moral of this review is that Dalí is a fantastic piece of literature, and you should give it a go.
More reviews at LAAshton.com
the_novel_approach's review against another edition
5.0
What attracted me to this story was the promise of gender-bending aliens and multifaceted sexualities, with the added bonus of a high-speed plot, and it certainly didn’t disappoint. Dalí Tamareia is a third-gender changeling, a neuter species of third-gender humans which can present as masculine or feminine or gender neutral, but I’d say for most of the book Dalí presents as female, which I thought was pretty cool and a great example of feminism in science fiction.
Dalí also has a polygamous relationship with a cis gay man and a cis woman, who is pregnant with their child (all three of them being genetic donors). Their extended family has long been involved in world politics, with both their parents being prominent world leaders. Dalí was an ambassador to Sol Fed and on track to becoming one of the worlds’ great peacemakers, until their entire nuclear family was killed in a terrorist attack.
The story starts with Dalí after the attack, in the middle of hitting rock bottom. They are addicted to illegal drugs, cage fight for thrills, and generally are trying to kill themselves. Being with a third-gender changeling is seen as extremely dirty and deceiving, so when Dalí revenge fucks one of the virginal sons of the president of Sol Fed and the brother to Jon Batterson, one of Dalí’s great rivals, they’re hunted by Batterson and left for dead in a gutter.
When Dalí wakes up from a coma, they have a new lease on life and officially quit as ambassador, looking to get away from politics. However, with the help of their well-intentioned crechemate (blood brother), they quickly find themselves tangled in a terrorist plot which points to Batterson Robotics. Dalí may be the only one who understands the depths Batterson will go to cover up his crimes and is therefore everyone’s last hope to help bring peace to the galaxy, but this time they’re going to do it their way—by breaking a few heads.
Dalí is clearly a physical person, but it was intriguing their crechemate is an empath. I thought that was a good choice for a person who is capable of hiding much of what they are emotionally feeling through stark physicality. Part of me wondered what Dalí offered their friendship in return, but if I had to guess, I’d say Dalí’s crechemate sees the great service Dalí is capable of offering the galaxy and is proud to be a part of that purpose.
Dalí’s violent tendencies and free sexual expression isn’t all fun and games, however. They are also surprisingly romantic and have budding feelings for a woman who is probably going to betray them. When they are deep undercover, they also fall for Lord Rhix, head of the international black market. Dalí’s soft heart is an incredible testimony to their character, but in a lot of ways that made their sexual escapades more sorrowful to me than erotic. I found myself deeply affected by Dalí’s loneliness, which they hide in brash behavior. They seemed sexually carefree, but I felt the weight of their choices.
Along with the drama, this story was packed with action. Dalí is one hell of a fighter, and I loved watching them kick serious ass. There were space battles, hand-to-hand fights, gruesome alien tournaments, and some pretty intensely sexual sparring matches. Despite the violence and thrills, the premise of the story struck me as something more akin to the nature of peace, and how we foster it. Dalí was on track to become a great peace-maker, but throughout the novel they find their place as one of the worlds’ great peace-keepers. In other words, using their physical nature to encourage openness and communication.
I loved the message, the depth of characters and the world-building. This is exactly the type of book I love to read. My only regret is that I felt Dalí’s happy ending was slightly out of reach; call it a happy-for-now ending. Luckily this is a series, and I’ll definitely be picking up the next one.
Reviewed by Ben for The Novel Approach
Dalí also has a polygamous relationship with a cis gay man and a cis woman, who is pregnant with their child (all three of them being genetic donors). Their extended family has long been involved in world politics, with both their parents being prominent world leaders. Dalí was an ambassador to Sol Fed and on track to becoming one of the worlds’ great peacemakers, until their entire nuclear family was killed in a terrorist attack.
The story starts with Dalí after the attack, in the middle of hitting rock bottom. They are addicted to illegal drugs, cage fight for thrills, and generally are trying to kill themselves. Being with a third-gender changeling is seen as extremely dirty and deceiving, so when Dalí revenge fucks one of the virginal sons of the president of Sol Fed and the brother to Jon Batterson, one of Dalí’s great rivals, they’re hunted by Batterson and left for dead in a gutter.
When Dalí wakes up from a coma, they have a new lease on life and officially quit as ambassador, looking to get away from politics. However, with the help of their well-intentioned crechemate (blood brother), they quickly find themselves tangled in a terrorist plot which points to Batterson Robotics. Dalí may be the only one who understands the depths Batterson will go to cover up his crimes and is therefore everyone’s last hope to help bring peace to the galaxy, but this time they’re going to do it their way—by breaking a few heads.
Dalí is clearly a physical person, but it was intriguing their crechemate is an empath. I thought that was a good choice for a person who is capable of hiding much of what they are emotionally feeling through stark physicality. Part of me wondered what Dalí offered their friendship in return, but if I had to guess, I’d say Dalí’s crechemate sees the great service Dalí is capable of offering the galaxy and is proud to be a part of that purpose.
Dalí’s violent tendencies and free sexual expression isn’t all fun and games, however. They are also surprisingly romantic and have budding feelings for a woman who is probably going to betray them. When they are deep undercover, they also fall for Lord Rhix, head of the international black market. Dalí’s soft heart is an incredible testimony to their character, but in a lot of ways that made their sexual escapades more sorrowful to me than erotic. I found myself deeply affected by Dalí’s loneliness, which they hide in brash behavior. They seemed sexually carefree, but I felt the weight of their choices.
Along with the drama, this story was packed with action. Dalí is one hell of a fighter, and I loved watching them kick serious ass. There were space battles, hand-to-hand fights, gruesome alien tournaments, and some pretty intensely sexual sparring matches. Despite the violence and thrills, the premise of the story struck me as something more akin to the nature of peace, and how we foster it. Dalí was on track to become a great peace-maker, but throughout the novel they find their place as one of the worlds’ great peace-keepers. In other words, using their physical nature to encourage openness and communication.
I loved the message, the depth of characters and the world-building. This is exactly the type of book I love to read. My only regret is that I felt Dalí’s happy ending was slightly out of reach; call it a happy-for-now ending. Luckily this is a series, and I’ll definitely be picking up the next one.
Reviewed by Ben for The Novel Approach
see_sadie_read's review against another edition
5.0
I gotta admit, it took a while for me to get into this. The beginning felt a little like I'd been dropped into the middle of something. (I actually double checked this wasn't a sequel to anything.) But once it got rolling, I really enjoyed it. I liked Dali. I liked the side characters. I liked Rhix. I liked the plot. I just basically enjoyed it.
Other than feeling lost in the beginning, my only complaints are that there were a number of convenient coincidences and I really wanted more resolution on the Dali/Rhix front. Those seeking romance might finish this disappointed. I however, am hoping there might be a second book coming at some point.
Other than feeling lost in the beginning, my only complaints are that there were a number of convenient coincidences and I really wanted more resolution on the Dali/Rhix front. Those seeking romance might finish this disappointed. I however, am hoping there might be a second book coming at some point.
broomesbooks's review against another edition
4.0
Dali by E.M. Hamill is a sci-fi adventure featuring Dali Tamareia, an empathetic, genderfluid changeling. The core of Dali’s story is about the third gender, which is neither male nor female but can change between both. Shifting their sexual organs, the timbre of their voice, and often times the changeling leans more towards male or female but Dali is different. Dali prefers the neutral.
As you read, you delve into political plots, different worlds and the views of the characters in these worlds. Dali had their flaws. After her family is torn apart in a terrorist attack, Dali spirals into risking their life. In the process they encounter a situation involving other third gender beings being kidnapped and sold on the market to the highest bidder. Dali finds themselves needing to find a way to save those who had been kidnapped and sold.
Dali meets Rhix, who even though he’s the villain, I couldn’t help but like him and understand why Dali was charmed by him. He wasn’t disgusted by Dali’s nature. He wanted to learn more. In Dali’s interactions with Rhix they reverted to the female form. It was a major point in the story-line and the scenes with the two of them were full of delicious sexual tension. I think the detail taken to explain Dali and their body, how they felt and the empathetic feelings in those moments, made those scenes quite steamy.
The only downside to this was the elaborate terminology that you had to learn. There was such a diverse cast, it got a little difficult to keep up with the different species and abilities that each had. As soon as I finished reading the novel I found the dictionary at the back. So sneak a peek at that if you are having issues with the terminology. It was a little slow in the beginning but overall I enjoyed the read. I loved not only the main characters but the secondary characters. Also the fact that there were a lot of Princess Bride references and codes use, it made it fun.
As you read, you delve into political plots, different worlds and the views of the characters in these worlds. Dali had their flaws. After her family is torn apart in a terrorist attack, Dali spirals into risking their life. In the process they encounter a situation involving other third gender beings being kidnapped and sold on the market to the highest bidder. Dali finds themselves needing to find a way to save those who had been kidnapped and sold.
Dali meets Rhix, who even though he’s the villain, I couldn’t help but like him and understand why Dali was charmed by him. He wasn’t disgusted by Dali’s nature. He wanted to learn more. In Dali’s interactions with Rhix they reverted to the female form. It was a major point in the story-line and the scenes with the two of them were full of delicious sexual tension. I think the detail taken to explain Dali and their body, how they felt and the empathetic feelings in those moments, made those scenes quite steamy.
The only downside to this was the elaborate terminology that you had to learn. There was such a diverse cast, it got a little difficult to keep up with the different species and abilities that each had. As soon as I finished reading the novel I found the dictionary at the back. So sneak a peek at that if you are having issues with the terminology. It was a little slow in the beginning but overall I enjoyed the read. I loved not only the main characters but the secondary characters. Also the fact that there were a lot of Princess Bride references and codes use, it made it fun.
queerfactor's review against another edition
4.0
Dalí was a great read, with intrigue, mystery and sensuality. Our protagonist is Dalí, a gender-fluid Changling with troubled past and a possible death-wish. With a knack for getting themselves into percarious situations, Dalí travels through space to find vengance, and a purpose.
Dalí was a character that I could connect with; they were sarcastic, smart and was anaylizing everything throughout the story. The novel reads like a sensual spy novel in space, which was something I didn't know I needed. It was great to have an unapologetically LGBTQ character at the front and center of a sci-fi novel that not only felt real, but had a twist to them too.
My only critisism of Dalí is that the ending felt a bit rushed. I'm hoping that this novel is setting up for a sequel, in which case it might segway into the sequel quite well.
Overall, if you want some sci-fi queer lit, or even just a great adventure in space, I would highly reccomend Dalí.
Dalí was a character that I could connect with; they were sarcastic, smart and was anaylizing everything throughout the story. The novel reads like a sensual spy novel in space, which was something I didn't know I needed. It was great to have an unapologetically LGBTQ character at the front and center of a sci-fi novel that not only felt real, but had a twist to them too.
My only critisism of Dalí is that the ending felt a bit rushed. I'm hoping that this novel is setting up for a sequel, in which case it might segway into the sequel quite well.
Overall, if you want some sci-fi queer lit, or even just a great adventure in space, I would highly reccomend Dalí.
jpjackson's review against another edition
5.0
If anyone has been following any of my reviews, then you know that I'm not going to waste words on plot or storylines. Instead, I'm going to tell you what I thought about the story.
OMG, THIS IS AMAZING. GO GET YOUR OWN COPY, RIGHT NOW, AND READ THIS!
Get the point? This is brilliant.
I'm not a huge Sci-Fi fan, as anyone who knows me will attest - don't get me wrong, I love Star Trek and Star Wars, and yes, I know the difference, but I prefer my magic and wings and beasties. So, I was hesitant about this Sci-Fi story.
What a misplaced emotion that was. This book is rich in description - I practically lived my last 2 weeks on a starship. The various alien species were presented flawlessly. The technology was more than I could ever dream up - but it wasn't so 'out of this world' as to leave me reeling. Everything seemed plausible and real.
Now the real treat is the main character's gender - or lack thereof. I found myself in an interesting place trying to imagine who this person was - and I struggled - which just meant the author had completely done their job. I'm not going to ruin anything here, but the concept of gender neutrality is an interesting one - and how do you construct an image in your head of the main character, and leave them gender neutral? Seriously - BRILLIANT. Oh, but there's so much more to Dali than gender! (and no, I'm not telling you)
And yet - despite making me consider what gender is all about this book was damn bloody sexy too. All I'll say is that the scenes between the main character Dali, and the black market 'owner' Rhix were smokin' hot.
This book has action, weapons, martial arts, gender rights, alien species, terrorism, gladiator duels and a whole bunch of fan-fucking-tasticness.
This goes on my favorite shelf. Well done.
OMG, THIS IS AMAZING. GO GET YOUR OWN COPY, RIGHT NOW, AND READ THIS!
Get the point? This is brilliant.
I'm not a huge Sci-Fi fan, as anyone who knows me will attest - don't get me wrong, I love Star Trek and Star Wars, and yes, I know the difference, but I prefer my magic and wings and beasties. So, I was hesitant about this Sci-Fi story.
What a misplaced emotion that was. This book is rich in description - I practically lived my last 2 weeks on a starship. The various alien species were presented flawlessly. The technology was more than I could ever dream up - but it wasn't so 'out of this world' as to leave me reeling. Everything seemed plausible and real.
Now the real treat is the main character's gender - or lack thereof. I found myself in an interesting place trying to imagine who this person was - and I struggled - which just meant the author had completely done their job. I'm not going to ruin anything here, but the concept of gender neutrality is an interesting one - and how do you construct an image in your head of the main character, and leave them gender neutral? Seriously - BRILLIANT. Oh, but there's so much more to Dali than gender! (and no, I'm not telling you)
And yet - despite making me consider what gender is all about this book was damn bloody sexy too. All I'll say is that the scenes between the main character Dali, and the black market 'owner' Rhix were smokin' hot.
This book has action, weapons, martial arts, gender rights, alien species, terrorism, gladiator duels and a whole bunch of fan-fucking-tasticness.
This goes on my favorite shelf. Well done.
mxmreads's review against another edition
5.0
I loved this book with all my heart, and don't have an easy explanation for it.
The make-and-break of this story for me absolutely was Dalí. It's a known fact I'm not a huge Sci-Fi reader. I love Star Wars, but generally have a hard time with different planets and suns and stars and species. And to be absolutely honest, some of it did cause problems for me in the beginning. I got confused a time or two and remembering names, places and species wasn't always super easy.
But Dalí made it all fade into the background. The very first thing that made me love them, care for them and feel with them was heir grief. They grieved in a way that felt so real to me, that was so relatable – self-destructive, out of control, always somewhere between numb and in agony, saved and condemned by chemical substances and the oblivion sex promised to give. It felt REAL. Raw and painful, but so very real.
I won't give away the many plot twists, turns and little sideways. I do believe they are best experiences completely unspoiled, because they were that good to me. What I do have to say is that Dalí as a character and a person was just... everything. They were flawed, their emotions were running high a lot, but they were always quick on their feet, still made stupid decisions, maybe a little bit in love with danger, not exactly in the best place mentally, snappy and they had a such a big mouth. Yeah, no surprise I absolutely adored them to the Mars and back (cheesy pun absolutely intended).
And on a side note, this book managed what not many stories can. I actually kind of felt with the villain who wasn't really a villain. Or maybe he was but with redeeming qualities? Or I just really wanted to at least understand him a little bit the same way Dalí did, because their chemistry together was so... surprisingly fierce. Plus, bi rep = MY REP. It made me so, so happy.
There were some niggles I did have – yeah, I know. One thing that made me REALLY uncomfortable were some scenes between Dalí and the cis woman who was responsible for Dalí's medical care after he got beaten up by a bunch of bigots. That woman made me feel uncomfortable on all kinds of levels. Her questions were super intrusive – even for a medic – and the way she sometimes interacted with Dalí had my skin crawling. Needless to say, when they had sex with each other I was ready to jump out of my skin. I'm not going to give too much away by saying A) I was spot on. And B) The explanation we got later made sense and did make me feel a bit better about the whole thing, but never redeemed the character. And it should be noticed that Dalí didn't have a problem with the interactions when they happened, only I did. But still, little warning from me here.
Overall, I had a hard time putting this book down, I loved the plot twists and the writing, Dalí might be one of my favorite characters of all time and I cannot WAIT to read more about them and this universe and what comes next – because honestly, their story is so far from being over, even though the book did end in a satisfying way.
**ARC provided via publisher in exchange for an honest review
The make-and-break of this story for me absolutely was Dalí. It's a known fact I'm not a huge Sci-Fi reader. I love Star Wars, but generally have a hard time with different planets and suns and stars and species. And to be absolutely honest, some of it did cause problems for me in the beginning. I got confused a time or two and remembering names, places and species wasn't always super easy.
But Dalí made it all fade into the background. The very first thing that made me love them, care for them and feel with them was heir grief. They grieved in a way that felt so real to me, that was so relatable – self-destructive, out of control, always somewhere between numb and in agony, saved and condemned by chemical substances and the oblivion sex promised to give. It felt REAL. Raw and painful, but so very real.
I won't give away the many plot twists, turns and little sideways. I do believe they are best experiences completely unspoiled, because they were that good to me. What I do have to say is that Dalí as a character and a person was just... everything. They were flawed, their emotions were running high a lot, but they were always quick on their feet, still made stupid decisions, maybe a little bit in love with danger, not exactly in the best place mentally, snappy and they had a such a big mouth. Yeah, no surprise I absolutely adored them to the Mars and back (cheesy pun absolutely intended).
And on a side note, this book managed what not many stories can. I actually kind of felt with the villain who wasn't really a villain. Or maybe he was but with redeeming qualities? Or I just really wanted to at least understand him a little bit the same way Dalí did, because their chemistry together was so... surprisingly fierce. Plus, bi rep = MY REP. It made me so, so happy.
There were some niggles I did have – yeah, I know. One thing that made me REALLY uncomfortable were some scenes between Dalí and the cis woman who was responsible for Dalí's medical care after he got beaten up by a bunch of bigots. That woman made me feel uncomfortable on all kinds of levels. Her questions were super intrusive – even for a medic – and the way she sometimes interacted with Dalí had my skin crawling. Needless to say, when they had sex with each other I was ready to jump out of my skin. I'm not going to give too much away by saying A) I was spot on. And B) The explanation we got later made sense and did make me feel a bit better about the whole thing, but never redeemed the character. And it should be noticed that Dalí didn't have a problem with the interactions when they happened, only I did. But still, little warning from me here.
Overall, I had a hard time putting this book down, I loved the plot twists and the writing, Dalí might be one of my favorite characters of all time and I cannot WAIT to read more about them and this universe and what comes next – because honestly, their story is so far from being over, even though the book did end in a satisfying way.
**ARC provided via publisher in exchange for an honest review
kjcharles's review against another edition
In a spaceshippy future there are now genderfluid humans (changelings) who can shift between presenting male and female, including muscles and genitalia. Dali is a changeling whose family has been murdered in a terrorist attack. They are pretty kick ass and in despair, so they accept a mission to find out what's going on with a bad case of human trafficking and political shenanigans.
Lots to like including the genderfluid protagonist who is a flawed, rounded, very sympathetic character, and the variety of gender identities, plus a vividly realised setting and a well developed sf adventure with both violence and emotional intelligence playing important roles.
However, CW in a big way for the drumbeat of anti-trans/nb oppression. The premise is politicians and fanatics oppressing the third-gender and changeling people, the story involves selling changelings into sexual slavery, there is a lot of on page verbal abuse and off page rape. The book's stance against all these things is clear, and there are depictions of other races/societies where this doesn't occur, but the main theme is absolutely and relentlessly about human maltreatment of trans/nb people, and some readers might well find that too much to take for reading enjoyment.
Lots to like including the genderfluid protagonist who is a flawed, rounded, very sympathetic character, and the variety of gender identities, plus a vividly realised setting and a well developed sf adventure with both violence and emotional intelligence playing important roles.
However, CW in a big way for the drumbeat of anti-trans/nb oppression. The premise is politicians and fanatics oppressing the third-gender and changeling people, the story involves selling changelings into sexual slavery, there is a lot of on page verbal abuse and off page rape. The book's stance against all these things is clear, and there are depictions of other races/societies where this doesn't occur, but the main theme is absolutely and relentlessly about human maltreatment of trans/nb people, and some readers might well find that too much to take for reading enjoyment.
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