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nbspacegay's review
4.0
I have complicated political feelings about this book. As a story, with no kind of political commentary, I genuinely enjoyed this book. The world building is fantastic, and seems like a logical extension of the current American political landscape. The characters are well written, believable humans, some of which I really liked, some of which I really didn't. Ixchel was for sure a favourite, but I did spend the whole book bitching about her having an X in her name because it can be replaced by sh or k or whatever fckn sound it's supposed to make. Anyways. That's a minor thing.
At it's core though, this book is intensely political. I would also like to say anyone calling it anti technology didn't read it very closely. It is anti eugenics. Very explicitly so. The Bideshi use technology as much as the Protectorate, but blended with traditionalism and not as a militaristic state. So, the overarching message was good.
**mild? spoilers ahead**
(also doesn't really end on a positive note)
It's some of the individual characters I have problems with. I don't want to be harsher on marginalized authors than I am on well cishet white dudes, but I have a few bones to pick here. For context though, I am a white trans person, and I know that the author is trans, but not what their specific background is, but I worried a little bit that the Bideshi seemed to represent a romanticised view of Romani people, although this could be unintentional, I do worry about the impact it might have on others. As a trans person, I also fucking hated Adam's treatment of Kae, and really didn't think the book went far enough to address that. I was initially torn between Yes! I am seeing myself represented!!! and oh no this is really gross. I'm actually really surprised a trans person wrote something so blatantly harmful. First of all we had a Kae has no dick when he takes of his pants type reveal which was not great. Then Lochlan like lowkey outed Kae when he had to explain trans people to Adam, and then for some reason told Adam Kae's deadname??????? Why?????? Literally inexcusable. And then Adam goes on to think about what an abomination Kae is and how disgusting and wrong he is, and that never gets addressed. Like he avoids Kae and is super rude to him for ages, which Kae is just like chill and forgives when some Cis Nonsense comes out of Adam's mouth and it was Super Gross. And it felt like after that got ~resolved~ Kae kind of got shoved to the background which was really disappointing. I mean other than that though, as far as I could tell most of it was really well done, like there's tons of people of colour, and like every second person is disabled which is great too, it was just that in particular was really harmful and really poorly done.
At it's core though, this book is intensely political. I would also like to say anyone calling it anti technology didn't read it very closely. It is anti eugenics. Very explicitly so. The Bideshi use technology as much as the Protectorate, but blended with traditionalism and not as a militaristic state. So, the overarching message was good.
**mild? spoilers ahead**
(also doesn't really end on a positive note)
It's some of the individual characters I have problems with. I don't want to be harsher on marginalized authors than I am on well cishet white dudes, but I have a few bones to pick here. For context though, I am a white trans person, and I know that the author is trans, but not what their specific background is, but I worried a little bit that the Bideshi seemed to represent a romanticised view of Romani people, although this could be unintentional, I do worry about the impact it might have on others. As a trans person, I also fucking hated Adam's treatment of Kae, and really didn't think the book went far enough to address that. I was initially torn between Yes! I am seeing myself represented!!! and oh no this is really gross. I'm actually really surprised a trans person wrote something so blatantly harmful. First of all we had a Kae has no dick when he takes of his pants type reveal which was not great. Then Lochlan like lowkey outed Kae when he had to explain trans people to Adam, and then for some reason told Adam Kae's deadname??????? Why?????? Literally inexcusable. And then Adam goes on to think about what an abomination Kae is and how disgusting and wrong he is, and that never gets addressed. Like he avoids Kae and is super rude to him for ages, which Kae is just like chill and forgives when some Cis Nonsense comes out of Adam's mouth and it was Super Gross. And it felt like after that got ~resolved~ Kae kind of got shoved to the background which was really disappointing. I mean other than that though, as far as I could tell most of it was really well done, like there's tons of people of colour, and like every second person is disabled which is great too, it was just that in particular was really harmful and really poorly done.
breakaway71's review
5.0
What an absolutely breathtaking novel. I am in awe.
I don't generally read a lot of sci-fi. While I love some of it, I find most of the writing in the genre to be too fast-paced, with not enough focus on the characters to keep me happy, and too many technical details to keep me entertained.
This was nothing like that.
For one thing, I could write odes to the fantastic world-building in this book. The settings leapt right off the page and into my imagination, vivid and colorful and real in a way only a few talented authors have ever managed to bring places to life for me. For that alone, I would have continued flipping page after page, drinking in every detail I could.
But the characters... Oh my god, there just aren't words for the brilliance of the characters. Every single one of them. I want to know these people in real life, I really do. Lochlan and Adam, of course, are the stars of the show, and I loved them both from their first pages. But the rest of the cast were just as well-drawn, just as wonderful. Even the antagonists made me feel for them, hope for them.
And finally, the plot. I've come to find that it's a rare thing for authors in this genre (M/M romance, not sci-fi) to tackle a plot with this much depth...dare I say an epic plot. But that's exactly what was waiting for me here, and it was done with both skill and flair.
I purchased this book on a whim, because it sounded interesting and I was in the mood for something different. I found something that I know I'm going to read many more times, and two new authors who I will certainly be keeping an eye out for from this moment on.
I don't generally read a lot of sci-fi. While I love some of it, I find most of the writing in the genre to be too fast-paced, with not enough focus on the characters to keep me happy, and too many technical details to keep me entertained.
This was nothing like that.
For one thing, I could write odes to the fantastic world-building in this book. The settings leapt right off the page and into my imagination, vivid and colorful and real in a way only a few talented authors have ever managed to bring places to life for me. For that alone, I would have continued flipping page after page, drinking in every detail I could.
But the characters... Oh my god, there just aren't words for the brilliance of the characters. Every single one of them. I want to know these people in real life, I really do. Lochlan and Adam, of course, are the stars of the show, and I loved them both from their first pages. But the rest of the cast were just as well-drawn, just as wonderful. Even the antagonists made me feel for them, hope for them.
And finally, the plot. I've come to find that it's a rare thing for authors in this genre (M/M romance, not sci-fi) to tackle a plot with this much depth...dare I say an epic plot. But that's exactly what was waiting for me here, and it was done with both skill and flair.
I purchased this book on a whim, because it sounded interesting and I was in the mood for something different. I found something that I know I'm going to read many more times, and two new authors who I will certainly be keeping an eye out for from this moment on.
yolandekleinn's review
5.0
I enjoy good science fiction, and this book hits a lot of great buttons. I found the world building vivid, the characters imperfect and compelling. The physical spaces in the story came across especially well. I liked this one a lot.
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