A review by laurareads87
In the Watchful City by S. Qiouyi Lu

dark reflective sad fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

With In the Watchful City, author S. Qiouyi Lu has produced a novella that feels like a novel given how much is included... yet that somehow doesn't drag.  The author describes this as biocyberpunk, and the novella touches on many themes one would expect from that description - surveillance, biological/technological interfacing, the relationship between body and consciousness, and more.  I liked a lot about this, including the intermingling of multiple genres and how utterly and unapologetically queer the entire story felt.  I did like the 'stories within a story' structure, though some components were stronger than others and I found myself wishing that some sections were longer.  I definitely want to read more from S. Qiouyi Lu.

<i>Content warnings:</i> suicide on page (drowning), suicidal thoughts, death, violence, mention of a past suicide attempt, sexism, colonization, medical content, grief, blood, consensual cutting/scarification in a sexual context
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