A review by skycrane
The High Ground by Melinda M. Snodgrass

4.0

I was looking for a book to read and remembered Melinda Snodgrass's interesting sci-fi story from the Dangerous Women anthology, so I started this series. Stories about human contact with aliens are often a way to explore what it really means to be human by putting us in comparison to another species. In this series, humanity doesn't come across very well. The society of the Solar League is aggressive, xenophobic, fractious, parochial, and decadent. I think the characters in this sense are very realistic, with their noble aspects living alongside their flaws, and their personalities reflecting the society that shaped them. Mercedes' attitude to her "lessers" is what you'd expect from someone raised to be obeyed, but she's also genuinely kind, especially to those she could easily mistreat with no consequences. Tracy is usually bitter and resentful, but when he forgets his grievances he's naturally caring and even self-sacrificing. Even the Emperor, who is theoretically in charge of this deeply unfair society and who benefits most from its systemic oppression, is shown to also be a caring father and concerned ruler (to some extent). This certainly isn't any kind of apologia for sexist, racist, or classist oppression, but it recognizes that such societies exist and the people who live in them are human, with all the good and bad that entails.

The story mostly about the social dilemmas Mercedes and Tracy face trying to make places for themselves in a space that is naturally unwelcoming to them, for different reasons. There's all sorts of political intrigue going on, but it's mostly relegated to the background, which I liked. The focus is on the characters and their immediate concerns. There may be civil war or alien attacks on the horizon, but at the moment, they're just students, and they have to make it through the academy first.

Anyways, this book was very good, and I've already started the sequel, which might be even better.