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frasersimons 's review for:
Black Water Sister
by Zen Cho
I wasn’t sure what to expect from this, in terms of plot beats. That made it more interesting to me. I liked that the story felt really organic. There’s quite a lot of worldbuilding scaffolding, the character relationships feel spot on, and I really, really liked the various conflict resolution in this. Every situation feels dynamic and appropriate.
Craft-wise, there is quite a bit of exposition but I would wager that’s because it’s a challenging setting to convey to people. Everything about it is not something the average reader would be familiar with it, then the fantasy elements are added to it. So, I think it makes sense. The prose isn’t particularly evocative or flowery, which makes it feel pretty commercial—but is perfectly serviceable. The flow especially stands out as being great.
Jess is not steeped in the culture so experiencing everything through her eyes worked well. I think this will be big for representation for some people. She’s both trying to pass in a new culture that has some heavy prejudices, passing for straight with her family, and feels like she doesn’t belong to either culture. The fantasy elements are interesting but the standout aspect to me was the character drama. I actually wish there were more character development/interactions between Jess and her girlfriend. But did like the ending. Feels pretty solid to me.
Craft-wise, there is quite a bit of exposition but I would wager that’s because it’s a challenging setting to convey to people. Everything about it is not something the average reader would be familiar with it, then the fantasy elements are added to it. So, I think it makes sense. The prose isn’t particularly evocative or flowery, which makes it feel pretty commercial—but is perfectly serviceable. The flow especially stands out as being great.
Jess is not steeped in the culture so experiencing everything through her eyes worked well. I think this will be big for representation for some people. She’s both trying to pass in a new culture that has some heavy prejudices, passing for straight with her family, and feels like she doesn’t belong to either culture. The fantasy elements are interesting but the standout aspect to me was the character drama. I actually wish there were more character development/interactions between Jess and her girlfriend. But did like the ending. Feels pretty solid to me.