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A review by taratearex
Frontier by Grace Curtis
adventurous
slow-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
I picked up this book because I love a western sci-fi theme, and because of the description of a sapphic love story. While I did love a lot of the worldbuilding- a mostly abandoned earth due to climate change, leaving desolate towns, a fear of technology, and religious zealots. I was very into the first few chapters where the scene is set and we meet our MC who has just crash landed in a spaceship, I was ready for some sapphic pining ala How to Lose the Time War...
Unfortunately the structure of the book took the story in a very different direction than I expected. Each chapter is about a different person who eventually overlaps with the MC on her journey to find her lost love. But she's never the main character in these shapshots, so we really don't ever get to know her, and her lost love is only ever barely mentioned. I found this structure just impossible to connect with, I felt there was no buy-in to the main character or the supposed love story. I had expected some flashbacks so we get to know the MC and her lost love, but that never happens. We actually don't meet the lost love or learn their names until 70% into the book and they are only ever together briefly. By this time I just did not have an interest in the MC or their relationship because I was given no real reason to care throughout the story. We meet and learn about every one else in the abandoned earth except the MC and her lost love, which truthfully could be interesting to people if they get into the world, but it just wasn't enough for me. Also, at the end one of them says the other was "going Native" yikes :/
I think this unconventional story structure could work for some, the worldbuilding is definitely interesting, but it overall didn't work for me. I kept thinking how this would have worked better as a movie, where you have the visual of the MC to keep you connected in the wandering stories about other characters until it eventually connects with her.
CWs: death, murder, gun violence, grief, alcohol, injury detail, animal death, derogatory language (going Native)
Thank you to the publisher and Net Galley for the e-advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.
Unfortunately the structure of the book took the story in a very different direction than I expected. Each chapter is about a different person who eventually overlaps with the MC on her journey to find her lost love. But she's never the main character in these shapshots, so we really don't ever get to know her, and her lost love is only ever barely mentioned. I found this structure just impossible to connect with, I felt there was no buy-in to the main character or the supposed love story. I had expected some flashbacks so we get to know the MC and her lost love, but that never happens. We actually don't meet the lost love or learn their names until 70% into the book and they are only ever together briefly. By this time I just did not have an interest in the MC or their relationship because I was given no real reason to care throughout the story. We meet and learn about every one else in the abandoned earth except the MC and her lost love, which truthfully could be interesting to people if they get into the world, but it just wasn't enough for me. Also, at the end one of them says the other was "going Native" yikes :/
I think this unconventional story structure could work for some, the worldbuilding is definitely interesting, but it overall didn't work for me. I kept thinking how this would have worked better as a movie, where you have the visual of the MC to keep you connected in the wandering stories about other characters until it eventually connects with her.
CWs: death, murder, gun violence, grief, alcohol, injury detail, animal death, derogatory language (going Native)
Thank you to the publisher and Net Galley for the e-advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence and Murder
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Alcohol, and Vomit