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A review by roannasylver
Testing Pandora by Kaia Sønderby
5.0
I can't get to my highlights, which is quite bothersome, as this story (a novella prequel to FAILURE TO COMMUNICATE) has so many lines worth highlighting it's kind of unbelievable. Or would be, if I hadn't read/been blown away by the first book of the main series, FAILURE TO COMMUNICATE. I'll try to get to them and provide a more specific review, but in very short:
In a Far Future where disability and neurodivergence has been all but eliminated in humanity thanks to Eugenic Fuckery, autistic Xandri uses her incredible observational skills to win enough gambling-matches to survive in an unfriendly universe - until she gets picked up by an elite starship crew of xeno-liasons... and her life changes forever. And SHE will change the lives of billions, meeting and communicating with aliens, making first contact, seeking out new life and new civilizations... starting with a race of giant parrot-people I want every alien-loving reader to see.
INCLUDES:
* Best autistic/ND voice I've ever read. (Also ownvoice!)
* Xandri is bi and this is awesome, AND it hints toward a poly relationship, which is explored more in the main book!
* Diver (male hinted-at love interest/Quirky Genius Inventor) is incredible - warm, funny, brilliant, totally here for Xandri and all her brain-nuances - and like 2/3rds of my highlights are of him. I have a book-crush. It's a good thing. Please, please, we need more Divers in the book-world and real-world.
* Incredibly creative universe - literal universe of space travel and aliens, all with their own deeply thought-out cultural details and methods of communication. Giant bird people. A bear-caterpillar-ish alien named Aki (whose species are basically 'eh' toward gender/pronouns, but she/her is ok for Aki) who lets Xandri stim by petting her soft fur and basically I want to hug Aki and never actually stop.
* The entire concept of an autistic MC who has trouble communicating with her own human species (primarily because of ableism, and absolutely Not because there's anything "wrong" with her!), but excels at understanding and building trust with other citizens of the galaxy, whose voice and method of processing the world is not just included but VALUED - it's incredible. It's healing.
* Xandri's past of parental abuse, homelessness, poverty and endangerment is something I think any disabled or neurodivergent reader will recognize. But even when raw and painful, the story is so real and so important - and so is she.
I just can't say enough good about this short story, or the book it precedes. If you want amazing autistic/neurodiverse voice (synesthesia, for gosh sakes, I'm still not over that!), bi poly fun, and incredibly cool aliens and sci-fi adventure, PLEASE pick up these books. FAILURE TO COMMUNICATE and TESTING PANDORA deserve to blow up huge... and WE deserve fiction like this. And so much more.
In a Far Future where disability and neurodivergence has been all but eliminated in humanity thanks to Eugenic Fuckery, autistic Xandri uses her incredible observational skills to win enough gambling-matches to survive in an unfriendly universe - until she gets picked up by an elite starship crew of xeno-liasons... and her life changes forever. And SHE will change the lives of billions, meeting and communicating with aliens, making first contact, seeking out new life and new civilizations... starting with a race of giant parrot-people I want every alien-loving reader to see.
INCLUDES:
* Best autistic/ND voice I've ever read. (Also ownvoice!)
* Xandri is bi and this is awesome, AND it hints toward a poly relationship, which is explored more in the main book!
* Diver (male hinted-at love interest/Quirky Genius Inventor) is incredible - warm, funny, brilliant, totally here for Xandri and all her brain-nuances - and like 2/3rds of my highlights are of him. I have a book-crush. It's a good thing. Please, please, we need more Divers in the book-world and real-world.
* Incredibly creative universe - literal universe of space travel and aliens, all with their own deeply thought-out cultural details and methods of communication. Giant bird people. A bear-caterpillar-ish alien named Aki (whose species are basically 'eh' toward gender/pronouns, but she/her is ok for Aki) who lets Xandri stim by petting her soft fur and basically I want to hug Aki and never actually stop.
* The entire concept of an autistic MC who has trouble communicating with her own human species (primarily because of ableism, and absolutely Not because there's anything "wrong" with her!), but excels at understanding and building trust with other citizens of the galaxy, whose voice and method of processing the world is not just included but VALUED - it's incredible. It's healing.
* Xandri's past of parental abuse, homelessness, poverty and endangerment is something I think any disabled or neurodivergent reader will recognize. But even when raw and painful, the story is so real and so important - and so is she.
I just can't say enough good about this short story, or the book it precedes. If you want amazing autistic/neurodiverse voice (synesthesia, for gosh sakes, I'm still not over that!), bi poly fun, and incredibly cool aliens and sci-fi adventure, PLEASE pick up these books. FAILURE TO COMMUNICATE and TESTING PANDORA deserve to blow up huge... and WE deserve fiction like this. And so much more.