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rakoerose 's review for:
Blackfish City
by Sam J. Miller
What an interesting imagining of a future and the intense bonds of being both a family and a human! This has really elevated my expectations for other authors with the intense-yet-normal diversity within this book.
Poke around too much at something good and you tend to find something bad.
I will caution prospective readers with: this book starts quite slow. You are not dunked into this complex world Miller has concocted and expected to start swimming, he eases you in. I actually really enjoyed it, seeing the mundane day-to-day of our protagonists before it all got so intensely shook up!
And what a compelling tale this was as it ramped up! I found myself enamored with the complexities and layers that came together so satisfyingly. Ankit is by far my favorite, but all the perspectives here were wonderful. And, as I said, immense diversity included not in a way that made it feel “weird” but just… normal. Because diversity is normal! Including non-binary characters, gay love, sapphic love, people of color, and clear intent to center them in the story. (edit: I did not realize while writing this that Miller is himself gay, and that makes me so glad I supported him in getting this book! and also explains this naturalness which I so adore!)
I enjoyed the themes of anti-capitalism in this story, which I think would be even more prevalent in Qaanaaq after the fact that capitalism basically caused their whole situation. It was weirdly cathartic, seeing them dismantling it in their own brutal way. And I haven’t even mentioned the cool technology and the sheer scale of Qaanaaq’s city layout that I somehow actually understood, which is so rare in niche sci-fi like this!
I would not be opposed to Miller conducting another story in this world, and am looking forward to whatever I read of his next regardless! Definitely recommend if you like weird, rebellious, and perspective-hopping sci-fi.
Poke around too much at something good and you tend to find something bad.
I will caution prospective readers with: this book starts quite slow. You are not dunked into this complex world Miller has concocted and expected to start swimming, he eases you in. I actually really enjoyed it, seeing the mundane day-to-day of our protagonists before it all got so intensely shook up!
And what a compelling tale this was as it ramped up! I found myself enamored with the complexities and layers that came together so satisfyingly. Ankit is by far my favorite, but all the perspectives here were wonderful. And, as I said, immense diversity included not in a way that made it feel “weird” but just… normal. Because diversity is normal! Including non-binary characters, gay love, sapphic love, people of color, and clear intent to center them in the story. (edit: I did not realize while writing this that Miller is himself gay, and that makes me so glad I supported him in getting this book! and also explains this naturalness which I so adore!)
I enjoyed the themes of anti-capitalism in this story, which I think would be even more prevalent in Qaanaaq after the fact that capitalism basically caused their whole situation. It was weirdly cathartic, seeing them dismantling it in their own brutal way. And I haven’t even mentioned the cool technology and the sheer scale of Qaanaaq’s city layout that I somehow actually understood, which is so rare in niche sci-fi like this!
I would not be opposed to Miller conducting another story in this world, and am looking forward to whatever I read of his next regardless! Definitely recommend if you like weird, rebellious, and perspective-hopping sci-fi.