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A review by illustrated_librarian
An Unkindness of Ghosts by Rivers Solomon
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
'History wanted to be remembered. Evidence hated having to live in the dark, hidden places and devoted itself to resurfacing. Truth was messy. The natural order of an entropic universe was to tend toward it.'
Aster lives in the lowdeck slums of the Matilda, a huge spaceship ferrying the last of humanity to a fabled Promised Land. Organised much like the antebellum South, harsh moral restrictions and indignities are imposed on dark-skinned inhabitants like her. But when Aster stumbles upon the secrets left to her by her mother, she realises the lowdeckers have to rise up.
Solomon pulls no punches when depicting the brutality that upholds the stratified social order of Matilda and yet also manages to bake resistance into every part of Aster's story. Though lowdeckers live in a society dependent on their labour but resentful of any joy they find, Aster and her friends have carved out rich, meaningful ways of living true to themselves that stand apart from the soulless ways of the upperdecks.
A major theme is how exhausting it is to be neurogivergent in a neurotypical society - Aster is autistic coded in a way that felt sensitive and was never played for laughs, rather it highlighted the senseless cruelty people turn on anything they don't understand. Queerness also proliferates, with tender conversations on gender identity, reflections on asexuality, and the many ways we can love happening at various points.
My one complaint is that a couple of areas lacked the detail Solomon otherwise amply provides. The end was a little hasty compared to the rest of the book, and Giselle, Aster's mercurial friend, felt underdeveloped and sometimes too convenient to the plot. These things aside, this is damn good, entertaining, thought-provoking sci-fi with a wonderful MC in Aster.
Aster's story is one of taking the work done by your forebearers and carrying that torch onwards, of resisting seemingly insurmountable oppression, and of building towards a better world even if you can't quite see how to make it yet. Holding these lessons close feels all the more important in the days and months ahead.
Aster lives in the lowdeck slums of the Matilda, a huge spaceship ferrying the last of humanity to a fabled Promised Land. Organised much like the antebellum South, harsh moral restrictions and indignities are imposed on dark-skinned inhabitants like her. But when Aster stumbles upon the secrets left to her by her mother, she realises the lowdeckers have to rise up.
Solomon pulls no punches when depicting the brutality that upholds the stratified social order of Matilda and yet also manages to bake resistance into every part of Aster's story. Though lowdeckers live in a society dependent on their labour but resentful of any joy they find, Aster and her friends have carved out rich, meaningful ways of living true to themselves that stand apart from the soulless ways of the upperdecks.
A major theme is how exhausting it is to be neurogivergent in a neurotypical society - Aster is autistic coded in a way that felt sensitive and was never played for laughs, rather it highlighted the senseless cruelty people turn on anything they don't understand. Queerness also proliferates, with tender conversations on gender identity, reflections on asexuality, and the many ways we can love happening at various points.
My one complaint is that a couple of areas lacked the detail Solomon otherwise amply provides. The end was a little hasty compared to the rest of the book, and Giselle, Aster's mercurial friend, felt underdeveloped and sometimes too convenient to the plot. These things aside, this is damn good, entertaining, thought-provoking sci-fi with a wonderful MC in Aster.
Aster's story is one of taking the work done by your forebearers and carrying that torch onwards, of resisting seemingly insurmountable oppression, and of building towards a better world even if you can't quite see how to make it yet. Holding these lessons close feels all the more important in the days and months ahead.