A near-future dystopia in which a racist, ultraconservative government in Canada (working with a similar government in the US, we’re told, but this story is set in Toronto) rounds up basically anyone who isn’t white, straight, or able-bodied, cuts off access to their financial accounts and transportation, and either straight-out executes them or stuffs them into concentration camps and workhouses. The narrator, a queer femme drag performer, is writing letters to his lost love while on the run and getting involved in the rebellion. It should have been exciting stuff, but the writing is super heavy-handed and the characters often pause in the middle of tense moments to deliver long-winded monologues about intersectionality and allyship. In general I found this really clumsily done, from the unlikely setup, to the extremely flat characters, to a really forced ending.
Tag: genre-lgbt
Razorblade Tears, by S.A. Cosby
Oh man I am not sure what to make of this. On one level it’s a super fun ride, with two old dads, one white and one black, who go on a violent mission to avenge their two murdered sons; the writing is slick and enjoyable, there’s some great social commentary, and the character building is solid. On the other hand, I really don’t like that all the dads’ best character growth comes about because their gay sons were murdered. (This is not a spoiler, it is literally the first chapter.) Can we please not go around casually murdering the gay kids for character growth, it makes me sad.
The Jasmine Throne, by Tasha Suri
Absolutely loved the beginning of this book, which kicks off with a princess refusing to die on her brother’s funeral pyre. Exiled to a distant tower, she meets a chambermaid (with a mysterious past, of course) and their growing relationship is so well done, all tension and suspicion and reluctant respect. Meanwhile, a growing rebellion in the kingdom is complicating things for both of them (to say the least). I also liked the magic system, very much one in which you can’t get something for nothing.
The Red Threads of Fortune, by Neon Yang
Following The Black Tides of Heaven, this novella follows the sister Mokoya instead of her twin. Where the previous story aimed outwards, the twin brother casting himself expansively towards various causes and cities, this one is very inward-focused, on Mokoya’s PTSD and her battle to understand her powers and come to terms with her own continued existence. I really liked how delicately the plot points were revealed, both to Mokoya and to the reader, and how other characters’ motivations were also given time to exist.
The Actual Star, by Monica Byrne
A super ambitious book, following three reincarnated groups of characters through three different timelines (Ancient Maya, present day, and post-climate-apocalypse future). Really impressive worldbuilding and character development. I did bog down a little though when it came to the MANY various terms and genders invented for the future, and I also got tripped up by the incorporation of Belize creole. I don’t mind a little Spanish thrown in here and there, but if I have to slow down and mouth the words several times over in order to understand what’s being said, I feel like it gets in the way of the story even if it does add verisimilitude/authenticity. Also, the ending was appropriate to the story, but it didn’t really wrap anything up for me, and left a few too many loose ends for the reader.
The Chosen and the Beautiful, by Nghi Vo
This was amazing, a treatment of The Great Gatsby which recasts socialite Jordan Baker as a queer adoptee from Vietnam. As a visibly Asian person in white spaces, her character traits from the original — her avoidance of attachment, her blithe dismissal of others’ opinions — all make sense from someone preemptively protecting herself from racism. As if that weren’t enough, there is also magic, beautifully and lyrically presented: the weather responds to Daisy Buchanan’s emotions so that she moves through the world as literal pathetic fallacy; Jordan cuts paper dolls that come to life; Gatsby plies his guests with crystal glasses of literal demon’s blood. As for Nick Carraway… well, I won’t ruin it, but I will say this book had one of the best, most well-developed endings I’ve read in a while; it also contained delightful surprises, which was quite a feat considering that this book actually follows the original quite faithfully. Oh, and the writing was stunning.
She Who Became the Sun, by Shelley Parker Chan
I do not have words for how awesome this book was. It’s about fate, and how you make your peace with it (or not). A girl from a rural village in China, so poor and unvalued that she was not even given a name, is told that her brother is fated for greatness. When he dies, she assumes his identity and goes on to doggedly pursue his glorious fate as well, disguising herself as a boy and getting admitted to a monastery. In time, she finds herself set against the Mongol conquerors that are ruling harshly over the land, one of whom is struggling to accept the fate that he has decided upon for himself. The book is just brilliant, full of piercing insights about gender, destiny, and self-determination, and characters who don’t let the other characters get away with anything. I loved every moment.
The Unbroken, by C.L. Clark
I really liked almost every concept in this book: downtrodden slave caste with a secret rebellion, a child raised by the colonizers struggles to find her place; warrior/princess romance with respect paid to power imbalance, hidden magic users wielding secret powers… but the characterization was flat, the villains were paper cutouts, the characters made weird and stupid unforced errors, the plot dragged and rushed by turns, and at the end I feel like nothing got resolved and more messes were made. I get that it’s the first in a series, but with this kind of pacing and development, I’m not in a hurry to see where it goes.
Fireheart Tiger, by Aliette de Bodard
Novella, fantasy with court politics. Thanh was raised in the royal court as a political hostage; she is now back home, but her old flame, Princess Eldris of the neighboring predatory kingdom, is visiting with an eye towards alliance by marriage, or conquest, the same threat under a different name. Thanh eventually also makes friends with a fire spirit, whose history turns out to be tied closely with her own. Beautiful writing and a satisfying ending, but very flat characters.
Spirits Abroad, by Zen Cho
This is a collection of short stories full of Zen Cho’s sardonic characters, who encounter creatures out of Malay myth and still manage to be dry and ordinary about it all. I love all the stories, but especially the ones about the dragon who fell for the girl who is more focused on getting her university degree; the lion dance troupe whose side gig is to exorcise ghosts; and the high school pontianak (female vampire) who just wants to go to school without worrying about her interfering aunts. Absolutely delightful collection.