J.S. Fields

Author & Scientist

Review: An Accident of Stars by Foz Meadows

Genre: fantasy – portal fantasy

Pairings: f/f

Queer Representation: pansexual, cis lesbian, cis gay, aromantic, agender, trans

Warnings: none

Review

Saffron Coulter, a mild-mannered but angry sixteen year old girl from Earth, has had enough. Between the sexual harassment from the boys at her school to the uncaring faculty, Saffron’s biggest wish is that someone would just stand up to all the BS. Someone other than her, that is.

During a particularly nasty encounter with a schoolboy, Saffron is saved by the unknown Gwen, a woman with a mysterious past. Saffron ends up following Gwen to a more secluded area of the school–mostly to thank her–when a portal opens. And Saffron, being done with boys and high school and Earth, hops right in.

What follows is a twisting, engaging if not sometimes confusing, adventure through Kena–a magic using world teetering on the brink of war. Gwen, the worldwalker Saffron followed through the portal, must bring her up to speed on a very complex social hierarchy and several religions lest Saffron get herself killed through simply existing. As happens in these types of books, Saffron soon becomes ensconced in the war and ends up a key player in the final battles.

Format

I have mixed feelings about this book. The beginning is strong, and Saffron a sympathetic protagonist. Her motivations for going through the portal make a lot of sense and her first day or so on Kena has a lot of strong action. The setting is delivered well, the secondary characters are charming and delightful and cruel, and enough tropes are employed to help the reader feel comfortable in the world before they have a lot of information.

Where I struggled was with the swapping third to omniscient voice and the number of characters who got to wield either or both.

In some places, the POV switch is indicated by a line gap. In some the head hopping happens simply between normal paragraphs. There never seemed to be a reason for why narration changed, and it didn’t seem to follow the character with the most agency or interesting happenings, either. Due to the sheer volume of characters that were allowed a POV, I soon lost interest in a sizable section of the world.

The amount of time spent in Saffron’s head is excellent, and helped pull my interest back in every time she was on page. However, the extensive worldbuilding and political mechanics were beyond the scope of one book or at least, beyond the scope of Saffron’s understanding and therefore also beyond the reader’s.

Because I was so invested in Saffron and Zech (a younger girl who ends up in a sort of mind-meld with Saffron) I persisted through the book. The back third was mostly delightful, and the action, especially when the group hit the queen council and Zech and Saffron had to go through trials, was by far the best part. The final battle as well was very well done and the book had a fantastic, melancholy-but-still-happy ending.

It is saying something, however, that I skimmed pages and pages of this book, and almost the entire princess storyline (after her introduction, when it was clear she would only be annoying) and still felt like I didn’t miss anything. The ending made perfect sense and the final battle was still very compelling. As AN ACCIDENT OF STARS skims close to high fantasy, I wonder if it wasn’t shooting for world-as-character levels of description, and just fell a bit short.

Some excellent parts

I enjoyed that Saffron is Australian, which isn’t a POV I get to see a lot of in mainstream fiction. The racism of the teachers and Saffron’s own internal racism are addressed on page, and that was wonderful. I’m not sure I’ve ever read a fantasy that called out the implicit bias of its characters so directly:

“Not seeing Viya as a queen because she’s not white is racist,” she whispered into the pillow. “I’m being racist.”

British racism was also touched upon:

She didn’t say, ‘the police wouldn’t look for me when I vanished, because they didn’t think a missing black woman mattered.’ She didn’t say, ‘my parents convinced themselves I’d run off with a boy I was too ashamed to bring home, and when I came back, the second thing they asked was if I’d had an abortion.’

The trans rep was also fantastic, which isn’t surprising since the author is genderqueer. The ‘alikrevaya’ (trans) are seen as a natural variance and allowed to declare themselves however they wish. The worldbuilding of a culture of trans acceptance was so seamless that it actually took me a few pages to realize what the author was talking about. Also, they have sex-affirmation magic. Fantastic.

“It means she was born with her body and spirit in conflict, so the priests of Kara used the sevikmet to reshape her.”

“Bodies are bodies, and hearts are hearts. The priestess hood admits women only, though flesh plays no role in such determinations;”

Overall, AN ACCIDENT OF STARS is strong portal fantasy with solid queer rep and a sweet f/f line. The action scenes in particular stand out, although the book would have benefitted from some tighter 3rd limited.

To go through your own portal to Kena, buy the book here in print and here in ebook.

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Review: Dalí by E. M. Hamill

Genre: science fiction (space opera)

Pairings: nonbinary/female, nonbinary/male

Queer Representation: gender fluid, third gender, trans masculine, trans feminine, agender

Warnings: violence against enbies (may be triggering for some)

Rating: five stars

 

Review

Dalí, a human, third gender changling, used to be a highly regarded diplomat. That all changed when their husband, wife, and unborn child were murdered. Adrift in suicidal thoughts, Dalí gets into one too many fights and stumbles across an interplanetary conspiracy to sell other third gender changelings to the highest bidder. Dalí agrees to help rescue their fellows, but the conspiracy is much deeper than they feared, and making it out alive isn’t exactly a high priority.

Plot

A very space opera-y space opera, Dalí gives a look at a pseudo-dystopian future in which being born nonbinary is common (that’s not the dystopian part, clearly), but factions from Earth would prefer to see people ‘go back’ to just male and female. Add in a mess of aliens and Dalí’s proclivities for sexual encounters and you get an intense book filled with intrigue, sex, betrayal, and a host of uncomfortable parallels to our modern society.

Although I found some of the scenes too brutal at times (I see and experience plenty of enby discrimination in day-to-day life, so I don’t always care for it in my books), the book was very well written and the pacing, especially in the second half, excellent. I was hooked after Dalí began to befriend a ‘pirate lord,’ and I got to see more of their personality come forward, instead of the (understandable) gut reactions we got in the first half of the book.

General

This book was recommended to me so many times that I waited to purchase a print copy, instead of getting an ARC from Ninestar (also my publisher). It was well worth the purchase and while I didn’t necessarily connect with Dalí on an enby level (we’re just different flavors of enby), the struggles they faced were all too real, and the conflicts, while set in space, were very 2018. It’s fantastic that stories like this are getting published, and that enby readers have more and more opportunities to see themselves in fiction. Much like with THE SEEDS OF DISSOLUTION, it was nice to see a variety enby types, from true gender fluid, to agender and third gender, to transmasculine and transfeminine. This representation, too, is key, in helping to educate readers that nonbinary doesn’t mean just one thing.

A solid, well-paced plot, strong writing, and a memorable main protagonist made this book a very satisfying read. Lovers of gritty books, such as TRANS LIBERTY RIOT BRIGADE, will find this book especially valuable, as will lovers of queer space opera.

You can buy Dalí in paperback here and ebook here.

 

Read the review for the sequel PEACEMAKER here.

Review: The Seeds of Dissolution by William C. Tracy

Genre: science fantasy

Pairings: m/m/f

Queer Representation: bisexual, gender fluid, nonbinary, agender, third gender

Warnings: none–but so many enbies you might have to fan yourself

Rating: five stars

 

Review

After watching his parents die in a freak storm as a child, Sam’s anxiety has kept him from leaving his house. When another inexplicable force of nature drags him out of his house, across space, and into the Nether–a place outside our universe–Sam must learn how to live with his anxiety amongst aliens while also discovering the magic that lives inside himself.

 

Plot

At it’s most basic, yes, this is a ‘white boy goes on a journey’ story. But it is so much more than that. At 400 pages, this is a high fantasy story (science fantasy, mind) with multiple POVs, a well-defined magic system (music!), and a relatable, flawed MC. The world is rich and lush, well described but never ad nauseum, the characters well rounded, and the species distinct and colorful. Tension builds steadily throughout, the ending is satisfying, and narration is easy to read. Bonus – the cover art and interior illustrations are gorgeous. I was also really pleased that Sam (our MC) does not get over his mental illness, but instead, learns coping mechanism throughout the story that help him interact more with his friends. Even at the end Sam is still gripped by his anxiety, but is able to do his part to save the day. It’s rare to find books that do not treat mental illness as something to get over, but rather, allow for it to simply be a part of a character.

 

Relationship

The main relationship is a polyamorous one, between Sam and Inas (male) and his twin sister Enos. Sam is on-page bisexual (an argument could be made for pansexual, as one line notes Sam is interested in the twins for their personalities, not their forms). He is not closeted at the start, and as his interests unfold there is no mental turmoil about being attracted to another male, or being attracted to two people at once. This was all very refreshing, and it was nice to see not only aliens being fine with canon queerness, but an actual human being okay with it, too.

 

Enbies. Enbies everywhere

I want to do a special callout to the gender representation in this book. It seems ridiculous that this is so rare in SFF, as any time you deal with new species there should never be an inherent assumption of a gender binary. And yet, SFF, especially science fiction, is rife with the strict male/female dynamic. Tracy presents species with genders of all variants, from agender, to third gender, to straight up uncategorized nonbinary, to a gender fluid main character (and no one, no one, freaking cares that they have to pronoun check every so often for this character!). None of the POV characters were outside the binary, but the world was so rich with enby characters I didn’t even mind. It felt nice, for once, to be ‘included’ in a SFF narrative without being the reason for the narrative existing, if that makes sense. Sometimes the most useful way to show your support for a group of people is to make them everyday players, and this book does just that.

 

The joy of self publishing

This book is a great example of why self-publishing can be a wonderful thing. Books like this, which walk right between science fiction and fantasy, which have a YA-aged protagonist mixed with much older POV characters, and which have a high word count (book is right at 400 pages), can be a very hard sell to agents and publishers. SEEDS is exceptionally well written, avoids the pitfalls I see with many self-pubbed books (lack of editing, unattractive cover art, lack of act structure and/or through line) and delivers a quality story. The interior art, as well, is a hallmark of Tracy’s stories and really adds the finishing touch to this novel.

 

Overall, this book should appeal to readers across science fiction and fantasy, as well as YA and adult readers. Queer readers, especially those outside the gender binary, will feel right at home in the Nether, and there is plenty of ‘standard’ fantasy fare to keep general readers interested. I’m very much looking forward to the next installment!

 

You can buy THE SEEDS OF DISSOLUTION in print here and ebook here.

 

Review: Beneath the Surface by Rebecca Langham

Genre: science fiction (dystopian)

Pairings: f/f, m/m

Queer Representation: cis lesbian, cis gay, nonbinary, agender, trans*

Warnings: racism and racist ideology which isn’t resolved until book two, potential for white savior narrative

Rating: 4 stars

 

Review

Lydia is a governor’s daughter, with all the privileges and lack of privacy that comes along with it. Desperate to have some peace in her life, she signs on as a teacher in an underground installation that houses alien refugees. While busy falling in love with Alessia, Lydia is caught up in the burgeoning revolution of the Outsiders and finds herself confronted with a host of uncomfortable truths about her government, corporations, and science.

Pacing

This book had a lot of similarity to The Long Way to a Cold, Angry Planet in terms of being highly character driven, with few explosions. Unlike Angry Planet, however, I found the tension high from the start and had little problem getting hooked into the narrative. Alessia’s plight is palpable through the prologue (a prologue that actually does work, in this instance), and Lydia, though the quintessential Unlikable Protagonist, does show some useful growth.

In many ways this book is more dystopian than sci fi though, so those coming into it hoping for laser gun battles and pew pew shoot em ups will leave disappointed. Those interested in more of a slow world reveal and the biting social commentary that used to be prevalent in dime store SFF novels, will be pleased.

 

Romance

I enjoyed the romance line (primarily f/f, though there was a sub-romance in m/m). Though it began as ‘lust at first sight’, the romance did develop at a steady, believable pace. I found the lead to the fade-to-black scene a rewarding payoff, and the tension between Lydia and the various options for a f/f pairing, for me, helped with could have otherwise been a slow start. The m/m romance line (though admittedly this is WAY outside my lane) was sweet and very appropriate for the characters.

 

Queer Themes

The Outsiders are presented as primarily gender fluid, although binary options are still present. The commentary on gender and sexuality conventions was well stated and fit within the context of the aliens as presented. The ending of the book made the nature of this queerness all the more interesting, and the author’s views on the nature of human gender and sexuality are well articulated. The queer community as a whole should find this book a very welcoming, and refreshing, look at the various iterations of the LGBTQIA+ spectrum.

 

The Nitty Gritty

With all that I liked/loved about this book, it did edge into some uncomfortable territory in terms of tropes. Lydia’s narrative is uncomfortably close to that of a White Savior as presented in the first half of the book. There are numerous references to her being the Outsider’s only hope for escape, and in places Lydia sees her role as that of the only one who can help the poor alien refugees. The narrative does not, in fact, play out in this direction, and for the most part the Outsiders save themselves, but readers should be aware that echoes of this trope are around.

I did consult the author about this, as I often do before addressing major concerns in a review, and got more of a view on Lydia as will be presented in book two of this duology. Lydia is meant to be portrayed as a typical sheltered, privileged woman who slowly wakes to the issues around her, but this reckoning doesn’t really break off until book two. Some of this awakening does come on the backs of the marginalized (an Outsider is beaten in front of Lydia, which makes her realize that no one doing anything is problematic), some of it comes from simply interacting with the community. This remains a problematic area of the book for me, however I understand, too, that a great deal of the SJ movement in fiction, especially, is US-based, and I am viewing this through a US lens. The author of Beneath the Surface is Australian, specifically designed the world in this book around Australian detention centers, and as such, it’s not really fair for me to judge the SJ side of the work through a US view.

My second issue with the book comes from, again, a US SJ ideological standpoint. Petra, a non-POV character, but one with a great deal of growth, regardless, is our instigator for violence. It is Petra who sets off a bomb in the underground shelter to try to free her people, and in doing so kills a guard (the enemy), but also an Outsider child. Petra is, of course, mortified at the death she caused, but is also rightfully frustrated that her people are so passive and are not willing to fight for what they want (instead hoping humans will eventually see the good in them, and release them back to the outside world).

Throughout the book, Petra is berated for her actions and use of violence against her oppressors. At one point Lydia tries to rationalize Petra’s actions through thinking of Petra as a wild, caged animal. I was very uncomfortable with the constant barrage of ‘violence never solves anything’ in the narrative and the insinuation that Petra’s actions were wrong. There were too many parallels, for me, in terms of the Outsider’s internment and Jewish people being placed into ghettos, to reconcile the idea that just doing what your ‘benevolent’ overlords tell you to do will eventually get them to realize the error of their ways. Their are numerous instances in earth history where failure to act gets you killed.

After some discussion with the author about this topic, she brought some traits about the Outsiders to light which either weren’t well highlighted in the narrative, or I missed (the latter is more likely). The Outsiders are genetically passive–incapable of violence, and Petra is the first in their history to have a mutation that allows for her to engage in violence. Having this piece of information makes the reactions of the other Outsiders to Petra much more understandable, and Lydia’s response (also a why would you do something like this?! response) is also understandable from her Unlikable Protagonist position of privilege. Langham told me that the characters do come around to understanding the need for violence under certain situations in book two, and that is very helpful for me, as a reader, to see that the greater world isn’t being presented in black and white.

The Ending

The end of the book brought in that sci fi twist so reminiscent of dime store novels, and I absolutely loved it. In fact, the problematic tropes listed above were all but wiped away with the ending chapters, and the this really saved the book for me. The moral grayness that comes out here is fantastic, and I loved this discussion of science and corporations. Lydia’s White Savior narrative, and  White Savior Complex, are completely undermined, and Petra’s actions are vindicated.

This was a hard book to read due to how some problematic tropes were employed (but never realized), but in the end, the problems were couched in the failings of the characters, and provided excellent social commentary. Beneath the Surface will be triggering for some US readers, especially those from certain marginalized backgrounds, so please keep the warnings presented in the front of the book in mind, as well as the discussion presented above. The book is worth reading, but isn’t without some bumps along the way.

 

You can buy Beneath the Surface in print here and ebook here.

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