J.S. Fields

Author & Scientist

Review: The Wrong Stars by Tim Pratt

Genre: sci fi (space opera)

Pairings: f/f

Queer Representation: gay, bisexual, pansexual, transgender, nonbinary, asexual, aromantic

Warnings: none

Rating: 5 stars

 

Review

Callie, captain of the salvage ship White Raven, stumbles upon a derelict ‘Goldilocks’ ship–one of many vessels sent out of the solar system some 500 years ago in the hope of finding new worlds to seed. The one remaining passenger (in cryosleep of course) awakes with tales of aliens, and not the kind humanity has been interacting with for the past 300 years.

What follows is fast paced, seductive tale of two women whose worlds collide in all the right ways at all the right times as they unravel a galaxy-wide conspiracy about some unruly ‘gods’ and their plans for the universe. If this sounds a lot like the overarching plot to ARDULUM, you’re not wrong, but the books are actually really different in execution.

~~

OMG. Just… OMG. I’ve had a lot of good books come through my TBR pile in the last few days but this one just blew me away. The ‘just on the right side of the law but okay with going over the line’ crew, the hot tension between Callie and Elena who have a bit of an age and power differential (but not enough to be squicky), the quirky crew, the tech, the creep AF aliens, it all worked so well together. Space lesbians at their finest, with a great plot to boot.

The queer representation too, is top notch, hitting most every end of the spectrum (and naming almost every iteration on page). Trans characters, on-page bisexuals whose histories are not erased or minimized, nonbinary characters with nonbinary pronouns, all seamlessly integrated. The book also misses the binary gender trap so many space operas fall into, and the aliens have multiple genders, sexualities, and ways of reproducing (I think at one point the book says the Liars have seven sexes). It’s really neat, too, that the humans don’t really understand their genders or reproduction, so despite being heavily complex, Callie’s max understanding of the Liars is:

“His” wasn’t really accurate–Liars didn’t exactly fir into human gender categories, and when it came to biological sex, Liars either reproduced asexually or had multiple sexes or cloned themselves, depending on which group you were talking about…

The banter, in particular, was very well done (pg 23 of the print version being an excellent example). The aliens are both familiar yet creepy and very well fleshed out. The brain spiders are suitably terrifying, the plan for galactic domination both deliciously evil yet somewhat understandable, and the ending satisfying while still leaving room for sequels. Every explosion makes you whoop with excitement and every plot twist leaves you bug eyed and frantically turning the page.

Hands down, I would put THE WRONG STARS in my top three books I read this year, right next to STARLESS by Jacqueline Carey and BARBARY STATION by R.E. Stearns. I bought the sequel immediately after finishing book 1.

You can buy this delicious space lesbian adventure (complete with sexual tension and discussion of ‘straps’) on ebook here, paperback here, and audiobook here.

To read the review for the sequel, THE DREAMING STARS, click here.

 

Review: The Black Tides of Heaven by JY Yang

Genre: fantasy (silk punk) (novella)

Pairings: trans (masculine)/m

Queer Representation: transgender, nonbinary

Warnings: none

Rating: 4 stars

 

Review

(this is one of the rare times when the back of book blurb is accurate, so I’m just going to copy it below)

Mokoya and Akeha, the twin children of the Protector, were sold to the Grand Monastery as infants. While Mokoya developed a strange prophetic gift, Akeha was always the one who could see the strings that moved adults to action. While Mokoya received visions of what would be, Akeha realized what could be. What’s more, they saw the sickness at the heart of their mother’s Protectorate.

A rebellion is growing. The Machinists discover new levers to move the world every day, while the Tensors fight to put them down and preserve the power of the state. Unwilling to continue as spawn in their mother’s twisted schemes, Akeha leaves the Tensorate behind and falls in with the rebels. But ever step Akeha takes toward the Machinists is a step away from Mokoya. Can Akeha find peace without shattering the bond they share with their twin?

 

Characterization

Nonbinary fiction written by a nonbinary author is right up my alley! This novella was short and sweet, with excellent pacing and perfect character development. The twins, in particular, are very well thought out, and their evolution from children to rebels is delightful at every turn. The mother (The Protector) is that kind of delicious evil you can salivate over–power hungry but respects a challenge ala Lionel Luther from Smallville (don’t pretend you never watched that show. It was on for ten seasons. You had to have seen it once, if only for Johnathon Glover’s hair).

The world, in particular, is very well done. The idea that children are born and raised androgynous and then must declare their gender (and then go through a medical transition to achieve it) was much more intuitive than other instances I have read, likely due to the author’s intimate familiarity with nonbinary genders. Akeha’s struggle to pick within the binary when they (later they use ‘he’) don’t have the strongest of urges to move in either direction, resonated well. The deeper look at the trans masculine experience was also fresh and authentic, and will resonate with many trans masculine and trans nonbinary readers.

Steampunk versus silk punk

While steampunk has never been a favorite genre of mine, I have to say that I’m now well hooked on silk punk. It has all the fun trappings of the steampunk genre (cool machine weapons and budding technology), but without the tired European aesthetic. While the pacing in this book was ideal, I wouldn’t have minded staying in the world a bit longer (overthrow the Protectorate!!), especially in the last thirty pages or so (OMG WHY IS THE MOM SMILING KILL HER KILL HER WITH FIRE!) when you get a bigger look at the tech and the politics at play. I’m eager to get my hands on the other book in the duology, moreso for the world than anything else (although the characters are a bonus!).

Through line

The only downside to the book was a lack of strong overarching narrative. I was happy to be along for the ride, but I was never really sure where the ride was going, or what the goals of the characters were. Not everyone needs or wants that in a book, however, and the pacing was strong enough (and the book short enough) that it wasn’t a major hurdle. It did leave me wondering in several places as to what the actual plot was, but then some cool new tech would come around, or Akeha would have a gender moment again, and I’d be right back in the story.

Lovers of steampunk and/or lovers of enby fantasy will have a great time with THE BLACK TIDES OF HEAVEN. Bonus- the author is on Twitter, active, and they are an absolute delight to follow.

You can buy THE BLACK TIDES OF HEAVEN in paperback here and ebook here.

Review: Starless by Jacqueline Carey

Genre: fantasy (epic/high)

Pairings: f/nonbinary

Queer Representation: cis lesbian, nonbinary (third gender)

Warnings: none

Rating: 5 stars

 

Review

Long ago, the gods fell to the earth, including one who did not deserve its fate. A princess and her sworn protector join a motley crew of mortals tasked with saving their world from the destruction of a vengeful god in this delightful high fantasy adventure with a nonbinary protagonist.

Read my more ‘professional’ New York Journal of Books review here. For a review with more raw emotion, continue below.

I requested this book through NYJB after seeing someone on Twitter ask if any enbies had reviewed STARLESS. Curious, I looked it up only to find it was written by one of my favorite authors, Jacqueline Carey. I never cared for her KUSHIEL series (pease do not send me hate mail) but absolutely adored SANTA OLIVA and SAINTS ASTRAY. Mercifully it was close enough to STARLESS’ release date that I could snag a review copy. Unsure what to expect–the inside jacket blurb isn’t great and the tag line is unhelpful–I dove in.

 

At its most basic

This is high fantasy. There are living gods that walk the earth, magic, dragons, pirates, princesses, seers, fairy-type people, etc. Mercifully it is less a midivil European fantasy and more a ‘travel the whole planet’ fantasy, wherein the reader gets exposed to numerous species and cultures. It also lacks any on-screen rape (although rape is mentioned obliquely in-world) and there are no white people saving scores of brown people. It’s not a George R.R. Martin book. There’s also plenty of women in it, which means it’s not a Tolkien book, and it does more than lip service to diversity, which is a heck of a lot more than most stuff on the market today.

The above alone would make the book worth reading, but Carey takes the book a step further with the exploration of nonbinary identities. As with my professional review, I’m going to avoid talking much about the greater plot (it’s great, btw, but I figure since someone was looking for an enby review, I’d better review the enby bits). I will say that the living gods are creepy-cool, and one of my favorite parts of the worldbuilding.

 

Khai and the gender question

Khai is born during a moon-on-moon eclipse, at the same time as a princess of the Sun-Blessed. Chosen by a god to be the princess’ protector (known as ‘shadow’) Khai is raised by an all male brotherhood and trained as a warrior. Shadows, however, are always  male, but Khai is not. In a male-dominant society where women are veiled and kept apart, Khai is raised bhazim, an ‘honorary boy.’

In order to better keep the secret of Khai’s gender, the brotherhood insist upon complete privacy. Khai never learns that he (Khai uses ‘he/him/his’ throughout the book) has different anatomy (he doesn’t even seen a woman/girl until 11).

It is not clear from the writing whether Khai actually is a boy, and thus never experiences dysphoria from the way he is raised, or does not experience dysphoria because there is no other gender option available. The experience of dysphoria, while certainly not universal to the trans, trans nonbinary, and nonbinary experience, does play a role in this book, and marks various points in Khai’s journey of gender discovery.

A quote that set the stage of my expectations, and then delightfully did not materialize, showcases the mastery with which Carey discusses the way Khai is raised:

I would not be content if I were Miasmus, raised in darkness and secrecy, cast down from the heavens for a sin I had not committed. No, I would not be content at al, but filled with a bitter and long-simmering fury…

 

I had a lot of strong feelings as I read this book

 

In relation to similar gender transformation trope books

In many ways the plot reminded me of one of my favorite series. THE BONE DOLL’S TWIN (forever after TBDT), which is a great dark fantasy but, in my opinion, really botched the ‘girl raised literally as a boy and finds out she is a girl’ trope. STARLESS is what I wanted BONE DOLL’S TWIN to be in terms of gender exploration.

In TBDT, the MC has some light struggles with being a girl raised as a literal boy (through magical body transformation), but generally gets on fine. When her body is finally remade into its proper form, the princess has little difficulty with the transition. It’s not that the transition was untrue in any way, I guess I just always thought it lacked real emotion. STARLESS does a great job at capturing that moment of shock and the resulting actions.

 

In terms of other forms of enbies

The fantasy market has had a number of gender fluid characters written, both by #ownvoices authors and not, but the gender of the character has never been pivotal to the plot. I have yet to see a fantasy with third gender character (some fantasy books with awesome gender fluid characters include DALÍ, MOONSHINE, MASK OF SHADOWS).

It’s beyond important to have every kind of representation, and I certainly don’t have any issues with the volume of gender fluid characters on the market. I do wonder though if gender fluid characters are picked up more readily by agents and publishers because the genders are relatable. Instead of constantly in between, the character may only be sometimes between, and more often traditionally on one end or the other of the binary. Writing a third gender (or agender, for that matter) character is hard, and it may be that connecting with one, for a standard cis audience, is even harder.

Khai does consider various other nonbinary designations, and it takes him the better part of the book to settle on what could best be described as third gender. Here’s a snippet of text from page 215 (hardback edition), where Khai is discussing his gender with Princess Zariya, his soul-twin and love interest.

“How do you think of yourself now?” she asked curiously. “As a boy or a girl?”

I thought about it. “Neither, I suppose. I don’t know how to be a girl but I don’t want to, either.”

Zariya goes on to tell Khai that the Elehuddin people have words for certain types of nonbinary, such as ‘neither man nor woman’ and ‘possibly both’ (note that this species can physically change their gender). This is later confirmed (page 406, hardback) where an Elehuddin tells Khai

“The first is for a person who is in the middle of changing between one and the other. The second…” Breaking off our discourse, he conferred with the Elehuddin in their own tongue. “A person who is alone, maybe a person who has lost their tribal for some reason, may choose to be both. This person may become father and mother like to their own child.”

What I find most interesting about this beat, however, is that Khai rejects the female gender here seemingly solely on the poor social status of women, which Zariya does call him out on. This sets Khai on the road to considering aspects of being a girl, and I think eventually helps him settle on an identity.

 

Relatability

I relate to Khai’s journey on numerous levels. Khai’s reaction to being told he is not the gender he was raised as, and his resulting emotions, struck a nerve. Having also been raised in a way that fit my gender identity, to find out that your body tells a different story (even if that story affirms certain peculiarities), is difficult to deal with.

It was great to see a character really grappling with the balance of male/female, and dysphoria over clothing. The most ‘real’ part of the book, for me, was Khai donning a dress to please his mother (who always wanted a girl), and both hating it and also appreciating the way he looked. STARLESS does not lack for complex emotions.

Even Khai’s journey into the city proper, when he must first start interacting with women, felt very much like my own forays into women’s circles (especially during pregnancy).

I knew nothing of cities; I knew nothing of courts or palaces save what Vironesh had told me. I knew nothing of women.

You and me both, Khai.

Even the parts I couldn’t relate to as well made perfect sense for the character. In the beat below, Khai is having a bath with women for the first time.

And yet… to be wholly naked, a woman among women? The thought of it was profoundly uncomfortable.

 

Discord

The only part of the Khai-gender-journey that didn’t seem to fit quite right was the mother-dress beat. In it, Khai learns that his mother has always wanted a girl, and promises to dress as one the following day. He does so, much to his own discomfort, but later enjoys how he looks in the dress and greatly enjoys his mother’s reaction. Khai thinks back on this moment many times throughout the book, such as in this section on page 498 (hardcover)

She stroked the soft silk. “Thank you, Khai. But I suppose such garb was little to your liking.”

I didn’t answer right away. remembering the first time I had seen myself in the mirror attired as a woman; remembering the light in my mother’s eyes when she had seen me thusly as the daughter for whom she had yearned. I didn’t think these were things Even could fully understand, even if I were able to articulate my own conflicted feelings. “That is not entirely true.”

Everyone, of course, experiences dysphoria differently (if at all), but I was left to wonder at this point how Khai even managed to put the dress on, with all the problems he had had to this point with general anxiety and dysphoria. It’s all well and good to reevaluate once it’s on, but I was surprised to not see more emotional reactions from Khai during the dressing. I’ve scratched my skin so hard it bled from trying to tear my way out of a sweater that made me feel too feminine. I can only imagine being stuffed into a dress.

 

Overall

Minor quibbles aside, this was an excellent book. While both my reviews have focused on the gender aspect, there is so much more to this book, including grand adventure, magic, and yes, love. Fans of THE BONE DOLL’S TWIN, MASK OF SHADOWS, and ARDULUM (there’s a similar journey of self discovery in ARDULUM) will enjoy STARLESS. Out of all the books I’ve read this year, this is definitely my favorite.

You can buy STARLESS in paperback here, digital here, and audiobook here.

 

P.S. This book deserved a much better cover.

Review: Ruin of Angels by Max Gladstone

Genre: high urban fantasy

Pairings: f/f

Queer Representation: trans lesbian, cis lesbian, bisexuality

Warnings: none

Rating: three stars

 

Review

Kai is called to the city of Agdel Lex, built on the ruins of Alikand, to visit her estranged sister, Ley. Once there, she finds Ley tangled up in an intricate plot to free the city from its oppressors. The sisters must find each other, however, before they can stop the multi-faceted threat.

General

Generally, this is a heist story in a high fantasy setting (urban fantasy, in that it is more modern, but high fantasy nonetheless). Like a lot of high fantasy it employs many POV characters and rich, deep worldbuilding. It is also an amazing tale of sisterhood, as well as a solid romance book. It’s everything, really, which is amazing. There is no one feeling, nor one trope, that consumes this book. Instead, it is a fully fleshed out story in a world so real you can smell it.

Characters

The characters were generally very well rounded and dynamic, but there were just so many of them. I had a hard time keeping the secondary characters straight, especially the ones where we only got to be in their heads for a partial chapter or two. The main characters were generally much more interesting, although my interest in the sisters waned as the story progressed and their friends became more dynamic. By the end of the book I was actually more interested in the tertiary characters than anyone else, and had a hard time staying invested in the plot.

Plot

While this is book six in a series, each book can function as a stand alone. This book had been recommended to me many times, and I finally just said to hell with the earlier ones, and read it. I’m not sure if the lack of backstory contributed to my confusion, but I’m going to assume it was at least somewhat to blame.

The first two hundred pages or so were very compelling, and despite not having read the previous five books, I didn’t mind being confused. The language was rich enough and the characters round enough that it was a delightful discovery. The middle of the book started to drag, however, with one mini arc after another, and with the continuing introduction of characters, I found myself lost. The end melded together a bit better, but by page 450 I had lost much of my investment.

The ending was solid, and it was worth getting there, but much like when I read any GAME OF THRONES books, I found myself skipping over POVs I just didn’t care about. So while I enjoyed this book, and it had just about every element I look for in a story, I found it generally to be too long. It would have been an amazing 400 page book, but it ran a bit long in the tooth.

This isn’t to say that lovers of high fantasy wouldn’t enjoy it! I often think high fantasy is just a bit too long, and that the stories should be tighter, but I know many high fantasy fans really want an extended ride. Any lovers of Sanderson’s work would feel at home in RUIN OF ANGELS, as would anyone who doesn’t mind juggling more than five POVs.

Additional Bonus

In terms of queer rep, one of the sisters is a trans woman. The nod to this is subtle, and no one in-world cares at all, which is amazing. This type of accepted, unquestioned queerness was so wonderful. In addition, there are two strong f/f romance lines through the book, and book were sweet and relatable. This book stands very well on queer rep and queer romance, especially for those who like a sturdy fantasy plot along with their ‘I love yous.’

 

You can buy RUIN OF ANGELS in ebook here and paperback here

Review: Dreadnought by April Daniels

Genre: modern fantasy (superhero) (YA)

Pairings: f/f (implied for future books)

Queer Representation: trans lesbian, cis lesbian(?)

Warnings: gender dysphoria, verbal abuse, TERF antics that may be triggering for some readers

Rating: five stars

 

Review

Danny, a trans girl, is hiding behind a dumpster, painting her toenails and enjoying some alone time, when the superhero Dreadnought dies right in front of her. She inherits his powers, among which include the ability to take her ideal form. But while Danny is delighted with the sudden and mostly-absolute gender change, those around Danny, especially her parents, are not. Also super villains and stuff. Bam pow. You know how it goes.

Let’s just hit the (trans) nail on the head

This was a great book. It was written by a trans woman, and the realness of the emotions really shine through. As a trans reader, I deeply connected with Danny on multiple occasions, and appreciated the author’s diverse probing of trans issues–particularly the subtleties of dysphoria (for instance, Danny doesn’t take issue with her junk). I love how the superhero ‘thing’ was continually pushed aside by Danny because she just wanted to revel in looking like a girl, finally, and that even though Danny has the heart of a superhero, that’s not what this book is about.

Not all of the transition accounts will resonate with all readers, of course (and the trans experience is as unique as the human experience). Danny’s discussion of what it’s like to have tons of estrogen coursing through her system instead of testosterone would have struck me fairly sexist even a few years ago, although I’ve had enough trans friends on hormones describe much the same thing that in this instance, it resonated.

Plot

This book shares a lot in common with C.B. Lee’s NOT YOUR SIDEKICK, in terms of slice of high school life and also superpowers. Both deal with prominent issues, although NOT YOUR SIDEKICK definitely spends a greater proportion of its plot on superhero dynamics, while DREADNOUGHT merely warms up to them, spending more time on Danny’s journey. DREADNOUGHT also doesn’t pull any punches, and readers are walked through transphobic parents, entitled male BFFs, and a particularly problematic TERF superhero (who came across more as a caricature than anything else, and the narrative would have been stronger, in my opinion, if her attacks were more subtle).

In many ways this book read more like a prequel, or an extended prologue, to a greater story. That’s not to say it didn’t stand on it’s own, or wasn’t enjoyable. Indeed, the pacing was excellent, the emotions hard hitting, and there was a depth to the story I was not expecting. That Danny is not only trans but also a lesbian was an unexpected bonus, and I do look forward to where the romance line might lead in future books.

Some side thoughts

While I have read some critique of the overt transphobic reactions in this book, and while yes, they could be potentially triggering (there was at least one instance where I had to put the book down and take a walk), I think it bears mentioning that cis readers are often not awake enough to the subtleties of implicit bias. If Danny’s experience was diluted down to extended stares from classmates, indifferent and chilly parents, and a superhero legion who tolerated her presence but never really welcomed her, I don’t think this book would reach nearly the same audience. The overt transphobicness of Danny’s interactions may be somewhat dated, or seem over the top, but they certainly are not over, by any means, for queer teens, and there are plenty of us older trans people who remember those types of days all too well.

 

After a slew of disappointing books, it was great to be able to immerse myself in a world where a trans girl gets to really get her wish. And if that wish is to look like a (female) supermodel, and she gets superpowers to boot, then, well, maybe we can start tipping the scales away from all those cis het white dude superheroes with the washboard abs. It’s about time trans girls got to look hot in spandex, too.

 

You can buy DREADNOUGHT in paperback here, ebook here, and audiobook here. For more teenaged superheroes that aren’t cis het white guys, consider also C.B. Lee’s NOT YOUR SIDEKICK.

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