What a book! I was drawn to it before I even heard what it was about, given that Emily Tesh wrote some of my favourite novellas, Silver in the Wood & Drowned Country. This sci-fi novel surprised and delighted me in how different it was from those, confirming Tesh’s qualities as a writer.
The first few chapters were a challenge, getting to know Kyr and her strong but flawed character, and the universe in which Terrans lost the war. Then, through the intricacies of plot and world-building, the characters started to shine and take centre-stage, bringing with them many questions around the notion of legitimacy and power. Kyr has a fantastic character arc, and I loved witnessing her growth as a character, from a devoted teenager so sure of her hierarchy’s benevolence to a questioning young woman having to sort through what’s true and what she’s been told all her life.
There were some plot twists I did not see coming, and I loved how they blended exterior conflicts with character writing. Tesh pictures a world that is still riddled with sexism and racism, but she shows the origins and how the characters decide to deal with the situation in a very satisfying way all along a fast-paced narrative that kept me turning the pages.
Rep: Kyr reads as asexual, there are gay and lesbian secondary characters as well as some diverse characters.