I don’t have a quote pulled from this book because I picked it up at the library, started reading it there, and finished it in less than two hours–the book never came home with me.

Which, maybe it should have. I’m a big believer in checking out books you like at the library, so there’s a record of them getting loved and a better chance of them staying on the shelf. Also to get a quote for this post.

Also because the book was kind of insane and I’d like to read it again.

Is the metaphor maybe a little heavy-handed? Sure. But does the book also have a toxic sort-of-polycule, cool descriptions, flawed and interesting female characters, and some choice uses of the phrase “bird analogue”? You bet!

The beginning was a little confusing, and I think the backstory could have been placed elsewhere, but Ashing-Giwa’s prose is so snappy and eerie that I forgave her for that. It’s the type of sci-fi novel(la) that implies a lot of world-building without getting into the gritty details, so some unelaborated-on backstory is expected. (If you’re looking for answers about the world, you won’t find them in the text.)

I’m glad I took two hours to read this one on a random afternoon–I’ll be thinking about it for much longer than that.