Akiva Reads

by Tamsyn Muir

Usually I'm picky about SF&F that doesn't rethink cultures from the ground up, but this is the kind of book that will not just make "Mean Girls" references and "that's what she said" jokes in what's sometimes implied to be a far future version of our solar system, but make you laugh at them. It's all about the characters, and the characters are worth it. Five stars, all the way to the last chapter or so.

...And I was not into the ending, and I'm moderately pissed about it. WHY DID I TRUST THIS BOOK NOT TO BURY ITS GAYS?

I was also surprised that the God-Emperor thing was played straight and not subverted. Ah yes, you have a hierarchical, secretive, and kind of overall nasty society and a ground-up look at it through the eyes of the protag, and a lot of troops who are... off screen somewhere... and they're fighting and killing... somebody. This sounds like a healthy society, and I'm sure the God-Emperor is a wonderful guy! ...Wait, I'm receiving updates now, he is a kind, grandfatherly kind of guy, protecting everyone from lovecraftian horrors beyond the solar system? ...Sure. Sure, OK.

But also it filled me with unholy glee, and I want to talk about it with everyone! So, IDK, shit's very weird.