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eleven_hummingbird's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
I came across this series at work and was intrigued by the covers. “Space dark elves?”, I asked myself. So, naturally, I bought the first volume as soon as I got home. After a bit of background checking on the author, I fell in love with her, and with this book shortly after.
Foreigner is a first-contact, political intrigue science fiction novel.
Except, no, that's not really what's happening here.
This is a ruse.
A smokescreen.
Rather, Foreigner is an lgbt+ science fiction narrative in the closet, and it is superb. This is a story about feeling alone, being scared, and wanting desperately not only to love, but to be loved; to understand others, and to be understood oneself. Foreigner is a story about coming out.
After a pair of brief, rather poetic prologues, the narrative follows Bren, the diplomatic representative of the only-surviving human colony on an alien world. In the wake of a dangerous incident, Bren is kidnapped by his allies amongst the native atevi. Cutoff from all human contact and news of the outside world, Bren is forced to navigate the shifting, misleading allegiances of the atevi, many of whom see humanity as a terrible threat. Bren is challenged with bridging differences of biology, language, psychology, etiquette, gender, politics, and philosophy to save not only himself, but the human colonists he represents, as well as the future of human-atevi relations.
The atevi have no direct translation for ‘trust’, nor ‘friend’, nor even ‘to like someone’; they do have fourteen ways of saying ‘betrayal’. Alone, Bren frantically grasps to find humanity in the atevi, without losing his own.
Foreigner endeavors to ask the reader to empathize with someone who, by circumstance, is denied from expressing love or friendship towards anyone, who himself feels entirely alone and unloved; someone who is both misunderstood and is desperate to understand those around him. It is a story of always pursuing peace above all, setting aside pride, dignity, even personal safety, and attempting to understand others despite our differences. It is a story with discussions of racism, diversity, inclusivity, ecology, and war, urging us to do better with these in our own world.
From a lesbian author writing in a time when 'women can't write science fiction', who, as urged by the publisher, had to hide the fact she was a woman by using by her initials, Foreigner is a story that is equally tragic and beautiful.
An unexpected favorite.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Emotional abuse, and Gun violence
Minor: Xenophobia and Kidnapping
silver_valkyrie_reads's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
An enjoyable story. It has a depth that I can't explain well because I can't fully get my head around it, but I can say this is one way science fiction *should* be used--to really get into issues like communication and culture clashes in a neutral setting that lets you really explore the issue itself instead of getting sidetracked on the *sides* of the issue.
Well worth reading if you like a slow story that explores character motivations, culture and language, with a side of danger and dash of adventure.
Well worth reading if you like a slow story that explores character motivations, culture and language, with a side of danger and dash of adventure.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Torture, Death, and Cursing
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