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roannasylver's review
5.0
“And this time, when the “dragon” opened its jaws, I would run into the light with joy in my heart.”
* * *
Short but super-effective and memorable new queer-dystopian twist on an old story. I've read Lyssa's other series starting with Fourth World, and my favorite part there is the worldbuilding and how well the crafted settings instill a slow-building feeling of ominous wrongness. The same thing happens here, though it's a lot more fast-building given the short-story quickness. The intensity is the same, however, and it easily slips into one of those wonderful categories of "setting becoming character." Atmosphere is everything, and this has it in spades, particularly in its contradictions (dystopian and classic, suspenseful and defiant, desolate and hopeful).
Readers familiar with Shakespeare will be able to follow and predict, especially due to the character names, but in retellings that's half the fun. My favorite interpretation is Ari in general, particularly the whole... tree business. I was wondering how that would come about, and loved the execution. That and just the concepts at work here, the reality of what Gale is, and how ancient history... is often not nearly as ancient as it seems, or buried. Like the truth.
Also I just find f/f retellings delightful in general, and this is no exception. The dreamlike descriptions also help!
(Sadly, I can't find my copy on any of my devices, or I totally would have done my usual favorite quote up top! It had a lot of good lines! EDIT: NVM, FOUND ONE! :D)
* * *
Short but super-effective and memorable new queer-dystopian twist on an old story. I've read Lyssa's other series starting with Fourth World, and my favorite part there is the worldbuilding and how well the crafted settings instill a slow-building feeling of ominous wrongness. The same thing happens here, though it's a lot more fast-building given the short-story quickness. The intensity is the same, however, and it easily slips into one of those wonderful categories of "setting becoming character." Atmosphere is everything, and this has it in spades, particularly in its contradictions (dystopian and classic, suspenseful and defiant, desolate and hopeful).
Readers familiar with Shakespeare will be able to follow and predict, especially due to the character names, but in retellings that's half the fun. My favorite interpretation is Ari in general, particularly the whole... tree business. I was wondering how that would come about, and loved the execution. That and just the concepts at work here, the reality of what Gale is, and how ancient history... is often not nearly as ancient as it seems, or buried. Like the truth.
Also I just find f/f retellings delightful in general, and this is no exception. The dreamlike descriptions also help!
(Sadly, I can't find my copy on any of my devices, or I totally would have done my usual favorite quote up top! It had a lot of good lines! EDIT: NVM, FOUND ONE! :D)
iam's review
5.0
What a great, atmospheric Sci-Fi novella!
I enjoyed reading Gale a lot and would have loved this as a full-length novel, though it works perfectly at the length it has too.
The plot is fast-paced, the mystery sets a time limit, the world-buidling is excellently done with an oppressive regime that eradicates every and all opposition radically, creating a heavy atmosphere with a hopeful ending.
Also, uh, apparently this a retelling of The Tempest. I know absolutely nothing about that, but the story reads obviously very well without knowing what inspired it.
I enjoyed reading Gale a lot and would have loved this as a full-length novel, though it works perfectly at the length it has too.
The plot is fast-paced, the mystery sets a time limit, the world-buidling is excellently done with an oppressive regime that eradicates every and all opposition radically, creating a heavy atmosphere with a hopeful ending.
Also, uh, apparently this a retelling of The Tempest. I know absolutely nothing about that, but the story reads obviously very well without knowing what inspired it.
leannj's review
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.0
I was intrigued by the idea of a science fiction/dystopian take on Shakespeare's The Tempest, but outside of the premise the plot is very basic.
florencewakana's review
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
zhelana's review
4.0
If this book were about 100 pages longer, I would have given it 5 stars. I was drawn in from the start, and interested in what was going to happen to this girl. The author didn't examine as much about her life as I would have liked, and the escape was entirely too quick with nowhere near enough detail. I very much wanted to see Miranda escape and live a happy life, but the entire ending of the book was one page, one scene, in which she said she was at home with Ferda. So basically, there wasn't really an ending, and even the climactic scene was barely two paragraphs long. This could have been so much more, and I would have liked it so much more.
ocheeva's review
adventurous
dark
hopeful
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
spookybecks's review
emotional
hopeful
tense
fast-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
4.0
sentrancedbookworm's review
4.0
Actual Rating: 3.5 stars
Sci-fi is usually not my thing but I picked up this book on an impulse and I am really surprised that I actually liked it.
The story starts with Miranda having bizarre and unexplainable fits, something she can't speak out loud about fearing that the Brotherhood, the strict governing body of the planet Gale, would take them away. The book is really intriguing and the writer has the ability to keep you hooked. I probably would have loved and rated more if this had been an actual novel.
Sci-fi is usually not my thing but I picked up this book on an impulse and I am really surprised that I actually liked it.
The story starts with Miranda having bizarre and unexplainable fits, something she can't speak out loud about fearing that the Brotherhood, the strict governing body of the planet Gale, would take them away. The book is really intriguing and the writer has the ability to keep you hooked. I probably would have loved and rated more if this had been an actual novel.
melbsreads's review
4.0
Trigger warnings: denial of medical treatment, lying.
This is a tiny little book, and part of me wishes I'd reread The Tempest (or at least read the Wikipedia plot synopsis!) before reading this because all I picked up on as far as a retelling goes were the character names.
Despite not remembering the plot of The Tempest, this was a story that hooked me straight away (as you would hope with a novella!). It's sci-fi but also feels very much like fantasy as there are dragons throughout the story. There's also a strong dystopian element through the denial of medical care and the need to keep medical conditions and disabilities a secret. And I'm honestly impressed by how well it covered three different genres in so few pages.
Would I have liked this to be slightly longer than it was? Yes - there could have been some more character development etc before being thrown into the action. But it was a compelling story in its own right and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it.
This is a tiny little book, and part of me wishes I'd reread The Tempest (or at least read the Wikipedia plot synopsis!) before reading this because all I picked up on as far as a retelling goes were the character names.
Despite not remembering the plot of The Tempest, this was a story that hooked me straight away (as you would hope with a novella!). It's sci-fi but also feels very much like fantasy as there are dragons throughout the story. There's also a strong dystopian element through the denial of medical care and the need to keep medical conditions and disabilities a secret. And I'm honestly impressed by how well it covered three different genres in so few pages.
Would I have liked this to be slightly longer than it was? Yes - there could have been some more character development etc before being thrown into the action. But it was a compelling story in its own right and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it.