Review: Eco Reign by L. Galuppo

So, here's the thing. Galuppo is a really good writer. This is her debut novel, and the prose is tight and controlled and the style remarkably mature.

It's a shame that this prose is tied to a plot that simply came over as entirely too...well.

Preachy. Let's use that word, because it fits.

Lauren lives in a world where humanity is doing its best to resolve the climate crisis and live more sustainably. Then the aliens show up and take over to fix things.

And proceed to treat humans exactly the way we treat livestock. We even see human women being forced to keep having babies that are immediately taken from them so the women can be milked.

It's likely further volumes in the series will give a hint as to why, but without that why the book ends up reading a bit like a vegan screed. The thing is, it is a tremendously well written vegan screed. I'm not surprised it's selling well. Lauren is a decent protagonist, struggling between the desire to fight for freedom and the need to comply to survive. (I actually can't help but compare this work with Gordon R. Dickson's much older, and often forgotten, Way of the Pilgrim, which also explores the concept of aliens domesticating humans...but in a rather more space orc/rah humanity way).

So I'm left with some very interesting feelings regarding this book. To me, climate fiction needs to be careful not to preach at the reader. At the same time, you can't deny the beauty of Galuppo's prose. Usually debuts have a good story with rough prose. This feels like the reverse.

I can't quite recommend it, and also it does not stand well alone...there is no ending to this first volume, which is surprising for a debut (publishers seldom let new writers get away with that).

I think Galuppo has a lot of promise as a writer, but I struggle with this debut at the level of...I put my finger on it.

Having the dystopia be "the way we treat animals" comes over as not just preachy but a little unimaginative. And I suspect she's getting away with it more than she might because this is, after all, a YA novel...and if you look at other YA dystopias, it fits the genre well.

So, mixed feelings on this one. Maybe wait until book two is out so you get an ending?

I'm definitely curious to see what Galuppo does in the future.

Review: Down in the Sea of Angels by Khan Wong

CW: Child abuse, sex trafficking

This is very much Pacific Rim science fiction, steeped in California (Burning Man features heavily). It's also soft SF in the vein of The Tomorrow People or certain works of McCaffrey. After the Collapse and the death of billions, the Earth passes through a cosmic phenomenon that awakens psionic ability in a percentage of humans...and in the whales.

But the book itself entwines three lives linked by a single object, a jade teacup. Maida, in 2106, is a psychometrist helping uncover the past of objects from before the Collapse. Nathan, in 2006, is a tech designer who is beginning to realize his civilization is unstable. And in 1906, Li Nuan is a China girl, an imported sex slave. San Franciscans also know what is significant about that year.

This book is about climate change, but also about ordinary objects and how they tie us together. And it punches Nazis. It also pulls no punches about Li Nuan's life and situation. If you can handle it, though, this is a very good book, marked by patterns and rhythms that remind me of my trips to California.

I also want to telepathically link with a whale, dang it.

Recommended.