My first book of 2025 and it's a novella! (no bully)
I've had multiple people recommend this to me- mostly fellow writers (which is always enticing)- but it wasn't until my non-reader friend gave it a glowing review that I knew I had to pick it up (well, actually, I borrowed their copy! win-win). I promised them I'd move it to the top of my TBR so I could return it as soon as possible. I was also sure that, given the book's size and my reading habits, I could vore it all in 1 sitting.
To be honest, I've been long skeptical of the "cozy" genre as someone who loves dark, complicated, messy stories (not just because I'm an edgy tortured soul but because those are genuinely the types of things that comfort me!). But I've been really going through it lately so when I read a blurb on the back that says this book is "like a warm cup of tea made by someone who loves you," I thought that it was the perfect time to read something that would make me feel healed.
I honestly can't say I've ever read a novella before. And what a mistake that was! The physicality of this book gives me so much delight I'm tempted to purchase my own copy (even though the 5 different bookshelves in my apartment are getting full so this is not a proposition to take lightly). It's so slender and smooth (I love me a milky finish) and fits comfortably in my hand. And the cover design is gorgeous. Warm and colorful and textured without being overbearing or overly cartoonish. I'm not even joking, this book single-handedly turned me into a novella devout. I've been actively going around asking people for novella recs so that my TBR can grow even longer!
And yes I did read it in 1 sitting! Well, technically 2, as I started it on the train to an event, then as soon as I got home I poured myself some wine (sorry, I know tea would have been more appropriate!) and devoured the rest.
Let's drop the superficiality. I can often tell a great deal about a book (and whether or not it's going to be up to my very arbitrary standards) by how it begins. And oh boy, let me tell you, this opening chapter got me excited. It's definitely a writing nerd thing to geek out over but how can I not admire a deft hand lore-dumping in a way that doesn't seem expository, effortlessly introducing the central conflict and multiple fictional cultures in a way that is fun, cheeky, and fairytale-like?
Unfortunately I have to have my guard up when it comes to modern books as it seems like we've forgotten the importance of editors and a lot of the time I have to bite my lips and roll back my expectations (while I am a slut for purple prose I will put up with "okay" writing in service of a great story)...so it was honestly such a relief to fall into Chamber's lush sentences like a vast, soft mattress. With plenty of warm, velvety blankets on top.
I've seen complaints that Dex, as an MC, falls a bit flat. I can see where that's coming from. There's a lot about them that's left in the gaps, and the central conceit of their conflict is a very difficult one to pull off (my life is perfect but I'm still unhappy...not super compelling stuff in a time where we're facing about 7 different society-collapsing apocalypses). However, I was just so overcome to be able to read the POV of a nonbinary protagonist, and one who has romantic/sexual relationships with men (like me), that I was instantly smitten. Sure, I know I could try harder to seek out NB stories. But I'm a plot-first type when it comes to what I like to read, so I often find myself "settling" for straight cis men when I'd love to see more trans, gay, and NB folks taking the reigns. And it also just...made so much sense? It will never not frustrate me how limited the imagination of some "fiction" authors are. Sure we have mermaids and dragons and werewolves and magic but god forbid we think about gender for more than two seconds.
This is a utopian society on an alien planet! Of course they wouldn't give a rat's ass about gender! It was so beautiful, so refreshing! You can blame me for not being a more discerning reader, but I still blame the society that goes out of its way to crush good queer stories.
But that's fine. If society won't give me good trans rep, then I'll just have to write it myself! ;)
And their awe-inspiring world
If this was my introduction to "cozy" specfic, it also doubled as my introduction to "solar punk." I've been thinking a lot about utopian societies lately. Not at all because the society I'm currently living in seems desperate to tear itself apart until it becomes as dystopian as possible...no, nothing to do with that! I just...I've always been an optimist. Or, as one of my faves (Ursula K. Le Guin) once said: "A realist of a larger reality." I'm a socialist, okay? I am well aware that my lot in life is to, to quote another fave (Andor) "lose and lose and lose again." We are miserable Cassandras doomed to sit around watching all our worst fears come true and, when we do take action, it's more often to slit each other's throats than our common enemy's. So when I see nihilism encroaching on my generation...trust me, I get it. The world seems to fucking suck right now and it's going to be a long, hard road to make it any better. But that "making it better" part is exactly what's still worth fighting for. Which means we have to believe. And hope. And that's why I've always been an optimist, through it all. I never want to stop fighting. I never want to stop dreaming of what could be.
And that is the beauty of utopian fiction. It lets us bathe in the wonder of the world that is peaceful and good and kind. It nurtures our imagination so that we can lock onto the target of just what we are working towards achieving. For a revolution to succeed there has to be a dream at the end of it.
So for no particular reason at all I've found myself increasingly interested in utopian worlds lately. I listened to this podcast earlier this year that explored some of these ideas and it was really fun! (Reminder to self to link the podcast...oh god where is that link??) I also embarked on a writing project that aimed to take place in a type of utopia (it's a false one, but never mind that).
In any case, that was a lot of yap to get to the point that I adored this book's world. Perhaps it felt especially new to me because I haven't read a lot in this genre before, but so what? It didn't make it any less interesting or rejuvenating. I could spent hours traveling around with Dex and exploring these communities. God I want to live there with them now.
(Lucky for me, there's a sequel! Which my friend has already graciously lent to me and is next up on my to-read list ^-^)
This is why it's rather disappointing that there's a random 3(?) (sorry I can't remember off the top of my head) year time-skip that glosses over Dex's growth. I can see why it needed to happen; that's not the point of this story, and it is a novella, after all. But it still felt strange and discombobulating. I was so enamored with Dex and their journey and so excited to go on it with them...only to be shafted by a single sentence.
Still, it's a forgiveable mistake. Though I think that the fact that so much of Dex's growth takes place between the pages is why they ended up feeling a bit more flat than they otherwise could have.
I am deciding, right now, looking at the already too long length of this review, that I won't go into any real spoilers.
What I will say that the last great part of this novella for me was its philosophizing. Structurally it's very much just "monk and robot babble about this and that as they walk through the woods." Some might find this rather boring. I found it inspiring.
You see, my own creative project (a visual novel), is pretty much just that. Just 2 people yapping in a room about life. In fact there's large portions that is a human and an AI program yapping in a room, so yes, very similar to this book's aim. I am a proud parent to my game, in every possible sense, but when I have moments of self-doubt it's usually because of things like... well no one wants to play a boring ass game that's just 2 dudes yapping. But when I see a beautiful book like this, and one that is rather successful, too, it gives me hope. That yes, some people do enjoy the quiet, peaceful chatting of two companions exploring each other's depths and life philosophies.
I found it very comforting.
And that's not even counting the actual messages themselves! Again, no spoilers, but I really loved the way this book approached death as this paradoxically living thing; part of a cycle that is as vital and worthy of respect as life. It kind of ties back to the sense of community that permeates the utopian / solar-punk society: we are products of all that came before, all that there is, and all that will come after. It's such a nice sentiment.
But that's not even the main "thesis" of the novella. It's more about burnout and finding meaning for yourself. It's a message that honestly really resonated with where I'm currently at in my life. Thinking about my current whacky situation. And the game I just released. It's okay to just exist. Existence itself is such a gift.
A final surprise!
When I tell you, after I flipped to the final page, and I read the author bio, and this whole...this whole time...this book was written by a lesbian? God damn cherry on the cake.
