#ciel pierlot

[wearethekat]

July Book Reviews: Terms of Service by Ciel Pierlot

I received a free copy from Angry Robot via Netgalley in exchange for a fair review. Publish date 23 September.

This book was already one of my anticipated new releases for this year, so I was happy to receive a review copy. In Terms of Service, first responder Luzia trades herself to the fairy-like Astrosi in exchange for them sparing the life of her young nephew. Plunged into an alien garden far from the sterile hallways she grew up in, Luzia slowly begins to realize that there is far more to the world than even the Astrosi know.

Terms of Service is a very worldbuilding-forward novel with a strikingly science fantasy setting. Luzia's home is dystopian, set in a gray world of corridors and failing life support systems, where people live off of ration bars and have never seen a live animal. The lush underground gardens of the Astrosi are deeply alien to her, not to mention their byzantine and punitive legal contracts. While Luzia sees the Astrosi as magical, it's clear that at least some of their powers are due to advanced technology, nicer food than nutrient bars, and binding contracts, rather than fairy magic. The mix of magic and aging technology make a compelling blend that's neither SF nor fantasy.

While the dystopian setting and plot focus on Luzia's slow journey to discovering the truth of her world is lightly reminiscent of the YA of ten years ago, the execution is very different. Most importantly, it means there's not a tedious romance with the Astrosi supersoldier who is loudly contemptuous about Luzia's inability to fight and shoot people. (Although there is an underdeveloped romance plotline with a different character introduced at the end of the novel). Luzia herself is a fun character--she's passionately devoted to her job as a first responder, and her narration constantly notes possible electrical safety hazards and degraded infrastructure. She's a woman looking for any opportunity to tell you Fire Safety Facts. Fundamentally, Luzia's first responder thing is a reflection of a desire to protect her community, which is also why she flat-out refuses to kill people.

Terms of Service is no Le Guin, but the worldbuilding felt fresh, the main character was a strong and original personality, and the pacing flowed briskly. Compelling.

[queereads-bracket]

Queer Fiction Free-for-All Book Bracket Tournament: Round 1D

Choose a book:

Giovanni’s Room by James Baldwin

Bluebird by Ciel Pierlot

Voting ended onMar 8, 2025

Book summaries below:

Giovanni’s Room by James Baldwin

Baldwin's haunting and controversial second novel is his most sustained treatment of sexuality, and a classic of gay literature. In a 1950s Paris swarming with expatriates and characterized by dangerous liaisons and hidden violence, an American finds himself unable to repress his impulses, despite his determination to live the conventional life he envisions for himself. After meeting and proposing to a young woman, he falls into a lengthy affair with an Italian bartender and is confounded and tortured by his sexual identity as he oscillates between the two. Examining the mystery of love and passion in an intensely imagined narrative, Baldwin creates a moving and complex story of death and desire that is revelatory in its insight.

Classics, literary fiction, 1950s, adult

Bluebird by Ciel Pierlot

Three factions vie for control of the galaxy. Rig, a gunslinging, thieving, rebel with a cause, doesn’t give a damn about them and she hasn’t looked back since abandoning her faction three years ago.

That is, until her former faction sends her a message: return what she stole from them, or they’ll kill her twin sister.

Rig embarks on a journey across the galaxy to save her sister – but for once she’s not alone. She has help from her network of resistance contacts, her taser-wielding librarian girlfriend, and a mysterious bounty hunter.

If Rig fails and her former faction finds what she stole from them, trillions of lives will be lost--including her sister's. But if she succeeds, she might just pull the whole damn faction system down around their ears. Either way, she’s going to do it with panache and pizzazz.

Science fiction, space opera, adventure, adult

[lgbtqreads]

New Releases: June 25, 2024

Middle Grade The Pale Queen by Ethan M. Aldridge Agatha has always dreamed of the stars. But when a chance encounter introduces her to the Lady of the Hills, Agatha is shocked to learn that a secret magical world lays hidden in the mist-shrouded land next to her village. She finds herself quickly captivated by the Lady, but is the Lady who she appears to be? As Agatha forms a new friendship with…

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[cassiopeiathe1st]

beloved locked tomb enjoyers! another book rec for you! this has been gathering dust on my bookshelf for many months now, but i finally got into it and had such a great time.

reasons why you should read bluebird by ciel pierlot:

the main character rig is lowkey a lesbian version of han solo (affectionate). her skills include engineering, sharpshooting, being so so in love with her librarian girlfriend june, charming people, and Talking Shit

stealing back stolen artifacts and reconstructing cultures & stories suppressed by imperialism = a major theme

speaking of imperialism, the worldbuilding is so interesting! as the story unfolds you learn more about the different philosophies of the warring factions & how those translate into how they treat their people

i found it to be a very easy read, i.e., not much interpreting required to understand the writing style and the plot. you can just be along for the ride

you know when you're reading a book and you come across something that makes you go hmmm is this foreshadowing? the answer is yes, it is, the author is very obviously winking at you but it's still v satisfying to find out you were right

the space lesbians get to be happy in this one! it's very refreshing!

tl;dr very fun read, 10/10 would recommend

also, i just know in my heart that rig and gideon nav would get along like a house on fire. exhibit a:

[aroaessidhe]

2022 reads // twitter thread  

Bluebird

sci-fi

lesbian gunslinger rebel has to save her sister who’s kidnapped by one of the three factions that are at war in space

with a new mysterious bounty hunter she runs into, and her librarian girlfriend

alien MCs

[contracat25]

A gun-slinging, thieving, rebel-with-a-cause embarks on a journey across the galaxy to save her twin sister… We’re thrilled to share the cover for Bluebird, the debut novel from author Ciel Pierlot—publishing February 2022 with Angry Robot. A lesbian gunslinger outlaw fights spies in space! Three factions vie for control of the galaxy. Rig, a gun-slinging, thieving, rebel-with-a-cause, doesn’t give a damn about them and she hasn’t looked back since abandoning them three years ago. That is, until her former faction sends her a message: return what she stole from them, or her twin sister will die. Rig embarks on a journey across the galaxy to save her—but for once she’s not alone. She has help from her network of resistance contacts, her taser-wielding librarian girlfriend, and a mysterious bounty hunter. If Rig fails, trillions of lives will be lost—including her sister’s. But if she succeeds, she might just pull the whole damn system down around their ears. Either way, she’s going to do it with Panache and Pizzazz. Cover design by Tom Shone.

Revealing Bluebird, the Debut Novel From Ciel Pierlot

A gun-slinging, thieving, rebel-with-a-cause embarks on a journey across the galaxy to save her twin sister… We’re thrilled to share the cov

[lgbtqreads]

Fave Five: Queer Sci-Fi Thrillers

The Last 8 by Laura Pohl (YA) The Salvation Gambit by Emily Skrutskie The Light Brigade by Kameron Hurley Bluebird by Ciel Pierlot The Death I Gave Him by Em X. Liu

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[lgbtqreads]

August 2023 Deal Announcements

Adult Fiction Translator and winner of Columbia’s Henfield Prize Mariam Rahmani‘s LIQUID, pitched as a subversion of the marriage plot novel for fans of Paul Beatty, set in Los Angeles and Tehran, in which an early 30s queer Muslim adjunct professor sets out to marry rich, resolving to suffer through 100 dates in a single summer, to Evan Hansen-Bundy at Algonquin, in a pre-empt, by Danielle…

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