Somehow, I didn’t feel this one quite as keenly. Couldn’t put my finger on why, because it deals with some very emotional topics again . . . . Alert there are SPOILERS if you haven’t read this far yet.
This volume opens with Hazel’s family facing some tough choices. Alana’s infant died in the womb, but she can’t get treatment on either her home planet or her husband’s moon, due to their continued outlaw status. Instead, they have to seek help from a disreputable planet where people go for abortions. All kinds of social commentary about women’s freedoms (or lack therof) in there. But Hazel and Marko are just desperate to save Alana’s life, before the unborn child makes her critically ill. Alana finds a new source of strength. Hazel meets her unborn brother as a kind of ghost- a projection of future possibilities. (Maybe this is what felt flat to me. The scenes with Hazel and her little brother-who-would-have-been were very touching, but I just don’t care for ghosts in stories). Also I could have done without the monsters made from fecal matter- that just seemed absurdly juvenile, some potty-training kids’ nightmare. Oh well. Meanwhile, the tabloid writer/photographer team is trapped on another planet and facing starvation along with seal boy and the robot prince’s son. Petrichor- the trans woman- faces some adversaries on her own, and then finds -friendship?- from an unexpected side. Meanwhile, the Will (failed bounty hunter) has been taken captive and is being tortured by an alien entity, who wants revenge for their family’s suffering. Whom the Will doesn’t even remember encountering- mere side casualties of the war. Said torture involves making the Will relive a lot of memories, so we get flashbacks that explain some things. Very little of Gwen and Lying Cat in this volume. More about how the disparate characters are gathering together, into the circle of Marko’s family. Tender moments, but I’m ready to move on.
Borrowed from the public library. Previous book in the series. Next book.
