Take a photo of a barcode or cover
A review by juushika
Halfway Human by Carolyn Ives Gilman
4.0
4.5 stars. Refugee Tedla is a bland, a neuter from an isolated planet whose tripart gender system uses blands as a slave caste. I find that work with the premise "wouldn't it be interesting if [absolutely real facet of queer experience; here, agender/asexual identities] existed in a speculative context" begins at a natural disadvantage, even if it was groundbreaking for its time. This also has issues with structure--the chronological first-person testimony is awfully convenient, and conveniently interrupted by cliffhanger mysteries and plot reveals and found documents.
But yanno what, those cliffhangers may be manipulative but they're also effective; and more importantly this builds into something surprisingly nuanced. It answers almost every flaw in narratives of this type, where a social justice issue is endemic to an alien people encountered by outsiders. It's a developed, thoughtful part of an alien culture, but its repercussions aren't endemic; the protagonist is a complete and complex person as well as an avenue of speculative exploration; outsider "savior" characters are put under intense scrutiny, and change comes slowly & from within.
So I don't like this as much as Dark Orbit, which I loved--distinctly there's no atmosphere, no sense of beauty; beauty here is innately tied to class and exploitation. But it defied all my initial doubts. An engaging read but only grows better as it goes. ...And now I really want to read more Gilman.
But yanno what, those cliffhangers may be manipulative but they're also effective; and more importantly this builds into something surprisingly nuanced. It answers almost every flaw in narratives of this type, where a social justice issue is endemic to an alien people encountered by outsiders. It's a developed, thoughtful part of an alien culture, but its repercussions aren't endemic; the protagonist is a complete and complex person as well as an avenue of speculative exploration; outsider "savior" characters are put under intense scrutiny, and change comes slowly & from within.
So I don't like this as much as Dark Orbit, which I loved--distinctly there's no atmosphere, no sense of beauty; beauty here is innately tied to class and exploitation. But it defied all my initial doubts. An engaging read but only grows better as it goes. ...And now I really want to read more Gilman.