This was a surprising read for me. It was a steampunkish alternate modern reality. It was a little difficult at the beginning to get into. Oh my, the characters though. So well written. This universe that M. has created is simply amazing. Literally a starving artist (Pell) and a woman selling parts of her body to survive (Arc). There is this looming war in Central America and no one wants to go. You end up there through a mysterious court system.
I want to talk about Arc. I could clearly hear her mechanical eye clicking in my head. Such vivid imagery. The author creates this beautiful image in words. M. shows you her eye, he doesn’t just tell you about it. I can’t spoil it other than to say that the selling of yourself in this way is a new twist on an old tale. Pell, the lovely starving artist, out for a one night stand. Pell makes me think of one on the whimsical faerie girls without the money. She is poor, living on what we call government benefits. M. paints this world so well.
I didn’t think I was emotionally invested in the story. I was entertained that is for sure, but I wasn’t invested, so I thought. As the story moved on I realized that I hurt for Pell. She was attached, dare I say in love with Arc. This was a story that ended as it began, simply and elegantly. I wandered to thoughts of those lovers I had in the past that gave me that feeling of attachment. It was a heady to be reading this and thinking of those who left me and those I left. All ending as they began. Simply and cleanly with a spark of hope for the future.
If you are looking for something with a mechanical twist, this is your ticket.
