A review by egelantier
Hostage by Sherwood Smith, Rachel Manija Brown
4.0
second book in change series. i've waited for it for quite some time (and i'm pretty grateful i won't have to wait for it two-three years in trad publishing, too), and it didn't disappoint: the pacing kicks up a notch, there's a fascinating kidnapping/enemy territory/dungeons (SUCH DUNGEONS VERY HURT/COMFORT MUCH SATISFACTION) sequence for ross and a parallel culture shock storyline for kerry (the daughter of king voske, a frankly terrifying tyrant antagonist of the whole series) discovering life and people outside of her father's dark shadow. meanwhile jenny struggles with her ptsd, mia with her place in las anclas society, yuki with his desire for privacy and freedom, and the town itself with its nascent xenophobia.
aside from all the adventuring, solid worldbuilding, throves of hurt/comfort, diversity, lgbt characters and a canon ot3 in the center, the thing that continues to be my favorite about this universe is how unapologetically clair it is: if there's post-apocalypse it's how it should be, with people, on the whole, banding together to do their best by each other, despite all the snags. there're villains and tragedies and horrible things, but overall there's a movement towards kindness and cooperation, not survival; i find it endlessly reassuring.
aside from all the adventuring, solid worldbuilding, throves of hurt/comfort, diversity, lgbt characters and a canon ot3 in the center, the thing that continues to be my favorite about this universe is how unapologetically clair it is: if there's post-apocalypse it's how it should be, with people, on the whole, banding together to do their best by each other, despite all the snags. there're villains and tragedies and horrible things, but overall there's a movement towards kindness and cooperation, not survival; i find it endlessly reassuring.