A review by lazygal
Cross Fire by Fonda Lee
4.0
One of the hardest things to do is to write a sequel set in an already strongly built world and bring in new readers without a ton of "previouslies" or assuming that the reader has already been in this world. This book does it, and does it well. To be honest, I didn't even realize this was a sequel!
The idea that aliens have invaded, that some humans have not only decided to work with them but also undergo a procedure to become more like them, doesn't feel new (one could imagine this as an allegory for any totalitarian regime) nor does the idea that there are resistence groups. What was surprising is that the Earth-born aliens, while adhering to their original societal norms, recognize that there is something special and different about humans. I also loved that the aliens look very different than we do.
The idea that aliens have invaded, that some humans have not only decided to work with them but also undergo a procedure to become more like them, doesn't feel new (one could imagine this as an allegory for any totalitarian regime) nor does the idea that there are resistence groups. What was surprising is that the Earth-born aliens, while adhering to their original societal norms, recognize that there is something special and different about humans. I also loved that the aliens look very different than we do.