A review by bookish_ann
Prism Stalker, Vol. 1 by Sloane Leong

challenging medium-paced

4.0

This was trippy, disorienting, and ultimately frustrating. This is not a stand alone collection, but an introduction… unfortunately is appears that the series was cancelled, and Vol 1 is all that there is. (I did see that a sequel is expected late 2022, so hopefully that will complete an arc).
Vep is a humanoid refugee that has spent her life tending to an alien hive. The reader does not know what happened to her home world, only that it was apparently made inhabitable in a terrorist attack. Survivors were “rescued” by Sverans, who separate the children from adults and put them to work in their disturbing nursery/food tourism business. The children are severed from their language and culture, retaining just enough memory to know they’ve lost something important.
Vep is selected by a representative of The Chorus (seems to be the main societal power in universe) to be a foot soldier in their colonization efforts of a different planet. But it’s not badaccording to The Chorus… the planet only has lower life forms. Nothing to feel bad about killing and subjugating. 
Vep has her doubts though.

And that’s pretty much where it ends. There is SO MUCH going on, and while it’s a bit like drinking from a firehouse it’s very effective and affecting.