A review by tamouse
The City in the Middle of the Night by Charlie Jane Anders
5.0
Wow.
[b: The City in the Middle of the Night|37534907|The City in the Middle of the Night|Charlie Jane Anders|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1532447389s/37534907.jpg|64654648] from [a: Charlie Jane Anders|4918514|Charlie Jane Anders|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1532450668p2/4918514.jpg] is a book I've been waiting for and didn't even know it. It involves human settlers on a tide-locked planet, a completely misunderstood indigenous species, and centers around 4 settlers, Sophie, Biancha, Mouth, and Alyssa, with vastly different backgrounds, and charts the courses of all of them as the come together, fall apart, come together again, several times over the course of book, and go through personal tragedies, dangers, and deep changes.
The story ends in a hopeful tone, but nothing is truly resolved, which for me is a just a rather fine ending. I am personally hopeful for the stories of all 4 of these women to continue, and expand, but it's not necessary for me to have it be explicitly told. This book does stand on its own. Should Charlie Jane decide to write a sequel or more set in this particular world, that would be extremely welcome, and I'm happy to move on as well as she sets her imagination loose.
Through reading, there were some really key passages that I quoted. Of these, the one that still sticks with me the most is "Maybe you don't get to choose how you make peace, or what kind of peace you make. You count yourself lucky if peace doesn't run away from you." Thank you, Charlie Jane, you are the best.
[b: The City in the Middle of the Night|37534907|The City in the Middle of the Night|Charlie Jane Anders|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1532447389s/37534907.jpg|64654648] from [a: Charlie Jane Anders|4918514|Charlie Jane Anders|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1532450668p2/4918514.jpg] is a book I've been waiting for and didn't even know it. It involves human settlers on a tide-locked planet, a completely misunderstood indigenous species, and centers around 4 settlers, Sophie, Biancha, Mouth, and Alyssa, with vastly different backgrounds, and charts the courses of all of them as the come together, fall apart, come together again, several times over the course of book, and go through personal tragedies, dangers, and deep changes.
The story ends in a hopeful tone, but nothing is truly resolved, which for me is a just a rather fine ending. I am personally hopeful for the stories of all 4 of these women to continue, and expand, but it's not necessary for me to have it be explicitly told. This book does stand on its own. Should Charlie Jane decide to write a sequel or more set in this particular world, that would be extremely welcome, and I'm happy to move on as well as she sets her imagination loose.
Through reading, there were some really key passages that I quoted. Of these, the one that still sticks with me the most is "Maybe you don't get to choose how you make peace, or what kind of peace you make. You count yourself lucky if peace doesn't run away from you." Thank you, Charlie Jane, you are the best.