** I received an ARC for an honest review **
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Description
The fall from hopeful revolutionary to prison laborer is a hard one. Fer’s world has shrunk from the whole damn universe to this anonymous asteroid and the four other convicts who share it with them. It’s a fitting end, for someone who used to wish on stars but now can only seem to collect endings.
But magic and falling stars have ways of finding those who need them, and when Fer takes a chance and looks up, there’s a mermaid staring back at them, silhouetted by stars.
Summary
I read Twice Spent Comet, an unusual novella combining science fiction and the magical by queer & disability author Ziggy Schultz.
Review
Twice Spent Comet is a unique blend of science fiction world building which is outwardly dystopian but a fantastical twist. At a moment of despair, the convict Fer looks up at the stars from his asteroid prison. For once, the stars look back in the outline of a mermaid. Science fiction needs solid world building and here, Schultz does not disappoint and we learn the world, universe, history, truth from lies from four convicts ostracised on a remote asteroid prison. This novella could easily have fallen info pitfalls of both science fiction and fantasy. Through descriptive prose and strong character development, this universe shines with the magic of a fairy tale.
Schultz writes incredibly well to deliver a truly unique, engaging novella with in-depth characters emotional sensitivity. Well worth the read!
Conclusion
Science fiction is not usually my comfortable forte but the dystopian and fantastical collide in a novella that’s intelligent, emotionally compelling and as magical as the mermaid in the stars. Recommended!
** This is my personal opinion and does not reflect any judging decisions **
Leanbh Pearson 