I don't think I've ever read something like this in all my years of reading fantasy.  It's a challenging read, no doubt about it.  There are few familiar touch points, few things you can anchor to as you travel through this incredible universe that Kameron Hurley has built.  You have to pay attention to everything - no skimming (not that I'm one to skim anyway.) and put away any kind of judgement you might have.  This is indeed a strange new world and I have to admit, as much as it confused me, awed me, entranced me, it also scared the hell out of reader me.  *LOL*  I haven't had to concentrate on a read the way I concentrated on this for a long, long time. 

This is one of those books where I wish I could write a really stellar review and talk intelligently about the choices and craft and intention and all that stuff.  But I can't.  I can just tell you how the book made me feel.

When I was on Goodreads adding the book as 'currently reading', I came across a review - that wasn't a review - written by the person who edited the book and I'm going to link it here because it's damned fascinating.  Amanda's Review.  And don't worry, there are no spoilers there.

I want to say that this, the first book of the saga, finishes with a cliffhanger, but it didn't feel like a cliffhanger?  Yeah, there were a bunch... I mean, A BUNCH of unanswered questions, but I didn't get that "And then?  And then?  And then?"  annoyingly frustrating feeling I usually do when left with a cliffhanger.  I have the second book in my TBR pile and I will get to it soonish.  I do want to know what's happening with all the characters and what the next step in this 'Worldbreaker' story is. 

Would I recommend this book?  Oh yes, very much.  But it's not for everyone. Like I said, it's a challenging read, but a really good one. 

I really enjoyed this essay collection, especially the first section that aimed its focus on writers (and artists in general). It genuinely inspired me. The collection as a whole gives some great insight into many things but most especially focuses on feminist topics, privilege, the writing industry, geek culture, and Hurley herself. At times it was repetitive, as the essays can stand on their own and as a result they occasionally retreaded some basic groundwork. It's best read in chunks over time so the repetition feels less intrusive and the information can be digested. All in all I really liked this one, and I'm looking forward to more Kameron Hurley in my life.

For all the brutal women

When I had my embarrassing epiphany this spring that my CBR reading list and library were unacceptably skewed toward male authors, I spent a number of hours googling female authors, particularly those in genres with which I’m less familiar. One of the best sources I found was a list called “27 Female Authors Who Rule Sci-Fi and Fantasy Right Now”, several of which I’ve purchased already and even more that are high on my wishlist.

My most recent read from those recommendations was The Stars are Legion by Kameron Hurley, probably the most fitting read for me this year in that it takes place in a remote star system populated only by women. The book begins with a dedication from Hurley that I used as the title to this review, and I can’t think of a more fitting opening. Brutal women, indeed.

Zan awakes to find herself in recovery from some catastrophic event, unable to remember anything from her past. Her memory comes back in bits and pieces as she’s assisted in her recovery by Jayd, a woman who claims to be her sister. Jayd parses out pieces of information, rationing to keep from telling Zan too much too soon to upset her and spoil her recovery. It turns out that Zan has been here before, perhaps hundreds of times, having failed at the same mission over and over.

Zan soon learns conflicting pieces of information from others around her, most of whom hate Jayd and tell Zan not to trust her. Zan finds that her body and subconscious still remember how to fight even if her mind can’t recall why, and before long, she’s heading out on the same mission again. This time, however, it’s different. She avoids catastrophe and escapes with her memory intact, and Jayd uses the opportunity to convince the lord of their planet to let her try a new approach to dealing with their enemies.

I won’t go any further into the story, and I realize I’ve been really general with what I’ve shared, but I want to leave as much as possible for new readers to discover on their own. Kameron Hurley has written a novel that combines the character-driven space opera of Iain M. Banks and Becky Chambers with the weird fantasy of Jeff Vandermeer and the dystopian fever dreams of Bong Joon-ho (Snowpiercer) into something wholly original. It’s at once expansive and claustrophobic, immediate and mythic, unpredictable and inevitable, and it will remain on my mind for a long time to come.

(This review was originally posted as part of Cannonball Read 10: Sticking It to Cancer, One Book at a Time.)

For all the brutal women

When I had my embarrassing epiphany this spring that my CBR reading list and library were unacceptably skewed toward male authors, I spent a number of hours googling female authors, particularly those in genres with which I’m less familiar. One of the best sources I found was a list called “27 Female Authors Who Rule Sci-Fi and Fantasy Right Now”, several of which I’ve purchased already and even more that are high on my wishlist.

My most recent read from those recommendations was The Stars are Legion by Kameron Hurley, probably the most fitting read for me this year in that it takes place in a remote star system populated only by women. The book begins with a dedication from Hurley that I used as the title to this review, and I can’t think of a more fitting opening. Brutal women, indeed.

Zan awakes to find herself in recovery from some catastrophic event, unable to remember anything from her past. Her memory comes back in bits and pieces as she’s assisted in her recovery by Jayd, a woman who claims to be her sister. Jayd parses out pieces of information, rationing to keep from telling Zan too much too soon to upset her and spoil her recovery. It turns out that Zan has been here before, perhaps hundreds of times, having failed at the same mission over and over.

Zan soon learns conflicting pieces of information from others around her, most of whom hate Jayd and tell Zan not to trust her. Zan finds that her body and subconscious still remember how to fight even if her mind can’t recall why, and before long, she’s heading out on the same mission again. This time, however, it’s different. She avoids catastrophe and escapes with her memory intact, and Jayd uses the opportunity to convince the lord of their planet to let her try a new approach to dealing with their enemies.

I won’t go any further into the story, and I realize I’ve been really general with what I’ve shared, but I want to leave as much as possible for new readers to discover on their own. Kameron Hurley has written a novel that combines the character-driven space opera of Iain M. Banks and Becky Chambers with the weird fantasy of Jeff Vandermeer and the dystopian fever dreams of Bong Joon-ho (Snowpiercer) into something wholly original. It’s at once expansive and claustrophobic, immediate and mythic, unpredictable and inevitable, and it will remain on my mind for a long time to come.

(This review was originally posted as part of Cannonball Read 10: Sticking It to Cancer, One Book at a Time.)

A powerful collection of essays on feminism, geek culture, and a writer's journey, from one of the most important new voices in genre.

The Geek Feminist Revolution is a collection of essays by double Hugo Award-winning essayist and science fiction and fantasy novelist Kameron Hurley.

The book collects dozens of Hurley's essays on feminism, geek culture, and her experiences and insights as a genre writer, including "We Have Always Fought," which won the 2014 Hugo for Best Related Work. The Geek Feminist Revolution will also feature several entirely new essays written specifically for this volume.