Vylar Kaftan

I received a gratis advance copy of this novella through Netgalley

Intense. Mind-bending. Kaftan's novella is an incredibly fast, breath-taking read that never lets up the pace even as the nature of the tale changes. It begins feeling like a claustrophobic thriller: two Latinx women, prisoners within a cave system on an alien world, scrambling to survive on infrequent care packs as they battle off horrendous bugs. Their intense love for each other helps them to get by. The women were show more sentenced here because they are telepaths who committed a mass murder. Or did they?

At heart, this is a psychological thriller that explores how the mind is the most effective prison at all. It delves into themes of PTSD and trauma through a distinctly sci-fi lens, to great effect. My only complaint, I think, is that the end felt a bit abrupt, and I was left wanting a bit more explanation and resolution. But wow, does that ending still have power. show less

Her Silhouette, Drawn in Water by Vylar Kaftan is a short novella about a woman imprisoned in a cave system on an alien planet. Or so it starts. She does not fully remember who she is or what her crime was, but at least she is not alone. Her fellow prisoner seems to know more than she does but is reluctant to divulge the information.

This novella grabbed me straight away. Even though it is not very clear at first what's happening, I was drawn in my my desire to find out more about the world. show more I wasn't expecting the story to be about telepaths (probably because I don't pay overly much attention to blurbs), but it played out more interestingly than I would have expected. On the one hand, the plight of telepaths in this future world is central to the story since it's closely bound with the reasons for Bee's imprisonment. On the other hand, the actual conflict is backgrounded with the main focus being on Bee's personal struggle. In a society at war, we are presented with a very stark example of the personal being political.

I don't think I can say much more without spoiling the story, but I found it consistently very readable. The setting and story was a bit unusual, and at the same time the personal journey was very unexceptional in the context of fiction (aside from the parts that were). I recommend Her Silhouette, Drawn in Water to fans of soft science fiction/science fantasy — there's no avoiding the telepathy aspect of the story — and to any readers interested in personal stories with political backdrops.

4 / 5 stars

You can read more of my reviews on my blog. show less

This well-written, intense novella tells the story of .Bee, a telepath, who is imprisoned in a elaborate cave system on the planet Colel-Cab with a fellow telepath. She has no memories of her crime or what came before. But then another voice breaks through….

This is an intimate, internal story, narrated by .Bee herself. The first part of the book takes place and is grounded, so to speak, in the cave system but after that—without giving anything away— her reality is more fluid (there is show more a water motif throughout the book) and reflects her inner struggle. The second half of the story is like being caught in a group-shared lucid dream and it can be confusing at times. But, all that said, this was a quick, intriguing, worthy read. show less

A young woman sees a unicorn in a lightning storm, and knows when she's going to die - a few days hence. Her boyfriend doesn't entirely believe her, but is willing to accept her fatalistic attitude when it comes to sex, and losing her virginity. This one was interesting, with some (rather unusual but still sexy) sexytimes, and some interesting use of the unicorn/virginity/sex/death imagery.