The Qinali Virus

Amber lives in a post-capitalist society where everyone is content all the time – if they're not, the Contentedness Council will step in. But they're not Amber's biggest concern right now – she's too busy worrying about why she can't stop projecting versions of herself into places she isn't. Her sudden appearance at the family home upsets her little siblings – which draws the ire of the Council and risks tearing the family apart.

If you were to imagine the pseudo-utopia of Sherri S Tepper's the Gate to Women's Country crossed with the genre-busting weirdness of Premee Mohamed's Beneath the Rising, you might end up somewhere like this novel.

The story idea, the world-building, and the characters are all skilfully handled and show more enjoyable. The ace-aro rep is a delight to see. There's a lot to love here.

Where this novel lost a star was in the execution. There were so many competing ideas that weren't as clear as they could have been (two different viruses, multiple people groups, characters with similar names, etc.). One more round of developmental editing could have made this story into an unforgettable five-star experience. show less

In the society that Amber lives, everybody is suppose to be content and happy in there lives Negative thoughts are discouraged such as using the words a Joyful End instead of death. Amber knows she is different than everybody else but hiding it is the only way for her to live a somewhat normal life. But when certain people learn about her "gift", they want to use her for her own means. But when she learns that her sister has another gift, she knows that they are in danger and need to leave to save their family and themselves. I had a problem with understanding some of the gender identity pronouns, I understood it after most of the book but it confused me until then.. But the characters felt real and they story was well written.