Look to the Sun

August 30, 2021
With this wonderfully inclusive but uneven dystopian novel, Mears (the Stonebreaker series) explores the rise of a totalitarian regime in the city of Sanmarian in the land of Kael. Orphan Rosenni “Rose” Abernethy was left in the care of her aunts Aleis, Helyne, and Grenye. Among the few possessions she has of her parents’ is a crate of copies of Red Sunrise, a rare, banned work of fiction written 15 years ago whose plot bears an uncanny resemblance to the current political unrest in Sanmarian. There have been radical changes to the city since it was taken over by the Nazi-like National People’s Voice, with ever-increasing arrests and executions of the party’s political opponents, same-sex couples, and LGBTQ citizens. Beomir “Beo” Mataya also secretly possesses a copy of the book, which he’s never heard of anyone else so much as reading. When he moves to the city and meets Rose, the pair dig into the history of the novel and their country’s forgotten past. Though the political plot fizzles out in a disappointing anticlimax, the ride there is chock-full of twists, turns, and inspiring moments that make for satisfying reading. The majority queer cast, meanwhile, is a breath of fresh air. Readers looking for dystopian fiction foregrounding LGBTQ relationships will find this well worth checking out.