An invented future world becomes an incisive commentary on the unequal history of our real world - the decks of the spaceship are literally stratified. This analysis of the multigenerational trauma of a slave society - and how people cope with it and even rebel – will draw you in with its empathy. It’s also a fast adventure story with strong, unexpected characters who will change preconceptions about gender and sexuality.
J deck’s corridors crisscrossed according to little discernible pattern; but Aster knew the passageways well. Bare bulbs cast a dim yellow glow every few meters, hanging like halos. Aster tapped the side of her fist against every third hatch, bumped her hip into every fifth handwheel. It was a game she played to focus. The beats her body made, counter to the beats her surroundings made, amplified the hidden sounds; the hiss of steam behind the walls, the creaking of Matilda’s rusty joints. Should footsteps approach from behind, she’d hear them and be ready.
