Review: sfr done right
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 10 25, 2013
I read a lot of sci-fi and a lot of romance, but they usually overlap awkwardly. Not so in the case of BREEDER. The romantic arc and speculative social structure are inherently in conflict, and there is never a gratuitous sex scene: every intimate moment furthers plot and/or character development. What takes this book to the next level and indeed sets it right beside Le Guin and Atwood, is the courage of the storytelling. The what-if society here has dark crannies, and the story always goes there, reveals it in so stark a manner that the author does not have to render judgement, because the reader is already there. What the characters endure is never easy, and the story may be inappropriate for people with triggers against physical harm. However, like the sex, the violence is not gratuitous: it fits seamlessly into this dystopian world, and the story would have been less powerful without it. At some places, BREEDER is a hard read for its bleakness, but it is powerful, and in phrasing that the characters would understand, I have a lot of regard for it.