I really wanted to like this book because it was a retelling of The Little Mermaid. However, there were many disturbing scenes in this short story that made me uncomfortable. Thus, this book was not for me.

This was fascinating. Sun-Daughters, Sea-Dauthers is a scifi retelling of The Little Mermaid, set in a far future in which humans have evolved into a bunch of different varieties, two of which live on the planet this novella is set on. One of them lives in the sea, having developed seal like fur and fat-reserves but also gills to survive in the cold water. The other lives on the land and has scales, being built for a life in hot, dry climates.

The story it tells is one of intense longing, for home, for family, for love and the feeling of barely being able to hold on to the things you dream of. Atuale, the protagonist, has left her life under the sea for one on land, falling in love with one of the land-dwelling people and undergoing gene-modification to share a life with him. But then a deadly disease ravages the land-dwelling population of her planet, bringing her husband to death’s door, and she has to search out her former friend, the one who made her change possible all those years ago, the World-Witch.

Aimee Ogden uses painfully beautiful prose to paint a picture of a world that’s divided into two completely different halves and the pain of not really belonging with either of them. Unfortunately, I felt like some of the magic of this novella got lost due to it’s shortness and thus lack of world-building. While I got a surprisingly good sense of the world (better than with some full-length novels, to be honest), the entire thing is so dense, that I sometimes had to reread passages or only really understood them a couple of pages later, with more information.

Still, Sun-Daughters, Sea-Daughters by Aimee Ogden is a beautiful little gem of a story and I enjoyed it a lot. I would, however, have preferred a full-length novel, there is so much about this world that is teased at but we never get a chance to explore. Of course, that’s part of what the story is about, longing for more, curiosity to explore and the things you’d have to give up for them, but it left me slightly dissatisfied. I guess, in the end I’d have made a different choice than Atuale.

TITLE: Sun-Daughters, Sea-Daughters
AUTHOR: Aimee Ogden
112 pages, TorDotCom Publishing, ISBN 9781250782120 (softcover)

DESCRIPTION: (from the back cover): Gene-edited human clans have scattered throughout the galaxy, adapting themselves to environments as severe as the desert and the sea. Atuale, the daughter of a Sea-Clan lord, sparked a war by choosing her land-dwelling love and rejecting her place among her people. Now her husband and his clan are dying of an incurable plague, and Atuale’s sole hope for finding a cure is to travel off-planet. The one person she can turn to for help is the black-market mercenary known as the World Witch—and Atuale’s former lover. Time, politics, bureaucracy, and her own conflicted desires stand between Atuale and the hope for her adopted clan.

Sun-Daughters, Sea-Daughters has all the wonder and romance of a classic sci-fi novel, with the timelessness of a beloved fairy tale.

MY RATING: 5 out of 5 stars

MY THOUGHTS: Aimee Ogden’s Sun-Daughters, Sea-Daughters may use The Little Mermaid as its base and starting point, transferring the action to a far-future interstellar setting, but I wouldn’t categorize this novella as a retelling of the fairy tale. Rather, I think it’s the sort of “what happened next” story that has always intrigued me (it’s not chance that of all the musicals based on fairy tales, Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine’s Into the Woods is my favorite, or that I list Bill Willingham’s comic series Fables and the first season of the television series Once Upon a Time as favorites as well). I quite enjoy stories that explore the “happy ever after” (or not-so-happy, as the case may be), and Ogden delivers the goods.

Rather than start with a straight retelling of The Little Mermaid and progressing linearly from there, Ogden dumps us right into the “no longer so happily ever after” described in the back cover copy: in the very first scene, Atuale (the “mermaid” of the story) leaves her husband’s sick-bed to seek the aid of her former “pillow-friend” Yanja, known more commonly as “the World-Witch:” a smuggler/dealer/scientist who years before created the gene modifications that allowed Atuale to leave her controlling father’s sub-sea kingdom. Hints about those events, about Atuale’s relationships with Yanja, with husband Saareval and his family, and with her estranged father are dropped throughout the story but don’t dominate it. There’s just enough for us to recognize the basics of the original fairy tale, to see how science replaces magic in the narrative, and to understand just how much things have changed for Atuale and Yanja.

And things have changed: the World-Witch is not physically the person Atuale knew and is no longer disposed to acquiesce to Atuale’s needs just for old times’ sake. And of course Atuale is no longer the same person she was when she first left for the surface world. Through dialogue and quiet moments, Ogden explores the question of whether two people who used to love each other but have been estranged for a long time can find their way back to some kind of mutual respect and peaceful co-existence. It’s a beautifully told arc woven around all of the other stumbling blocks the pair encounter, both on-planet and off, attempting to reach Atuale’s goal. I don’t want to spoil any of those stumbling blocks in this review. Suffice to say, they varied from the personal to the societal and none of them felt contrived or forced.

I also must compliment Ogden on how, as someone else put it, “casually queer” the novella is. Atuale and the World-Witch’s former relationship isn’t played for shock or as anything outside of the societal norm, nor are the physical changes in Yanja. It’s always nice to read stories about alien cultures that do not have the prejudices we have here on Earth in the present day.

Although Sun-Daughters, Sea-Daughters was written pre-pandemic, it came out during it, and it was hard not to see echoes (perhaps unintentional given the time) of it in how different the response to such a fast-spreading plague is from culture to culture across not just a planet but star-systems. This, and references to miscarriages as well as a bit of body horror, may make the novella a harder read for some folks.

In the end, Aimee Ogden delivers a fast-moving star-spanning adventure in which the lead characters discover/rediscover themselves during a quest to help others regardless of the personal repercussions, expanding on the questions of identity and belonging that are a part of any good retelling or expansion of The Little Mermaid.

I received an Advance Reading Copy from NetGalley/TorDotCom in exchange for an honest review, which is clearly being posted far later than anticipated. Sun-Daughters, Sea-Daughters was released in February of 2021.

✨💚BOOK REVIEW💚✨

This book was a short and sweet delight. A scifi retelling of The Little Mermaid with LGBTQA rep ...? Sign me up! It’s great!
It took me a while it actually pick this one up but once I did I was so glad I had.
It’s a marvellous, unique and exciting retelling set out in the Galaxy and is just sooo good. Quick read but worth the fabulous hour it keeps amused.

I was utterly enchanted by this little novella from Aimee Ogden. I love that it is by turns intimate and cosmic in scope; two main characters (estranged ex-lovers/-best friends) are reunited and must work through their troubled history as they seek out a medical cure for the protagonist’s new partner and family, who is dying in the land above the sea. In the space of this short work, we travel from a sun-drenched landscape down to the sea, and up to the ocean of space. The world-building makes me want to stay in the story even longer, and I liked the fluidity of gender and normalization of body mods in this society. The story was structured carefully, some interesting themes were explored, and the ending was perfect. I’d love to read more from this fictional universe!

Post-gender biopunk science fiction novel

I received a copy of this eBook courtesy of the publisher.

“Sun-Daughters, Sea-Daughters” by Aimee Ogden is a science fiction novella about a woman called Atuale whose village has been overwhelmed by a disease. Having undergone gene-editing to live with her husband and his technology-resistant people on land, Atuale must return to the sea to seek a favour from the one they call the World Witch. However, the World Witch is one of many Sea-Clan people Atuale left behind and even though they have a new form, their history remains unchanged. It soon becomes clear that the only way to find a cure is to leave the planet. Faced with an intimate journey through space with the World Witch to seek assistance from other, more technologically advanced human races, Atuale must decide which betrayals she can live with.

I absolutely love this genre, and Ogden’s style and themes reminds me a lot of one of my favourite authors, Vonda N. McIntyre. Ogden hints at a huge post-human diaspora of which we see only the smallest glimpse through Atuale’s limited gaze. Atuale is a fascinating character who discards the limits of one civilisation for those of another. What she lacks in education and understanding of the broader galaxy, she makes up for in courage and determination. The World Witch is also a great character, and I enjoyed the exploration of alternative biology and the genetic ability to change one’s gender.

This is a quick book, and one that I think could have used a slightly slower pace. I felt that the tension between Atuale and the World Witch, particularly their past history, was a little rushed and I would have liked to be strung along a little more. While I liked that we see the world (and the universe) through Atuale’s naïve perspective, I also felt like the worldbuilding could have been a little more comprehensive. This is not to say that I wanted every single detail about altered human lives in the far reaches of the galaxy, but I wanted the sense that that detail did exist – even if we couldn’t see it.

A very easy and enjoyable read that needed just a bit more suspense.

This was an odd and unsettling little novella that I felt never allowed me to feel properly settled in the world or the story-line. Whilst I appreciated the inventive concept I struggled to find a connection with this story. Maybe it was the bizarre concept or that the truncated length didn't leave much room for a bond to build with the characters, alongside the introduction of such a unique premise. I enjoyed my experience of reading it, but it left me feeling distanced and more than a little puzzled.

This could have been really worthwhile as a full length book, rather than a novella. The story just gets going when it stops, which I found rather frustrating.

It starts off slow and kind of dense, but once the action begins, it's hard to resist the story as it drives forward. It reads as a true epic, one that makes you feel the world really has been reshaped as you read it. Would recommend.

This was gorgeously written, and a really interesting read. I liked the way we were introduced to the main character, and then the subsequent character, I loved the other main character we're introduced to, and I honestly would have happily had the whole book just be about them, flying through space together. Alas, that was not to be. The storyline was brilliant, but I just felt like I needed...more. More of the other character, for sure, and more of their relationship and their history together. Ultimately it was a brilliant read, but I can't rate it above a three and a half, or perhaps a four star out of five, simply because it fell a bit flat at the end for me.

Such an interesting premise! And it actually worked. Without giving too much away, you may think you know the story of the little mermaid... But definitely not like this. A quick, super thoughtful read that will stay with you long after you have finished.

I didn't know much about the plot of Sun-Daughters, Sea-Daughters, when I began to read it. Which I think, considering it is a novella, helped. I wasn't aware that this was a Little Mermaid retelling. But whilst reading it I can definitely see why it was described that way. However it has imagined the story in such a original way that it only plays to its strengths. I loved Atuale as a main character, willing to do anything to save her family and people. The world was so interesting I wish there had been more, I could easily have read a hundred more pages of Atuale and Yanja exploring the solar system together, Ogdens writing was lush and how they interjected short scenes of Atuales' old life into what was happening in the present timeline helped evolve the characters more. I loved the relationship between Atuale and Yanja, how complicated and layered it was.
I thoroughly enjoyed this novella, will most likely reread in the future and will be on the lookout for stories by Aimee Ogden.

I’m not quite sure what I was expecting with this one. I know it isn’t like anything I expected it to be – and that’s always marvelous.

OK, I was expecting it to be short and it was. This week kind of fell apart for me, so I was looking for something short to round out the week and get me back on track and this definitely ticked off those boxes.

Now that I’ve had a chance to cogitate on it a bit, Sun-Daughters, Sea-Daughters has left me with three sets of resonances that really shouldn’t gel, but somehow do.

First, there is a fairytale at the heart of this story, although I didn’t figure out which one until after the end. I was just not expecting an SFnal retelling of The Little Mermaid. And it isn’t obvious at first, but when you look back, all of the elements are definitely there, even though the happy ending in this version is way more bittersweet than Disney would ever have left things.

Although I think Atuale is actually a selkie rather than a mermaid, that isn’t clear in the story and it really isn’t necessary to know. What is known about her story is just about enough. She gave up her place as a Sea-Lord’s daughter because she fell in love with a land-dweller.

But Saareval is not a prince. And he doesn’t need to. Love is love is love, as becomes even clearer as the story continues. Atuale’s shift from sea-creature to land-dweller was also the result of intervention by a witch with a hidden agenda, but the World-Witch is no Ursula.

And in spite of its fairy tale underpinnings, this story is no fantasy.

There’s a plague on Atuale’s world, and it is raging among the land-dwellers. Her husband and his entire family have been struck down with it and the healers are unable to find a cure. It’s up to Atuale to reach out to her friend-turned-enemy, the World-Witch, to make a deal to take her out to the stars in order to find a cure that her husband’s people won’t even want if she finds it.

But her journey among the stars makes her question every single thing that has happened since the day she left the sea. There’s an entire universe out there and Atuale is eager to explore it, along with someone who loves her exactly as she is and not just the parts of her that he finds acceptable.

“For all sad words of tongue or pen, the saddest are these, ‘It might have been’”. Atuale’s choices are both sad. She can save her husband’s people, knowing that they will never fully accept her or the cure she brings. Or she can travel among the stars. She can never do both.

And the choice, her choice, is both bitter and sweet.

Escape Rating B+:The above quote is by John Greenleaf Whitter from his poem Maud Muller, and it kept running through my head the entire time I was reading this story. It’s so clear that the story isn’t about the plague, but about Atuale’s choices about what to do about it.

She’s immune, she’s not going to get it no matter what happens. The process that made her capable of living on land did not fully make her one of her husband’s people, leading to their grudging tolerance of her but also her immunity to a plague that strikes only them.

So this is a story about what we sacrifice for love, because that’s the choice that faces Atuale at every turn. In order to have one love she has to give up another, and it’s a choice that tears her in two through the entire story.

I think I felt most for Atuale as she experiences the wonders – and very definitely the dangers – of exploring the wider universe. It’s a tease and a torment and she wants it and wants to share it, but the price is too high. Which does not erase that wanting at all.

But, and it’s just enough of a but to have kept this from getting an A grade, I wanted a bit more about Atuale’s people and their world, because it’s a much bigger world and a much sadder story than we see at first. It’s not that this story isn’t complete in itself, because it is, but rather that the relationship between Atuale and the World-Witch has SO MUCH history behind it and we get hints rather than a full picture. And I wish I had that full picture, complete with its story of love both requited and unrequited, royal privilege, royal politics and revolution. I felt teased and wished I had more to go on.

Initially, I said there were three things rattling around my head after reading this book. One was The Little Mermaid. The second was that quote from Whittier. The third is also from Disney, and was that ever a surprise. The ending of Sun-Daughters, Sea-Daughters and the post-credits scene from the third Pirates of the Caribbean movie, At World’s End, encapsulates the ending to the romances in both stories in a way that echoes back to the bitter sweetness of that quote from Whittier. Love and happiness, pain and heartbreak, all jumbled together in a ball of tears.

Humans have been engineered to live on planets with severe environments and some of them are now able to live in the sea. Atuale is one of those humans, she was born as the daughter of sea clan lord and she was supposed to be an important political asset for her clan. However, for love, Atuale decided to leave the sea and go live on the land to be with her husband Saareval, a member of the Vo. For twenty years, she has stayed away from the sea but, when the Vo all start dying from an unknown plague, Atuale has to find a solution. And her only hope lies in the sea – and in space.

Sun-Daughters, Sea-Daughters is a retelling of the Little Mermaid but you don’t have to be a fan of Ariel to enjoy this novella. It is indeed a love story about a mermaid who leaves her people to go live on the land but it’s also a tale of love, forgiveness and friendship.

Ogden’s prose is gorgeous and, in about a hundred pages, the author managed to create a lush and fascinating world with complex characters and themes. The richness of the world was almost overwhelming at first – especially when Ogden introduces the different clans and their traditions. However, after a few pages, I got used to the rhythm and the fairytale quality of the story and I was able to fully enjoy it.

The theme of the journey is central to the story: it is first physical, Atuale has to go back to the sea and then travels off-world to find a cure but, this journey it is also emotional. Atuale has to mend her relationship with Yanja and she has to reflect back on difficult decisions she had to make in order to escape from her father’s influence.

The story is focused on Atuale and her past and not on her relationship with Saareval. He’s the reason she’s searching for a cure but the story isn’t really about him. Indeed, the relationship at the heart of the story is the one between Atuale and Yanja. They are former lovers but they are also long-time friends. At least, they were until Atuale left the sea for love. I don’t want to say too much because it’s a novella but they have each other hurt each other quite a bit in the past. And now the faith of Saareval and the Vo rest is in Yanja’s hands. If Atuale wants to find a way to help her husband, both characters will have to have to confront their past mistakes.

Another element that I really enjoyed in Sun-Daughters, Sea-Daughters is how queer it is. Early on in the story we learn that mermaid can change genders when they age – the transition from one gender to another is called a “change”. Since Atuale left the sea and was modified to live with the Vo, she hasn’t changed gender. However, Yanja has changed and he is now male. If Atuale is a bit surprised by the change at first, she quicky accepts Yanja’s choice without questioning her. A change is seen as completely natural in her culture and Yanja clearly says that he is more comfortable with his current body.

Sun-Daughters, Sea-Daughters is an emotional story of love and friendship that blends fairytale and science fiction. The world and the characters were fascinating and I’m amazed by how many interesting themes and ideas Ogden managed to pack into this short novella. It worked well as standalone story but I hope Ogden will revisit this world in the future because I want more! 😀

Highly recommended.

Thanks to the publisher and netgalley for an arc in exchange for an honest review.
One of things I love about novellas is that they so often have brilliant concepts and then the reader just gets to see a little snippet of that concept explored. Sun-Daughters, Sea-Daughters was no exception; a sci-fi little mermaid re-imagining that is full of space travel and gene manipulation. This was super fun and loved the casual queer rep. Would definitely recommend if it sounds interesting.

The nitty-gritty: A beautifully written space opera/fairy tale mash-up with a touch of romance and an emotionally satisfying ending.

What a strange and lovely story this was! Sun-Daughters, Sea-Daughters is a LIttle Mermaid retelling set on a distant planet called Maraven, where sea dwellers and land dwellers are currently involved in a clan war. Atuale was born to the Sea-Clan, but she fell in love with a land dweller and went through a body modification process in order to be with him. But now the cliff village of Keita Vo has been struck with a deadly plague, and many of Atuale’s friends and relatives are sick and dying, including her husband Saareval. She herself seems immune to the disease, maybe because of her origins, and so she decides to visit the World-Witch in the sea far below to ask for help.

Ogden’s world was beautifully described and imagined, and despite the very short length of this novella, I had no trouble visualizing her unique world, set both in space, on land and under water. Atuale ventures back to her home under the sea when her village falls under a plague, which as you can imagine is uncomfortable for both sides. Once there, she hopes to find the World-Witch, an old lover of hers before she left, but imagine her surprise when the World-Witch, a female, has become a male named Yanja. Yanja agrees to help her, for a price, and they set out for a distant world to find a cure in Yanja’s spaceship, the Unfortunate Wanderer. I loved the odd adventure the two went on together, and Atuale’s reactions to seeing a different world for the first time were wonderful.

Atuale and Yanja reminded me of animals more than anything else, from their physical appearance—body coverings of scales or fur—to the way they procreate. Atuale’s babies (from when she was part of the Sea-Clan) are described as “spawn" and do not stay with their mother after birth. Now living on land, Atuale and her husband aren’t having much luck having children, due to the heavy, dense atmosphere of land compared to the buoyancy of the ocean, but I loved the idea that water births and land births are quite different, both physically and emotionally.

But the best part of this story is the complex relationship between Atuale and Yanja, complicated not only because Yanja’s sex has changed, but because they used to love each other and now Atuale loves someone else. I was not expecting this story to punch me in the gut, and yet it did. The emotional ending brought tears to my eyes, but also put a smile on my face.

Short but powerful, Sun-Daughters, Sea-Daughters is a sparkling gem of a story, and I very much look forward to reading more of Aimee Ogden’s fiction.

Big thanks to the publisher for supplying a review copy.

Somehow I didn't realize that this was a (very) loose retelling of The Little Mermaid!!!!! You know me and retellings. While reading, I picked up on the little nods to the fairytale and it made me love the book even more.

Reading this book was kind of like having a dream. Not in that it was super fantastical (though there are very cool sci-fi elements), but in the sense of like. If you had been thinking about love and what you would do for love all day, and then you go to sleep and have this dream. It's like a dream in that it feels so much like deep feelings that everyone has but can't quite vocalize. I don't know if this makes any sense, but it was wonderful.

The world is so creative and blends so many ideas of different types of civilizations (space, land, sea) together. It is also very queernormative in a quiet way, and I love that so much.

I'm sorry for the short review I don't want to say too much more, because I don't want to ruin the experience for anyone. The bottom line is I definitely recommend this novella, and am eagerly awaiting more books from this author.

*Much thanks to NetGalley and Tordotcom for granting me an ARC of this book*
Why I Was Interested: I'm interested in trying to read a variety of retellings, and there were few Little Mermaid retellings, none of which I wanted to read. So when I heard that was science fiction retelling of the Little Mermaid, I was instantly intrigued.
What It's About: After leaving her sea clan to be with her land lover, Atuale must leave him to find a cure for a plague before he dies. The only person with the resources to help her is the World Witch, someone she once knew when she still lived under water.
Cons: There were two massive issues with this novella that essentially ruined every aspect of it. First is that, it's not actually a retelling. All the retelling aspects occur before the book even starts. As a result I don't care about the characters, because I don't know them, and as result I don't care about the stakes within the book. Which leads into the second massive issue I had. This novella was too short for it's own good. Nothing is developed, not characters, not the themes, not the even the world (which was the most developed aspect). Nothing. There were plenty of opportunities, like Atuale always having that yearning desire to explore no matter what it might cost her, or themes of exploration and identity, but they were given no more than passing nods.
Pros: The descriptions, particularly of the settings, were decent.
Finishing Thoughts: Since little effort was put into establishing and exploring, in favor of quickly telling a story, I've actually forgotten most the narrative. Despite a premise that sounded good, and a sliver of potential with in the story, I'm just massively disappointed.

Little Mermaid retold in Space Opera form? Count me in! Sun-Daughters, Sea-Daughters, written by Aimee Ogden is absolutely the most creative retelling I've read, and I've read a lot of them.

Atuale was born in the sea, and for the longest time, the sea was where she belonged. However, sometimes one has to forge their own path in life, in order to achieve true happiness. The opportunity for change was granted to Atuale, thanks to her connection to the World Witch.

The World Witch gave Atuale the mods needed for her to live on land. For her to make a place for herself with the people that lived near the sky, and for her to fall in love with one of them. However, the peace she found has been put at risk, and she'll do whatever it takes to save it. To save them.

“Guilt flushes her chest, only to be scrubbed quickly away by determination and relief.”

If you going into Sun-Daughters, Sea-Daughters expecting a simple retelling of the Little Mermaid, you're going to be in for a world of surprise. Pun intended. This is a rich and complex tale, one that isn't afraid to take risks and create something powerful and beautiful as a result.

Though I may be biased here, being a massive fan of both space opera, and the original tale of the Little Mermaid. Yet it's also more than both of those two elements combined, and should be considered a novella that stands on its own.

Sun-Daughters, Sea-Daughters touches upon many evocative points, from societal expectations to love and adventure, and everything else that lies between. Atuale's entire being is so focused on love and staying true to herself. Even when she doesn't know what that means, or what it will involve.

I feel like that is a feeling many of us can connect to, on at least some level. Granted, Atuale's story takes it much farther than that. She used mods (in place of magic) to grant her the ability to leave the water. Then, she took to the stars, all in hopes of saving those she cared about.

Then there's the World Witch, a character who in truth could justify a story all on their own. I won't say too much about this character, because I don't want to spoil any revelations. But I will say that I love the merging of witch/technology here, it's clever and fascinating, all in one.

I really was blown away by Sun-Daughters, Sea-Daughters. It was a delight to read, and brought many interesting concerns to the surface. In a way, it touched upon a little bit of everything, and I really adored that about this novella.

“Atuale left the sea to kiss the mountains and the sky.”

2.5 stars rounded up!

Atuale was originally from the sea, but thanks to gene-editing, she’s moved onto land to be with her true love, Saareval. Saareval and the other Keita Vo are being decimated by a deadly plague. Atuale does the only thing she can think of, and the thing the Vo hate the most, asking for help. She returns to the sea, and to her former lover the World-Witch in order to fight the plague. Atuale and the World-Witch leave the sea to join the stars in order to search for a cure.

What drew me originally to Sun-Daughters, Sea-Daughters was it was marketed as a queer, space opera Little Mermaid retelling. While they were not wrong, it was not what I was looking for. This is a novella, and it is fairly short, but I felt there was more to offer than what was given. The writing was beautiful, but I felt that more focus was given on the writing than the plot. I really wanted more. I wanted to know more about the different races, more about gene-editing, more about the relationships between Atuale and Saareval as well as Atuale and the World-Witch. I wanted more space opera. I wanted more in general.

I also wasn’t a fan of the ending. It was very weird and made me uncomfortable. It didn’t really fit with the rest of the story, and while I can understand the significance of it, it does bring up a lot of unanswered questions.

I still would recommend this to people who love science fiction. I recommend this to people who love space operas. I did love the little plot that there was. Reading is subjective, and I can’t wait to discuss this book with friends!

When I heard a queer scifi version of The Little Mermaid, I couldn’t hit the request button on NetGalley fast enough, which I point out to say, perhaps my expectations may have been a little too high.

This is a novella and so the world-building is tight not deep. In spite of this, I did feel I was able to quickly catch on to the world, but I suppose I might not feel that way if I wasn’t already a big reader of scifi. Its world isn’t that unique for scifi. Gene-edited humanoids live on various planets. There are some more fully alien species. Each planet has its own culture and problems, etc… I like that the gene-editing explains why the “sea witch” was able to move Atuale from the ocean dwelling to land dwelling. Yanja is less a sea witch and more a rogue sea scientist, which is neat.

The queer representation in this book is that Yanja was in a female body when Atuale lived in the ocean, and they were lovers. When Atuale seeks Yanja out again, Yanja is now in a male body. Saareval is male. So Atuale is bisexual and Yanja is trans. I appreciated how rapidly Atuale accepted Yanja’s new gender. There were no deadnaming issues as Yanja kept the same name throughout. I was disappointed in the representation of Atuale, though, mainly because I think one particular plot point falls into stereotypes of bisexual people. I wish a more creative approach to the plot was taken. It felt like a stereotypical and easy way through the story rather than a thoughtful one.

Personally, I struggled a bit to want to read this because I wasn’t expecting the future pandemic plot and that was just a bit too real for me right now. Perhaps other readers will find it comforting to see a pandemic being addressed in scifi, though. You know your own potential reaction the best.

I also want to offer the trigger warning that there is miscarriage in a flashback.

Overall, this novella has fun world building with a plot that looks at what happens after the happily ever after in The Little Mermaid. There is trans and bisexual representation, although the latter falls into stereotypes. Readers looking for a merger of The Little Mermaid with scifi and a scifi interplanetary approach to a pandemic are likely to enjoy this quick read.