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A review by sagareads
Navigational Entanglements by Aliette de Bodard
adventurous
challenging
emotional
mysterious
tense
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
I would have enjoyed this space opera plus lesbian romance about unwanted outcasts struggling to locate a dangerous extradimensional creature when their superiors fail anyway, but one element really elevated it to greater meaning for me: the treatment of a lead character's neurodivergence.
Autistic-coded Việt Nhi has spent her life ostracized because she's too honest, sees people too clearly, and doesn't conform to social standards. She's given up on bonding with others; her bluntness eventually drives away even those who are initially friendly. And yet, in a passage that stood out, Hạc Cúc's point of view emphasizes that the same neurodivergent traits that have made Nhi an outcast are the qualities that attract Hạc Cúc to her, describing Nhi as the peak of desire because she is perceptive but blunt and nonconforming. To have a love interest not only accept a character's neurodivergent traits but actively praise them meant a lot to me.
Autistic-coded Việt Nhi has spent her life ostracized because she's too honest, sees people too clearly, and doesn't conform to social standards. She's given up on bonding with others; her bluntness eventually drives away even those who are initially friendly. And yet, in a passage that stood out, Hạc Cúc's point of view emphasizes that the same neurodivergent traits that have made Nhi an outcast are the qualities that attract Hạc Cúc to her, describing Nhi as the peak of desire because she is perceptive but blunt and nonconforming. To have a love interest not only accept a character's neurodivergent traits but actively praise them meant a lot to me.