Reviewed by Elizabetta
TITLE: Bright Water, Dark Sky
AUTHOR: August Li
PUBLISHER: Goodreads M/M Romance Group/Love’s Landscapes event
LENGTH: 101 pages
STORY PHOTO:
STORY PROMPT:
Dear Author,
We’re a fun loving people, a little blood thirsty, but what race isn’t? We’ve discovered some humans have landed on our planet, not sure what they’re expecting to find or what they’re looking for. We guard our treasure well and the fun loving part notwithstanding we’ll fight to defend what’s ours. Amidst all this I’m trying to find my mate. He has to be somewhere.
REVIEW:
I really liked the world-building in this short story. The descriptive passages of Varuna, a water-planet at the center of this sci-fi plot, are lovely and worth the read. I felt like I got to know Sora, too. He’s the brilliant, methodical scientist, and a loner in his space-lab facility, who could use a little ‘action’ in his life. On a scientific mission to explore the beautiful blue Varuna, Sora feels a very strong pull to the place.
Ch’Maram-muk is also beautiful— a man/cephalopod hybrid, a warrior-water creature who falls for Sora. He is a leader and fierce warrior in his clan. Yet, when he meets Sora, Ch’Maram-muk shows great curiosity for his culture and a growing tenderness for the man.
When Sora uncovers a nefarious plot by some of his people to take over Varuna in order to basically strip-mine an important natural resource there, he realizes the great harm that will come not only to the planet, but to Ch’Maram-muk and his people. Sora will do whatever he can to protect this beautiful planet and his lover.
While he at times seems feckless in his actions, Sora’s experience on planet Varuna can almost be taken as a cautionary tale for environmental protection on our own.
There are some nice action sequences and, of course, some very hot tentacle loving. All good fun. And I love the title, evocative and fitting to the story.
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RATING: 
STORY LINK: