Reviewed by Cheryl
TITLE: Tundras, Travellers and Other Travesties
AUTHOR: Amara Lynn
PUBLISHER: Self Published
LENGTH: 34 Pages
RELEASE DATE: February 22, 2020
BLURB:
Eis has lived on a solar powered outpost in a tundra covered land all zir life.
After zir parents passing, Eis is left to maintain the outpost alone, struggling to do so between chronic pain flare ups, waiting for the day a traveler might come in need of a warm bed and a meal. A day Eis thinks might never come, until a mysterious craft crashes into one of the solar panels.
Eis never expected a traveler to come out of the craft, or for him to be so captivating and beautiful. Everything Eis knows could change with the coming of this traveler, and yet the greatest travesty would be never knowing what else is out there, beyond the tundra, beyond the skies.
Tundras, Travelers, and Other Travesties is a 5800 word solarpunk post-apocalyptic sci-fi short with a queer protagonist.
REVIEW:
Straight off the bat, I have to say that I loved this book. Even though it’s very short, the character identity and development is excellent, and the story telling is natural and well paced. It is a peep into the lives of two very different people over a very short space of time.
Ignis is a traveller, from a space station that was built to house humanity when the earth became too spoiled and polluted to support them. Eis has no idea of its existence. Zir only life experience had been living in a remote spot on a cold, snowy tundra, zir only purpose to provide comfort to travelers who never came. Zir has no knowledge of what is happening beyond the limited horizons of the tundra. Half frozen to death, Eis maintains the station and waits.
Ignis opens Eis’ eyes to the vast worlds on earth and in the stars and at first it is simply too much to cope with. As their relationship grows, Eis begins to see things in a different light and realises how cold and empty zir life was, and will be again when Ignis leaves.
Given its short length, the story unfolds at a natural pace, and at no times feels rushed or compromised. Even though it contains only two characters, one location and a short period of time, it is so short it could easily have rushed the developing relationship, or cut short the events that took place at the end. Kudos to the author that it didn’t. There must have been very tight discipline to achieve this.
Eir and Ignis are finely drawn and I came to feel that I knew them. As Ignis’ departure draws closer, there is a real sense of tension and loss. When Ignis drops his bombshell, it is not entirely unexpected, but doesn’t fall flat because of that.
My biggest complaint about this book was that it was too short. Not that this was any fault of the writer, but only because I wanted follow these characters through at least a book full of adventures. I wasn’t ready to let go, but even so, the book is entirely worth it.
RATING: 
BUY LINKS: