Paperback, 349 pages
English language
Published Aug. 8, 2017 by Akashic Books.
"Aster has little to offer folks in the way of rebuttal when they call her ogre and freak. She's used to the names; she only wishes there was more truth to them. If she were truly a monster, she'd be powerful enough to tear down the walls around her until nothing remains of her world. Aster lives in the lowdeck slums of the HSS Matilda, a space vessel organized much like the antebellum South. For generations, Matilda has ferried the last of humanity to a mythical Promised Land. On its way, the ship's leaders have imposed harsh moral restrictions and deep indignities on dark-skinned sharecroppers like Aster. Embroiled in a grudge with a brutal overseer, Aster learns there may be a way to improve her lot--if she's willing to sow the seeds of civil war"--Page 4 of cover.
A bit of a slow start for the plot, but a nice anti-imperialist/anti-capitalist story wrapped up in a compelling narrative, with a great protagonist.
Not my cup of tea
This was a hard book to get through. However, it was worth the effort.
I feel like you don't really need my (a white girl) thoughts on this book, because I was half-way through the book before I was like "They're cultivating sugar cane? On a generation ship?!? That's indefensible! It has almost no nutritional value and exists only so the privileged can -- oh. Oh wait."
