Short novels, when done very well, are both honey-sweet and sharp as knives edged in fire. They mean something. They forge new connections in their readers, who are never quite the same people they were before reading that particular story.
R. B. Lemberg’s new Birdverse book, THE UNBALANCING, accomplishes a startling amount of heavy work. Lemberg’s skill and innate kindness makes reading it an easy joy, even in the darkest moments.
Content warning: this can be read as a parable of our times. Thus, there are very dark moments.
I write this review with some professional and personal certainty that our own world wobbles on a narrow ridgeline between chasms of war and environmental collapse. One wrong step equals a short and bad future. If you are one of the people who thinks there’s nothing to worry about, or there is no point in trying to do anything now, or doesn’t think about much beyond the daily travails of life…this book may only be entertaining. Or it may be very uncomfortable for you. It may wake you up a little.
So, on to more review!
This is a story about a magical star with dark origins, a beautiful archipelago, a wise and appealing culture whose people are free in their lives and loves, some of the best nonbinary rep I’ve seen in SFF fiction, and two people who find deep connection when they least expect it.
It’s about the hard work of trying to save a culture on the brink of disaster, made worse when most of its citizens refuse to believe there is anything wrong. The act of helping becomes a kind of treason. Hope tangles with futility.
Moments I adored (without spoilers): gardens, groves, and taverns! Quince trees as mythic metaphor! Nonbinary symbol jewelry! A genuine nonbinary autistic demisexual rep, in *first-person POV*! Gentle, realistic BDSM! Predatory female character who actually learns from her mistakes!
Also, a Galadriel-fades-into-the-West moment that is both heartbreaking and triumphant. Mirroring it, an inevitable but perfectly in-character apotheosis. A fiercely resolute ending leads to more questions than answers.
Also, a Galadriel-fades-into-the-West moment that is both heartbreaking and triumphant. Mirroring it, an inevitable but perfectly in-character apotheosis. A fiercely resolute ending leads to more questions than answers.
THE UNBALANCING is a beautiful novel, and a welcome ramping-up of Lemberg’s Birdverse. Tachyon Publications looks like they’re making a stunning physical book to complement this rich and deep story. Go look for it. Pre-order it. Spread the word. Try quince jam.
As a bit of shameless fangirling, here’s a mood board I put together with vintage embroidered cloth, brass turtles, my original art, and a found postcard from the Mediterranean.
