Deep space penal colony Oubliette, population: scum.Lena "Horror" Horowitz leads the Daughters of Forgotten Light, one of three vicious gangs fighting for survival on Oubliette. Their fragile truce is shaken when a new shipment arrives from Earth carrying a fresh batch of prisoners and supplies to squabble over. But the delivery includes two new surprises: a drone, and a baby. Earth Senator Linda Dolfuse wants evidence of the bloodthirsty gangs to justify the government finally eradicating the wasters dumped on Oubliette. There's only one problem: the baby in the drone's video may be hers.File Under: Science Fiction [ Banged Up | Out of Mind | Girls Gone Bad | Moppet in Space ]
Well written and a vivid, if stark world, but if I had been reading this for simple pleasure, I probably would have stopped after the first few pages. Not because of a deficiency in the writing, but because the characters you see first are individuals I found it difficult to like/empathize/connect with. This improved as the book went on, but I am still left conflicted by this grim, dark world. By the same token, I find it difficult to name a more original take on dystopia, though elements of the experience did remind me subtly of Nine Fox Gambit.
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1 December, 2021:
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