An apocalyptic alien invasion set humanity on the edge of extermination. Unable to match technology with the invaders, humanity bet their existence on their physical strength overcoming. In a desperate last stand by the world’s greatest scientists, the cataclysm electromagnetic pulse wiped out all technology on the planet, stranding the aliens on earth, effectively locking them in the cage with the beasts of humanity that remained. Using pre-industrial weapons of war, the surviving humans fought back…
Six years later, Gieo, the self-proclaimed last pilot on earth, was shot down yet again. She finds herself in the unwelcoming post apocalyptic old west town of Tombstone, the guest of the beautiful gunfighter Fiona with a turbulent history. Their budding romance hits an immediate snag when Fiona’s mysterious past finally catches up with her, bringing with it old flames, hot grudges, and a rekindling of the war with the aliens that had cooled to a stalemate.
Sky-captain Gieo and her fleet of steam-powered dirigibles are humanity’s best chance to turn the tide of the war against the alien invaders, but only if Fiona can protect her from blind cultists, jealous ex-girlfriends, and a town of apocalypse cowboys with suspect sanity.
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Well uh... Started this book on a whim, picked it up, read it in about 4 hours, give or take some minutes here and there for distractions such as bathroom breaks and food and the internet in general. Fresh impression? Intriguing, entertaining, fresh, different, and... abrupt. But more on that later. For now, let us delve straight into the spoiler-free portion of this review.
Plot: [7/10]
Let us pick apart the convoluted mess that the plot appears to be before it turns into something recognizable and solid. The story begins with the introduction of Gieo, one of two main characters, and the story from there takes off into typical romance territory. And, oh my, the romance rapidly begins as soon as Gieo comes into contact with Fiona. We get character development, romance development, drama, but nothing solid save for the fact that these strange lizard aliens from space are still out in the desert and Fiona and other hunters slay these things for livelihood in a post-apocalyptic world. Slark, as they are called. Interestingly enough, this "enemy" of mankind is hardly the real enemy of the story, but I'll leave that for the spoilers section. That's the general gist of the plot, heavily dumbed down, but hey, there it is. Whether it is interesting to you or not, please note that it is quite different from any lesbian fiction plot I have touched yet. Which isn't much, but there it is. The fact that the setting is unique to any other lesbian work I have read, and the attention and the development the plot receives, is definitely a plus in its favor. Too often a lesbian novel will focus far too heavily on the romance, and in my opinion, TGATGH does a nice job of integrating what a reader wants: sex + romance + plot where the romance plays a rather twisted part.
Characters/Characterization: [9/10]
Boom. Yeah, I gave it that high of a score. From the very start, Gieo was an interesting figure, and not only because of the way she dressed. Her strange name, her wonky robot sidekick Ramen – I'll stop myself before I ruin the fun of discovery for you. In general, I have never seen anybody as unique as she was and so brutally realistic that I could definitely see her right now, in real life, existing in the world had it not gone to hell. Definitely a whole sea of depth was devoted to her, and I became attached to this Asian badass genius (and trust me when I say that there is quite a lot of depth, because that does not happen often in my experience). As for Fiona, Gieo's lover, I was instantly intrigued with her story. Never would I have imagined that the other half of the main couple would be a nearly psychotic, hardened, gunslinging Victoria's Secret model. Formely, of course, considering the world went to hell and lingerie hardly matters in a war against aliens.
The two form interesting contrasts against one another, and certainly because of Gieo's role as the inventor and sole genius of human society and Fiona's role in... well... beyond the fact that she's an incredibly unrealistically amazing shot.
The other characters are refreshing as well, and many of them play important, important roles. I was quite pleased with how the story was not centered on just the main couple, that almost everyone else who was given a name and mentioned more then 5 times reappeared with some action that would move the plot along considerably.
Prose/Writing Style/POV: [7/10]
Third-person, right away. Easy to tell, obviously, and it works because the view shifts between Fiona's perspective and Gieo's. While I normally have intense distaste for POV shifting between characters, it works in this novel because it serves to develop each character in their own right and help both of them grow without seeming too dependent on one another. It also serves to give insight to 2 very distinct people who obviously have their differences, and allows both of them to leave an impression on the reader. Too often a lesbian novel will focus entirely too much on one character and not the other, and it leaves this feeling of favoritism that often makes the relationship bland and uninteresting.
As for the prose, it's fairly short. Simple. Precise descriptions, to the point, and fits with the rather straightforward and blunt attitudes Gieo and Fiona harbor. There's a ton of description, and while that can be a bad thing, it leaves room open for imagination about the alien technology, the town they live in, and the different societies that are introduced. And, of course, Gieo's inventions, because that girl is the inventor. The inventor. The world was painted alive for me, and I had no trouble picturing various scenes whatsoever. In fact, my eyes slightly burn from the brightness of all the desert that I imagined in the past 4 hours. Or it could be from staring at my monitor. Who knows?
As for writing style, there was definitely a quirk to every sentence and certainly every piece of dialogue. The humor sometimes was genuinely laugh out loud, and I found myself wanting several times to share my joy with someone else only to realize they wouldn't get the joke outside the context. There's 21st century humor in there, my friend, and it is wonderful.
Besides that, the written sex is great. What more do you need to know, eh?
Final Verdict? [8/10] - If you don't read this, I don't know why you're even bothering with reading lesfic
Seriously, this is quite the piece of story-telling and writing. Unique setting, unique characters, unique everything, for the most part. I can't even begin to describe the hell of a trip the romance story took, let alone anything else for that matter. It was full of moments you didn't see coming, and even if you did, they were still amusing enough to fully enjoy even with the lack of surprise. There is depth to this novel. Surprising depth, for that matter, and so although the ending was abrupt and kind of slapped you in the face, the depth of everything in the novel made it worth the trip.
---Spoilers from this point on, read at your own risk---
Now, I know, I know. The first thing on your mind is going to be... WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT WITH THE ROMANCE? THE DEPTH? THE PLOT? IT WAS A CLUSTERFUCK AND YOU'RE LYING, YOU SACK OF SHIT.
If you look past some of the more unsavory parts of the novel, and past some of your own distaste, there was quite a lot of depth.
Starting from the beginning, Gieo is in some sort of blimp thing and shooting anti-aircraft artillery for god knows what reason and you're busy wondering what the hell is going on. It spirals into more confusion when she crash lands and is completely calm about it and simply radios in and waits for help. Then Fiona shows up and suddenly they're almost going straight to fucking.
WHAT DEVELOPMENT?! you might be screaming.
Oh, but there is. Almost immediately, you hear that Fiona is a former Victoria's Secret model and Gieo has been fantasizing about this woman for quite some time, so it should come as no surprise as when fate finally throws this woman at her, Gieo will fully take advantage of the situation. Then of course the romance gains depth as the story goes on, but the almost-rushed pacing of the romance can be said to mirror the rush of attachment people get for no apparent reason in real life when they suddenly fall for someone. Or it could just have been an executive decision to cut down on the falling for each other to the drama that occurs with Veronica and Carolyn later on.
And then the plot. Oh yes, the plot. It was always lurking there, always little things in the background you didn't really think about until it resurfaced later to kick our heroines in the butt somehow or make things more complicated or served to further the plot. That, in my opinion, is what makes a good plot. Subtle foreshadowing you don't realize until it happens. Romance integrated into the very core of the plot.
Examples: the huge men in the beginning who ask for tech help from Gieo turn out to be heavily prized pilots for their assault against the Slark. Fiona's past relationship with Carolyn nearly fucks Gieo over and indirectly causes Veronica's death by keeping her stationed at Tombstone. Zeke's presence and the methanol drinking cult end up causing mass destruction and are tied in together with the plot.
The world is also another aspect that was filled with surprising depth. This will be the last thing I talk about, as I am getting exhausted. Each town and place in the novel serves as different examples of the kind of lives lived after the invasion of the Slark. You have Tombstone, run roughly like an old Wild West sort of town until the Ravens come in and domesticate the place. Then it turns into some strange WWII suburban area with a Fallout 3 vibe. There's Albuquerque, the exception amongst all other outposts of humanity: well-fortified, safe, filled with simple pleasures like hot showers and running water, and almost seemingly identical to life as it once was before. There's the barren land that Gieo rides her motorcycle over, showing the destruction the Slark caused, making the situation seem entirely real and dreadful at once. Etc.
Overall, I was quite pleased with this novel. There's a brutal, harsh reality to it all, something so twisted and yet so beautiful that I can see this exact scenario playing out in the case that lizard aliens from space ever came to earth to invade.
Oh! Which reminds me. I rather loved that we never get to see much of the Slark, only their corpses or them getting shot/beat to death. While they were the "enemy", they instead served to show the brutality of humans and bring out the brutality in humanity. The way they go down so easily while Fiona and the other Ravens are decimated at Tombstone by their own kind led by Zeke only further proves that humanity's greatest enemy is mankind itself. Most of the conflict in the novel occurs between humans. The important ones, at any rate. The conflict against the Slark was hardly the focus, only the motivating factor that spurred things into motion.
Clever, clever.
But that's enough out of me. Was I the only one who enjoyed TGATGH?
Link for purchase: at amazon
Edit 2/25/23
I forgot to mention that there was one problem with the novel. This contains semi-spoilers, so there's your warning.
The ending, unfortunately, for all its fanfare, ended far below expectations. In fact, it was terribly rushed and quite clearly so, lacking the elaborate detail the other scenes had and quickly jumping to the end. This, of course, can be attributed to deadlines and etc., but it's still a trap that many lesbian novels fall into. This is one of them. It's not a bad end, though, so take the disappointing end with a grain of salt. Is it disappointing? Certainly so. Does it make the book not worth reading? If you're in it for the happy end, then by all means, read it. If you're looking for something elaborate and quite clearly written well and thought out, then the ending might make the book a huge frustration for you.
Overall, I still recommend reading it. It's a gem in the desert storm that is known is lesfic.
