Frontier

Product Information

So the set up of the chapters was a lot different then what I was expecting. The Stranger is the main character. The entire story revolves around her trying to find a way to see if her crew, and specifically her lover, are okay after The Stranger’s ship crash lands on a post apocalyptic earth. I loved that this earth had a different set up then a lot of Sci Fi I’ve seen, that the main religion is Gaia, gravity is her greatest gift because it keeps her children close, and the space travelers of old are sinners and heathens for wanting to leave. Frontier is set in the 29th century Earth. It’s a dry, desolate place that most humanity abandoned several centuries ago to conquer the space. Only a small fraction remained, a religious sect called Gaians who believe in the divinity of goddess Earth. No technology newer than 21st century (for some reason) is allowed and even the talk of space is sin. As I was reading, the thing that kept me most engaged was wanting to know the stories of each individual character. While they all have a role to play in the story on the Abeona, I found myself being more interested in their origin stories. My only complaint about the characters is that there are so many of them. It would have been helpful to get a list of characters in the front of the book, but I figured it out in the end. Frontier is a really unique book. The author made some bold choices in the structure of this book and they have certainly paid off. I was intrigued to read this as the description sounded like Western in space. This is something I’m seeing more and more of lately and so far has been a great combination. We enter this future alongside a trio of grubby, pathetic scavengers scheming to salvage a newly-crashed escape pod, after witnessing its fiery plunge to Earth from outer space. Greed takes over and once that dust settles, the way has been cleared for a boot-clad, gun-toting woman to emerge from the pod.

As she travels, she encounters a variety of people and situations. Each reacts to her differently, and thus The Stranger becomes The Courier, who temporarily teams up with… well, Garraty. I quite liked Garraty. That’s all you’ll get about him from me, so as not to sand away the shine of discovery for you. Darling has to navigate this inhospitable and dangerous world, to find her love. Along the way, we meet a number of different characters. Some in turn become more important than others. We get glimpses into things that on the surface appear one way, but the reality is vastly different.

Frontier Book Review

Bonus points for the inclusivity in this book! The inclusion of LGBTQ+ characters and disabilities were beautifully interwoven and oh-so natural! It never felt like the author was "trying hard" to show they were creating inclusive characters and there was never a big show around their introductions or presence in the story. Loved! Told in a series of vignettes and interludes, the story begins in the future on a ruined, mostly-abandoned Earth. The sparse population that remains struggles to survive in spite of a corrupt justice system, dwindling water supplies, and starvation. Most folk cling to a new religion that worships Gaia—a female planet-god that binds them close to her heart through gravity and an encouraged hatred of technology.

Yet it also shows the more mundane side of the crew's life, like the sous chef going to his home planet to find some meat and meet old acquaintances, or a newly acquired staff member slowly but surely getting used to her new workplace and finding herself at home in the hotel. As the book progresses, the characters develop, doing things they never thought they would previously, like standing up for themselves or finding a place in the world where they belong. It's a sweet story that gradually grows more intense and dark towards the end.While this book is set on a hotel that travels through space, the story is very people focussed. We read chapters from a range of different characters with their own histories and motivations, all distinct. They are loosely connected via Carl the hotel manager. Curtis manages to say a lot in just a chapter editing her stories so well to give you exactly what you need to connect with the character. One character, Kipple, is non-binary (THE FIRST!! IN ALL THESE YEARS!!). They get they/them pronouns as if it's just as natural as she/her or he/him - it's not even mentioned or pointed out once. They're just allowed to exist. Similarly, several characters are lesbian, pan, or bi, and it's not even mentioned with any label. It's completely normalised. THIS is the type of inclusion we're looking for. Floating Hotel takes place on the Abeona, a hotel that is also a spaceship, so it floats through space. Don't expect a lot of technobabble -- the Abeona is determinedly retro-chic. For instance, the Abeona's messaging system is paper messages sent through pneumatic tubes. There are of course a whole bunch of people on the Abeona -- staff and guests. There is an undercurrent of something more sinister that we see dappled throughout what almost feels like loosely linked short stories. Betrayal, theft, conspiracy, murder all appear throughout the course of this book.

It must be admitted, at the beginning I was not quite sure if there WAS a story. Because this story-telling approach is a slow way to introduce characters and setting, the first half is fairly slow. However, I came to see that a story had gradually crept up on me -- a mystery, in fact. And it was fun. In Floating Hotel, we meet a diverse cast of characters who all get a chance to have a share of the limelight. The structure of this book is unusual in that each character (bar one) only gets one POV chapter. While each character only has a short time in the spotlight, we learn about all of them more as the supporting roles in each others' stories, so each one feels fully formed and fleshed out. This structure gives the book a feeling of an anthology or series of vignettes, but the major narrative takes place over a period of time of just a few weeks and is contained mainly in the setting of the hotel, which keeps the book cohesive.It wasn't a book that you could skim through. Because it was fast paced, running through a number of different locations and characters, you need to take time to read it carefully. I didn't mind that at all, but it could detract for some readers. Having said all that, some little things that you might not have thought much of become pretty important towards the end as it all begins to slot together. I adored the narrative structure of this novel, much to my own surprise. Having each chapter from a different POV, with little exception, sounds incredibly difficult to pull off, but Curtis does so with fluid elegance and believability. Each chapter’s narrator feels distinct, but somehow the reading experience isn’t disjointed whatsoever. I absolutely loved the experience of spending a little time in so many people’s heads: seeing characters we’d got to know through narration filtered through the eyes of others, or jumping into the POV of someone unexpected, or who you’d been hoping to inhabit. Moreover, you will wholeheartedly love everyone you spend time with, however short, in a way that is fundamental to themes of the novel. Curtis writes with such astounding empathy, and her strength of imagination goes beyond the interior lives of others… Frontier is The Mandalorian meets Mad Max, with the emotional heart of the Wayfarers series. But at its core, Frontier is a love story, about two women who find each other, lose each other and then find each other again.

The Stranger finds herself adrift in a ravaged, unwelcoming landscape, full of people who hate and fear her space-born existence. Scared, alone, and armed, she embarks on a journey across the wasteland to return to her ship, her mission, and the woman she loves. Floating Hotel by Grace Kurtis follows the motley crew of the space hotel Abeona. From its friendly manager Carl to its grumpy accountant Kipple to the ever-eager Reggie, all the different staff members have their own stories to tell -- stories that weave together into a tale of rebellion against the system, an encrypted message from beyond the stars, and the mystery of who the Lamplighter is, and if they can be safely extracted before the Empire gets to them. Osei-Afrifa said: “My favourite thing about Frontier is that it’s here and it’s queer; a collection of interconnected short stories masquerading as a novel. Vibrant, funny and a romp throughout, Grace has captured a sprawling cast of characters in a rich world, into tight episodes of real heart and poise. Her next book’s pitch, set in the same literary universe (aren’t they all the rage?!), is ‘The Grand Budapest Hotel’ in space. I can’t wait and I am in awe of her craft. She’s at the start of what will be a long career and it’s been a highlight to bring her voice to the party.” This is a perfect book for a lover of mystery - there are secrets to be unravelled and revealed, and these are happening as we are gradually learning more about the empire in which our characters live. These common threads weave all the parts of the story together and kept me hooked! The non-staff characters were more hit and miss for me. Some I warmed to while others I didn’t. Though they all had something to add to the bigger plot weaving between the chapters, it was the staff and their connections to the hotel and each other that I enjoyed the most.

New In Store

While there are certainly "cozy" aspects to this story, especially in regards to the conversations had between characters and much of their own internal development, I loved that it had more edge to it. There was plenty of mystery, political/environmental disruption, and even with some thrill - this really helped keep me engaged in the story line, especially as an avid thriller/horror reader. It didn't feel quite so cozy by the end and I'm thankful for that outcome. Rogan and her rat Garbage were my favourite characters but there were lots of great characters in this story. After loving Curtis’ first book, Frontier, of course I was going to jump at the chance to read her second one. And a book set on a hotel spaceship certainly sounded like something I would love. As the five star rating gives away: I did! Welcome to the Grand Abeona home of the finest food, the sweetest service, and the very best views the galaxy has to offer. All year round it moves from planet to planet, system to system, pampering guests across the furthest reaches of the milky way. The last word in sub-orbital luxury—and an absolute magnet for intrigue. Intrigues such Why are there love poems in the lobby inbox? How many Imperial spies are currently on board? What is the true purpose of the Problem Solver’s conference? And perhaps most pertinently— who is driving the ship? One of the most expertly done aspects of this novel was the way it used other characters to tell her story. Not everyone is likeable but everyone is intriguing, everyone is interesting. I came to care for the side characters who only make a small indentation on the story: a child in need of insulin; a woman in need of resolution to stories—her own and one from a comic book; a boy who learned some hard truths about his faith. These people who made up a sliver of the Earth population showed so much about how the world runs, who's in charge, and why, without ever feeling heavy handed.