Epeolatry Book Review: This World is Not Yours by Kemi Ashing-Giwa

Lately, I have been getting into more sci-fi, especially sci-fi horror, and when this book was described as a “blend of S.A. Barne’s space horror and Cassandra Khaw’s beautiful but macabre worlds”, I was drawn to this title hoping for more of that vibe. While there are elements of both those themes in this book, it falls short in a number of ways.

The worldbuilding is strong and, despite my misgivings, I am curious about the wider universe in this one and would be willing to explore more books set there. In the distant future, humanity has colonized the stars, and like humans do, we have ruined it. Corporations have taken over and colonies are not valued for their humanity, art, or culture, but for their profitability. Amara, one of our main characters, comes from a mega-rich family who controls one of these corporations and is pressured to fit a certain lifestyle. However, she has tossed it all away to marry the love of her life, Vinh, who comes from the wrong side of the galactic tracks. Along with their friend, Jesse, they are part of a team dedicated to growing a small civilization on a distant planet. This planet is inhabited by not only a rival colony, but a lethal “self-cleaning” mechanism called the “Gray” that works to break down invasive organisms to protect its own. The three of them must work together to safeguard their fledgling colony against these hostile threats.

Sounds romantic and exciting, right? Unfortunately, the book is bogged down by the sheer toxicity of our main characters and their awful relationship. Vinh and Amara cause each other so much harm that Amara’s surrendering of her family fortune feels less like a romantic gesture and more like a misguided obsession. This obsession is further compounded when a catastrophe forces society to pair off everyone into heterosexual unions and produce as many babies as possible in order to save humanity from extinction. Amara and Vinh are lesbians and their marriage is severed by the state to serve this purpose. The injustice is touched upon, but not explored as deeply as it could be. Amara is paired with her best friend, Jesse, while Vinh is matched with Henry, a perfectly regular man that Amara despises to an irrational degree, especially since the state is pretty lax in its enforcement of the new policy.

While I feel that too much time is spent on the interpersonal drama, I do appreciate the realism of the relationship between Amara and Vinh. Amara made a huge sacrifice for Vinh, and it has endless ramifications for their relationship. Too often in fiction, these types of sacrifices made on the ensuing relationships show none of the strain that such an imbalance would have on a partnership.

The Gray is an intriguing concept, and I wish it was explored more thoroughly. It lingers in the background for most of the book and only becomes a true horror towards the end. In the last quarter, the book shifts fully into horror and becomes the exciting, terrifying, thrill that I was promised.

Overall, I am full of mixed feelings. I’m intrigued by the world building, and enjoyed the realism of our two main leads, but the book lags too much in the middle for me to really love it.

/5

Available from Amazon and Bookshop.