WL's Mainstream Gay Book Reviews - 59. Assimilation, Love, and Other Human Oddities by Lyn Gala (Sci-Fi) Book 2

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23110213-assimilation-love-and-other-human-oddities

Now we’re into book 2, the alien/human issues begin to spin and we get into very deep psychological questions about the characters and their motivations. One thing that Lyn Gala did in book 2 was established this future version of humanity was not perfect, nor were human authorities beyond bigotry, hate, and self-interest. There’s a lot of stuff to untangle in this book and a surprising setup that gets paid off in this book and book 3. Lyn Gala is one of the most intriguing gay science fiction genre writers, who is still currently active. She’s exploring an angle of relationships, cultures, and perspectives within sci-fi usually relegated to grand epics, but she somehow has managed to write her series in short I think for readers who are looking to branch from gay romance to gay sci-fi or general science fiction from romance, she’s a good bridge.

Length: This book is 225 pages and 7 hours and 43 minutes on audible. It’s a very manageable book to read in one sitting. As I noted above, the length and scope of the story are what make this a very approachable gay science fiction story.

Plot: Liam has never felt as happy or at home as he does on the Rownt homeworld with his partner, the turtle-like Rownt, Ondry. They enjoy engaging in trading and deal-making while learning about each other as they did before, but the exploration extends into both the body and mind. Human psychology and the nature of a Palteia, which is equivalent to Liam’s submissive psychological profile, are similar and dissimilar in ways that trouble the Rownt, who are culturally bound to protect Palteia as if they were their children. Some Rownt had found the stories of Liam’s abuse at the hands of his people too disturbing to dismiss, which become a major conflict in this book and beyond. Ondry in particular is moved to bouts of protectiveness, recognizing the less durable human body and lifespan that Liam has compared to his species. Despite the Rownt being relatively conservative based on their thousand-year lifespans, Ondry attempts to break with tradition for the sake of Liam, seeking to advance himself faster and further to acquire genetic engineering technology through the Rownt interstellar trading network, unbeknownst to Liam.

While all of this is going on, the human civil war rages on with growing intensity and a need for raw materials. A new human leader introduced herself as Captain Susan Diallo, an expert in Xeno-linguistics from the military’s diplomatic core. At first, it appeared she had the misguided intention of inserting herself into the Rownt society under the false impression that she was being bought as a type of slave, which shocks both Liam and Ondry as the Rownt do not have an equivalent concept of slavery. Yet as the story unfolds, it is revealed that her ultimate goal was to coerce the Rownt into a trading relationship and retrieve Liam away from Rownt homeworld through a series of psychological games and orchestrated scenarios, which were badly managed to the point of being a life-death struggle.

By the end of the book, the Rownt and humanity have come to an uneasy point, where negotiations would be needed to further relations. Liam and Ondry are elevated to Tuk ranks of Rownt society, becoming equivalent to senior trade delegates as they are assigned aboard a Rownt Home ship, which is equivalent to a massive city-ship for exploration and trade missions. The novel sets up several threads for exploration in books 3 and 4.

Review: This book is a lot of drama, action, suspense, and interesting motivations by various characters, organizations, and perspectives.

The Rownt species are complicated when viewed from a human perspective as we learn more about their culture in this book. To humans, their society valued self-sustainability for individuals and hold views such as lack of health care facilities or prenatal care for their unhatched eggs, going as far as to allow their unborn Rownt to suffocate in their eggs. Females hold senior leadership positions, while males are administrators and advisors within their society. These aspects of Rownt society are jarring to most humans, who have a moral imperative set on the value of life and masculine authority. However, to the Rownt, humanity also acts in ways considered “illogical” and their treatment of individuals such as Liam offends their moral sensibilities as well. I enjoyed the subtle nods that Lyn Gala added in book 2, which I advise readers to re-read again after book 3 because you will understand how cultural misconceptions and absolute views from one perspective create issues.

Captain Diallo, who we learn is more than merely a diplomat, is an intriguing female human character. She knows what she was doing is morally ambiguous at best, but believed that her duty was to Earth and humanity first, rather than to any individual or alien culture. She admits upon seeing the Rownt’s advanced spacecraft and weapon systems that human intelligence about the pastoral nature of the Rownt, along with the seemingly lack of advanced weapons, was woefully inadequate, conceding her actions if taken to extract Liam and coerce Ondry as directed by her leaders would have ended badly for humanity. She’s a gray character, a person with too much self-belief in the mission rather than the circumstances, but she never meant harm or ill. It was fun seeing her understated reaction as she realizes how far and dangerous the miscalculation could have gone if Liam as a Palteia, which in Rownt society is equal to protected status as that of a child, was kidnapped off Rownt as planned. The Rownt as a society do not take half-measures, if they are wronged or injured by an offending party, they will fight to the end without offering surrender or terms. Essentially, the Rownt is a society that only engages in “Total War”, complete elimination of their foes. In that regard, the interaction reminds me of the Minbari-Earth War from Babylon 5, a set of cultural misunderstandings were present and nearly led to humanity’s extinction.

Liam is also explored further in this book as we learn more about his PTSD and fears, along with alienation from humanity and assimilation into the Rownt mindset. He in particular was best suited to bridge the gap between the cultures, a damaged man with a deep dislike for human nature, but not to the point of blind hatred or unreasonable views. He still loves his family despite how they treated him or abandoned him, he still loves Earth despite the memories of abuse and harm, and he still loves humanity. That I think is what makes him a Palteia, empathy. A true loving human being who despite the horrors of his life cannot help, but continue to love and cherish all those around him. This character is very beautiful, someone worth spending time exploring as Ondry does.

Ondry on the other hand is perhaps the weakest link of the book, I don’t mind his plot or his story, but I think it’s the alien perspective that needed to be weaved in a bit more. There’s a reason why Sci-fi novels with aliens are long and drawn out, exploring non-human characters takes a lot of backstories and emotional commitment. Ondry loves Liam, wants to care for him, and will do anything for him, but I just feel he’s too perfect. The heroic save when Diallo puts Liam in danger was good for action and plot, but it was just a standard trope. His story and character development do a shift in books 3 and 4, I think adding insecurities and fears helps round out his character in the later books, but in book 2, he followed a bit too many heroic tropes.

Rating: 4 out of 5, I still enjoyed this book and it was another fascinating exploration of human and non-human perspectives. However, there were parts of the story that were weaker than they needed to be and could have been longer. I know this book is mostly set up material for the amazing emotional payoff of Book 3, so I still advise people to read this book and give book 3 a chance as well.