Stevie‘s review of Changing Course by Brey Willows
Lesbian Science Fiction Romance published by Bold Strokes Books 12 Nov 19
I’ve enjoyed everything I’ve read so far by Brey Willows, especially her most recent fantasy novel. As I grew up reading lesbian science fiction, I was very keen to get my hands on this book. And it feels very much like those books I used to read with added elements of the space operas of the late 1970s and early 1980s. Imagine if you will, the pairing of a lesbian Jenna Stanis (from Blakes 7) and the lesbian answer to a young Han Solo. Throw in a thrilling crash landing and a whole host of dangers on the planet itself and you have the makings of something quite, quite special.
Captain Jessa Arabelle comes from a well-off family on a wealthy and civilised planet and makes her living transporting tourists on intergalactic cruises. When an asteroid hits her ship, she and her crew are forced to land their escape pod on a backwater world, rarely visited by outsiders, unless they’re on the run from something or someone. Kylin Enderson is an inhabitant of that world, who makes her living as a prize fighter and a scavenger, all the while trying to keep up supplies of medicine for her seriously ill father. When she hears about a crash involving a fancy ship and a number of escape pods, she rushes to the area in search of anything she might be able to sell. She doesn’t expect to encounter a group of survivors in need of her help to get themselves safely back to what passes for civilisation on Kylin’s world.
When Kylin manages to arrange transport for Jessa’s crew and says she will be travelling onward in search of more crash debris, Jessa insists on accompanying her. The two face slavers, bounty hunters, and other hostile groups, but also make some friends amongst the more reclusive and transient people of Kylin’s world before finally being reunited with Jessa’s crew and having to deliver the news to Kylin’s friends and family that their city is in danger from those outside its walls.
While Jessa and her crew await transport off the planet, Jessa becomes increasingly involved in Kylin’s life and learns an awful lot about life beyond her sheltered upbringing and equally insulated life since achieving adulthood. When rescue eventually comes, Jessa and Kylin have to figure out whether and how they can build a future together, given their very different backgrounds, especially given that Jessa has now seen the darker sides to Kylin’s life.
I really, really enjoyed this book. It had all the elements I loved in the books I loved as a teenager and then some. It also had a far more epic feel than I was expecting and I really would like to see more of these two and the universe they inhabit.
Grade: A
Summary:
When a simple mission goes wrong, intergalactic space captain Jessa Arbelle nearly goes down with her ship.
Her escape pod lands on Indemnion, a planet known for its raw, raucous societies, and Jessa’s top priority is keeping the few survivors with her safe while finding a way back home. That’s when she meets mysterious scrounger Kylin Enderson, a useful and attractive distraction she can hardly afford with so much at stake.Kylin resents Jessa’s silver spoon attitude, especially since Jessa has no idea what real life is like. Kylin has enough trouble keeping ahead of the creditors she owes for some of her more secretive undertakings, without having to help the beautiful captain who fell from the sky. But Kylin’s always been a sucker for a damsel in distress, and this time is no different.
When Kylin’s secret comes out, it puts their growing attraction, as well as Jessa’s life, in danger. Will everything come crashing down, or can they change course before it’s too late?
Read an excerpt.
