Review – Delia Strange’s Femme
A science fantasy with a touch of romance.
A utopian world with a touch of slavery.
Kaley Blackburn is sent to Femme in her final year of Future Tech studies. The world is a socialist utopia of low crime, great health and advancements in technology that leave other worlds envious.
It is a fantastic place to visit if you’re a woman. Men, on the other hand, are the slaves that tend to all feminine desires. Kaley knew about the world’s culture of slavery but never had to face it until she is assigned a slave, Mecca, for the duration of her stay.
Mecca is handsome, intelligent and obedient, but every answer he gives to Kaley’s questions only feed her growing concerns. Does Femme hide an ugly truth beneath its beautiful surface and can she trust her feelings for a man whose sole duty is to make her feel special?
As you can see from the books description above Femme by Delia Strange is not the kind of novel I would normally pick. This isn’t a criticism of people who like science fiction fantasy, it’s a huge genre, but I don’t normally get gripped by the airy-fairyness of books of this type. However, stunning doesn’t do the book enough justice. The characters created by Strange are normal enough that I could find my favourites to root for but fictional enough that the worlds created didn’t lose anything in translation. The concept was executed with precision and not one page was boring. The future/different worlds and customs were well thought out but the use of more recognisable technology like a smart phone grounded the tale and stopped it becoming too fantastical and losing me.
Descriptive narrative can be hit and miss but what Strange created with her writing was colour. The imagery that filled my mind as I read was an essential part of my enjoyment of the story and bright and vibrant passages led me on a real adventure. I often finish books quickly but this one took two days and I repeatedly had to look at the clock surprised at how much time was lost immersed in the journey.
If all science fiction fantasy books were written this well I’d have a stack of them but alas they aren’t. If Delia Strange has more like this though I may just be converted.
***** 4 1/2 Stars!!!
Steve
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