The First Sister

This was an intriguing read, with some really interesting themes and well developed world building. There is a lot of darkness here too.

The story essentially follows two main POV characters, one from each side of major conflict, but both with a not quite 100% loyalty to their given faction. And the two factions are starkly different in their outlooks! On the one hand you have the people of Mercury and Venus (the Icarii)- a science based Utopia that hides some darkness beneath its glossy exterior - and on the other you have the people of Earth and Mars (the Geans) - who follow a militaristic theocracy.

The politics that drive these two governing systems provides an intriguing background to the story of rebellion and overcoming the system that takes place in the foreground. The Gean military theocracy has echoes of Atwood's Handmaid's Tale with its extreme gender bias and oppression. The titular First Sister is a priestess, but also essentially an object to be used by the men she ministers too. A brutal and uncomfortable read. The more utopian Icarii science based society also has its dirty laundry too - an apparent testing program using the poorer and more repressed parts of society as guinea pigs with frequently horrific consequences. The underlying message that extremism and a blindness to social consequences are evil is a truism that is hard to deny.

The lead characters are engaging and the to POVs (Lito and First Sister) give a good insight into the cultures. The relationships developed are complex and really draw you into the story. The characters presented are an interesting array of LGBTQ+, although this is very much background and incidental to the plot. Hiro appears to be non-binary and the first sister is bi.

The story of conflict and rebellion between to opposing and different ideologies is a classic trope of sci fi, but the way that it has been done here is perfection really. The world building is truly phenomenal and the sad echoes of our times in the cultures presented really do give food for thought