She is always on the edge of running out of supplies, especially oxygen. By the time Gyre realizes how deadly this mission is–all caving comes with risks, but this one has more than she was informed of–she’s unable to back out. This is an engrossing blend of psychological horror and survival story. If you like the kind of Killing Eve dynamic in F/F relationships, you’d probably appreciate this one. Despite Em’s manipulation, I ended up rooting for the two of them, which just shows how well written their dynamic was. This is, to be clear, a toxic relationship, but wow was it compelling. As they spend more and more time together, though, and get to know each other, Gyre finds herself reluctantly becoming attached. She’s in the cave system for weeks, dependent on Em’s guidance to keep her safe, while also completely distrusting her.
Gyre and Em have an… interesting relationship. Of course, this is the Lesbrary, so it’s also queer.
And there’s also a non-zero chance she’s hallucinating after stumbling on some mysterious spores… She thinks she sees evidence of someone without a suit surviving down here, but that’s impossible. If that wasn’t enough, Gyre begins to suspect she’s not alone down here. Gyre’s suit should protect her from being detected, but she has limited supplies to keep it functional, especially when things quickly begin to go wrong. Then there’s the tunnellers: giant tunneling monsters who will hunt down any humans they can. It’s a claustrophobic space, and it includes underwater caving, which is deadly in the best of circumstances. This is, of course, on top of the already existing horror of this situation.
Also, many cavers before her have died in these tunnels.Įm is obsessive about this mission, and she will stop at nothing to get it done, including overriding Gyre’s suit, locking her out or injecting her with chemicals to make her sleep or make her alert. Usually, there would be a whole team, but instead, she has Em. Soon after she descends, though, she learns a few new things about this solo expedition: her handler, whose voice she hears in her suit, is the only one guiding her. She had to lie a bit on her resume, because she doesn’t actually have the experience required for this kind of job, but she needs the money.
This is about Gyre, who has taken a job to explore a planet’s cave system. I read this in one sitting during the October 24 hour readathon, and it was exactly what I was looking for.
0 kommentar(er)
