Genre: Gay Science Fiction
Length: Novel
TOVER IS one of Harmony Corporation’s best navigators. The cochlear implants they inserted in his brain are designed to help him hear minute spatial frequencies, so he can send shipments through interdimensional space with the vibrations of his voice. For his impressive work, he’s given everything he wants: fame, fortune, and an aviary full of exotic birds.
Unfortunately, during another one of his many parties, Tover’s ripped away from his charmed life by a group of rebels, and forced to work against his own company. In the midst of an economic battle, Tover’s eyes are opened to the importance of individuality and freedom, but the choices he has to make to live his own life could result in the fall of the galaxy, and the destruction of everything he knows and loves.
Do you enjoy hard science fiction, great world-building, and terrific gay characters? Look no further! If the theory of vibrational frequency creating interdimensional travel isn’t tantalizing enough, then surely the fantastic aliens and worlds will entice you. If not that, then the main character, Tover, is compelling.
Tover starts off in the novel as sort of a shallow celebrity, and ends up so much more. I enjoyed his struggles in the beginning of the book, and I blew through the first hundred pages in a blink of an eye. I’m a sucker for gritty diction and a man down on his luck. And holy shit–things got dark (yay!). Among all the bodily fluids and violence, there were also some surprisingly important messages about family, and the nature of business and corporations.
To know the mechanics of the wave is to know the entire secret of Nature.
–Walter Russell
It was pretty clear from the beginning that the fictitious company Harmony Corporation is deep into some troubling shit. If they are able to select for genetic traits, and engineer humans so they can basically become space bats, then of course they are doing more than just teleporting shit around the galaxy. Right? We only get the tip of the iceberg, but I’d be up for a sequel, and it doesn’t necessarily have to be with the same characters. Harmony Corporation is a diabolical antagonist, and Song of the Navigator, was a superb read–check it out.
Astrid Amara writes amazing stories. Before I read her novel, I’d read her short stories in many anthologies, and they all stood out to me. You can find the collection of her work at: http://astridamara.com/
Song of the Navigator on Amazon:
B. A. Brock is a reviewer for DSP and QSF. He enjoys reading, writing, running, family and food, and fills his life with bent bunk. He especially loves to discuss LGBTQ+ literature. His website is http://www.babrockbooks.com. You can find him on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/BABrockBooks.