Starred Review ALA Booklist (Sat Dec 01 00:00:00 CST 2018)

Starred Review Night and day are places, not changes occasioned by the rotation of the planet; the only two human settlements are treacherously far apart; and life is harsh, bound by incineration and impossible cold. Mouth is an outsider in the city of Xiosphant, part of a traveling band of trader-smugglers, the Resourceful Couriers, and the only survivor of the nomadic Citizens. In Xiosphant, time and sleep are tightly regulated. Sophie, who has made it into the university and has always had trouble sleeping during the shuttered times, becomes part of a group of student revolutionaries. Caught, sentenced to be executed, and forced to climb Old Mother Mountain, Sophie encounters a deadly, tentacled indigenous life-form that saves her from bone-shattering cold and, communicating through thought transference, befriends her. Violence, politics, betrayal, love, friendship, encounters with alien predators, and experiences in a dying city entwine to create a conflicted world in an even stronger novel than Anders' Nebula Award winning All the Birds in the Sky (2016); a tale that can stand beside such enduring works as Ursula K. Le Guin's The Left Hand of Darkness (1969), Frank Herbert's Dune (1965), and Dan Simmons' Hyperion (1989).

Starred Review for Kirkus Reviews

After environmental sci-fi/fantasy (the award-winning All the Birds in the Sky, 2016) and pop-culture dystopia (Rock Manning Goes for Broke, 2018), Anders shifts gears for this sweeping work of anthropological/social sf.In the distant future, the descendants of a colony spaceship have settled precariously on the hostile planet of January, swarming with vicious predators and dangerous weather patterns. One side of the planet continually faces the sun, while the other faces the frozen dark of space. Humans have built two main cities on the light side: the rigidly rules- and caste-bound Xiosphant, where guards wait to seize you for the slightest infraction, and the more licentious Argelo, run by various warring gangs. In Xiosphant, shy, working-class student Sophie idolizes her upper-crust roommate, Bianca, who loves parties and seeking power. But Bianca's flirtation with revolution drives Sophie first into the brutal hands of the police, and then into the saving pincers and tentacles of January's nightside-living, sentient native species, dismissed by the colonists as brute beasts. But these creatures, whom Sophie dubs the "Gelet," develop a psychic bond with her, and their willingness to share understanding and friendship changes her forever. One person the new Sophie slowly manages to influence is Mouth, a smuggler and survivor of an otherwise extinct nomadic band, who's desperately seeking both a connection to her lost past and a reason to forge a future. But ultimately, Sophie can't exert a similar influence over Bianca; despite Bianca's claims of caring for her, she chooses to exploit Sophie's vulnerabilities instead of granting her the understanding and acceptance Sophie craves. In our world, Bianca would represent the worst kind of faux "woke" liberal. She's an angry woman who thinks she's making a difference, but she doesn't really want to help people or even listen to them; she just wants to be the one in charge and profit from it. Watching Sophie come into her own and gradually (and almost too late) realize that the Bianca she loves doesn't exist is inevitable, sad, and, eventually, empowering.Anders contains multitudes; it's always a fascinating and worthwhile surprise to see what she comes up with next.

School Library Journal Starred Review (Wed May 01 00:00:00 CDT 2019)

This sci-fi adventure is filled with hope and compassion despite overwhelming darkness. In the distant future, humans have abandoned Earth to colonize January, a tidally locked world where half the planet is in constant darkness while the other half is always in sunlight. Sophie is exiled to the frozen, shadowy side after taking the fall for a crime committed by her friend Bianca. The story alternates between the perspectives of these two young queer protagonists. Through incredible world-building and storytelling, this book immerses readers in its strange setting. Teens will empathize with the inhabitants, both human and other. Although the narrative is slow to begin, the ending will leave readers wanting morehopefully a sequel is in the works. VERDICT Mesmerizing. For fans of Frank Herbert's Dune and Leigh Bardugo's Six of Crows . Melanie Leivers, Palm Beach Country Library System, FL

Kirkus Reviews (Fri Oct 04 00:00:00 CDT 2024)

After environmental sci-fi/fantasy (the award-winning All the Birds in the Sky, 2016) and pop-culture dystopia (Rock Manning Goes for Broke, 2018), Anders shifts gears for this sweeping work of anthropological/social sf.In the distant future, the descendants of a colony spaceship have settled precariously on the hostile planet of January, swarming with vicious predators and dangerous weather patterns. One side of the planet continually faces the sun, while the other faces the frozen dark of space. Humans have built two main cities on the light side: the rigidly rules- and caste-bound Xiosphant, where guards wait to seize you for the slightest infraction, and the more licentious Argelo, run by various warring gangs. In Xiosphant, shy, working-class student Sophie idolizes her upper-crust roommate, Bianca, who loves parties and seeking power. But Bianca's flirtation with revolution drives Sophie first into the brutal hands of the police, and then into the saving pincers and tentacles of January's nightside-living, sentient native species, dismissed by the colonists as brute beasts. But these creatures, whom Sophie dubs the "Gelet," develop a psychic bond with her, and their willingness to share understanding and friendship changes her forever. One person the new Sophie slowly manages to influence is Mouth, a smuggler and survivor of an otherwise extinct nomadic band, who's desperately seeking both a connection to her lost past and a reason to forge a future. But ultimately, Sophie can't exert a similar influence over Bianca; despite Bianca's claims of caring for her, she chooses to exploit Sophie's vulnerabilities instead of granting her the understanding and acceptance Sophie craves. In our world, Bianca would represent the worst kind of faux "woke" liberal. She's an angry woman who thinks she's making a difference, but she doesn't really want to help people or even listen to them; she just wants to be the one in charge and profit from it. Watching Sophie come into her own and gradually (and almost too late) realize that the Bianca she loves doesn't exist is inevitable, sad, and, eventually, empowering.Anders contains multitudes; it's always a fascinating and worthwhile surprise to see what she comes up with next.

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

Nebula Award winner Anders (All the Birds in the Sky) sets this riveting genre-bender on a tumultuous planet split into frigid darkness and searing sunlight. On the lighter side, in the rigidly controlled city of Xiosphant, shy student Sophie adores her friend, the outspoken Bianca. After Sophie takes the fall for Bianca-s petty theft, she-s left to die in the frozen wasteland, but she establishes a psychic bond with the creature that saves her. This connection gives her heartbreaking insight into the world of a sentient race Sophie dubs the Gelet, who have been hunted relentlessly by humans. Sophie later reunites with Bianca, now a violent revolutionary, and they fall in with a group of smugglers, including the fierce Mouth, who seeks an artifact linking her to her nomadic ancestors. After an outbreak of violence, they flee Xiosphant, and Sophie is shocked to learn that Bianca wants to use the Gelet, labeling them -animals.- Anders-s worldbuilding is intricate, embracing much of what makes a grand adventure: smugglers, revolutionaries, pirates, camaraderie, personal sacrifice, wondrous discovery, and the struggle to find light in the darkness. This breathlessly exciting and thought-provoking tale will capture readers- imaginations. Agent: Russell Galen, Scovil Galen Ghosh Literary. (Feb.)