Review: Ostakis

Ostakis by Angelica Primm
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

As with much of science fiction, the power of the story is actually the indirect addressing of current societal concerns. What happens to a society where there are intersex men who can and do get pregnant? What happens to a society where an extreme religious faction uses sexuality and gender roles as a basis for power and economic struggles? What happens when household power and societal power overlap?

I enjoyed the nuanced descriptions of various relationships in the book: father-intersex son, intersex son-intersex son's friend, man-intersex employee, etc. I am not so keen on the explicit sex, but that is just me being a prude. Most of the book is more concerned with the struggle to make sense of relationships that are political, but just as strongly personal.

If I have any question about the book, it would be what happens to the women? As might be expected in a book that focuses on intersex relationships, with a bisexual-male MC, women are there, but they are largely in the background. Again. Their looks, especially including their clothing, are mentioned and brief allusions to some business roles and power, but they are mostly incidental. I am glad for the focus on intersex males, but it makes me, as a female, feel that part of the necessary change in society is still not included in the discussion.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

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