This was a fun read over the space of a few nights. We get the politics of a post climate apocalypse future in an anarchist commune, along with a side of reincarnation and deep state operatives. Good character work, well done plot, and definitely an author I’d read more from

𝗠𝘆 𝗧𝗶𝘁𝗹𝗲: Solarpunks
𝗙𝗮𝘃 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗿: Galacia
𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆: Normal
𝗧𝘆𝗽𝗲: Book
𝗚𝗲𝗻𝗿𝗲: Close future env-community
4/𝟱

🌱THE EXCELLENT
~ Futuristic desert setting
~ Romantic relationships were not featured (nice to have a break sometimes)
~ Hints at a slightly different society after cataclysmic environmental disasters

Imagine the implications of being reincarnated as one of the most hated people in the destruction of a world which allegedly resulted from your past life’s greed.

Galacia, a founder of Otra Vida, is about to unravel. Living in a commune & acting as a mediator (almost president), all hell is about to break loose as she discovered she is the most hated man, has to request help from an ex-friend she hasn’t spoken to in 7+ years, protect her community from the police & some vicious neighbours and win an election… As she tries to balance her secret against the needs of her community, what will break & give first?

🦖 This was a unique read. Mixing elements of mysticism, hypnosis, regression, scientific research into the mind and past lives, the book explores how knowing who we were can affect who we are and can ruin relationships permanently. 🤔 I didn’t quite understand the point of the story though… it’s main lesson seems to have been lost on me.

✨𝗚𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗶𝘁 𝗮 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱.

🌱THE MEH
~ Sigh, scientists CAN and many of us DO belong to religions 🙄
~ There were some structural errors (repeated text/paragraphs)
~ The ending? 💁

♡🌱 𝗕𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁'𝘀 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗺𝗲 ;)

This was an amazing introduction for me to the solarpunk genre, which I've been so much craving for!
When I saw solarpunk mixed with reincarnation I wanted to read it instantly. Especially since it deals with what happens if you find out that you were a terrible person in your past life, terrible not in the sense as an awkward neighbor but like war-crime levels.
If you expect a diverse read of feasible-looking positive climate fiction with elaboration in the social and moral implications of reincarnation being scientifically proven, go for it right now!

I didn't know what to expect from this book, but I certainly didn't expect the lot of different themes introduced as the implications of a technology that can tell who you were in your past life. I don't like when a scifi takes one extremely groundbreaking technology and only cares about one aspect of its consequences, usually the coolest or most dangerous effects, ignoring all other implications that'd affect the smallest things in everyday life and especially how the society changes.
Another Life shows us this technology at the very beginning, right after discovery when only the members of this solarpunk community are aware it exists and try it. And even now in this early stage of this technology the plot revolves around how it affects people's lives, relationships, social hierarchy and such.

Also, it was intriguing to read about a protagonist who is a mediator of such community and the worldbuilding elements were nicely blended into the plot points originating from her position.

At first I felt sceptic about how reincarnation would be explained in a scifi but it was explained with a really credible mix of genetics and quantum mechanics so I can absolutely recommend this book even if you are afraid of esoteric pseudoscience talk because this story doesn't feel like that.

The cast is diverse in ethnicity, age, disabilities, gender and sexuality.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for providing this ARC.

I have never heard of the term solarpunk prior to reading this but I found that I quite enjoy this genre. The world building in this novella was good and realistic. It could possibly be what our future could end up as. The characters live in a California that has become an independent country, separating itself from the United States and closing their borders to its surrounding new countries. Galacia Aguirre and her fellow Otra Vida members have created this post capitalist community after surviving a climate crisis and civil war.

But my favorite part of the novella was the plot/theme. This idea of reincarnation and how Galacia is grappling with the fact of learning who she was in a prior life, the very individual who ruined millions of lives that started the war and aided in the economic collapse.

There’s a little mystery which was easy to figure out but overall I thought the pacing was great and the characters likable. I would recommend!

This is one of the most unique books I've read in a long time. I've not heard of the sub-genre of Solarpunk before, and I am a new fan! This is a quick read, jam-packed with diverse characters, with a wide range of personalities. There are definitely seeds planted for thought and introspection, without feeling any type of preachy. I really enjoyed the cadence of the writing overall as well. While there is a slight post-apocalyptic tone, the overall feeling while reading is light and hopeful and not dark, which was wonderful. Highly recommend. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to provide my honest review.

Set in a small community years after the world fell apart due to climate disasters, author Sarena Ulibarri tells an ultimately hopeful tale dealing with reincarnation and the actions taken in one's past life.

Though not formally the leader of Otra Vida, Mediator Galacia Aguirre is constantly mediating disputes and problems amongst residents. She and some friends had founded the community years earlier after successfully working together to remediate a damaged part of the California.

Now, people are welcome to join Otra Vida, with the proviso that they contribute to the community though growing food, or by other means. There is peace amongst the residents though it's all shaken up by two incidents with serious implications to their community and the wider world.

The first is a new potential resident; he seems not to fully agree with their methods and ethos, but Galacia is a little too troubled and concerned by another incident to pay sufficient attention to the problems the man soon starts to cause.

Galacia's nephew had discovered a way to determine who one was in a previous life, based on genetic and other markers. For some this is joyful, for others, profoundly disturbing. Galacia is one of the latter, as she finds out she is the reincarnation of Thomas Ramsey, a man universally abhored by residents in Otra Vida for his decision to travel to another planet rather than deal with remediating the damage humans had caused on Earth. Ramsey failed, and many were killed as a result.

Galacia can not move past her own feelings of revulsion, and knows the identity of former self will be hugely damaging to her standing within the community, and to her friends. She wrestles a lot, uncertain whether or not to reveal her former life to the community.

I liked the ideas posed by Ulibarri, as well as the hope that one could, through imagination, innovation and cooperation, reclaim areas of the planet. The idea that we won't leave a wasteland behind if we work hard together to fix things made me happy.

I was a little less convinced of the question posed by Galacia/the author: whether one's past life could potentially, irrevocably determine one's current identity, as this undermines who one is today, and all the decisions that go into that person.

Ulibarri doesn't answer that question explicitly, though the person Galacia is and all that she has done for her community show that who she is today bears no real connection to who her past identity was. Anything else feels just too fatalistic to assume that if once bad, there is no hope of change.

And, Asian religions' idea of reincarnation, of rebirths where one can make different and hopefully better choices than the last life, is ultimately hopeful. The author leaves us to ponder these questions at the end of the book, which, though a tiny bit rushed, was ultimately satisfying.

Thank you to Netgalley and to Stelliform Press for this ARC in exchange for my review.

This was a solid novella. This is a great recommendation for those new to the genre especially.

I will say, I enjoyed it so much, I wish it was a full novel and not just a novella. At the end, I was not ready to leave the world that Ulibarri had brought us to.

Content Warnings: state violence, climate disaster

Galacia Aguirre is Mediator of Otra Vida, a city of communal living and equivalent exchange that exists on the shores of what was once Death Valley. In the lead-up to her re-election, a colleague of hers reveals to have discovered a way to discover past lives. Unfortunately, Galacia’s past life is of the man who might have singularly spurred the climate decline of the planet. This novella will appeal to fans of the Monk & Robot books by Becky Chambers in the way it offers a compassionate and forgiving approach to working through the sins of humanity’s past and how personal mistakes don’t necessarily doom the present.

An interview with the author will be going up on May 25, 2023.

The world-building in this novella is so good. If you’re looking for something that’s post-corporate, post-capitalist but fully explores the complexities of that transition, this is the book for you. Galacia is a character who is almost omniscient in her presence, as she had been one of the founders of Otra Vida. There is still some sense of class hierarchy in the sense that those who had been there from the beginning have a different relationship with the quasi-utopian project. There are political tensions that escalate violently, and the way the narrative weaves in new technology that’s dangerous from a social standpoint is really thoughtful. Nothing in this work is black and white, but is infused with a hopefulness that keeps the work from feeling gray moral or even nihilistic. The approach is very grounded, despite the imaginative future tech.

There are references to reincarnation and the after life from a Jewish and Buddhist perspective, but I do not have the range to comment on how Ulibarri approaches this topic. But, instead of taking a literal approach, I really enjoyed how the novella explores the application and responsibility in applying new technologies to solve current problems. While the stakes are very personal in that Galacia is trying to win election in her role, the concepts and themes feel wider than the scope of just Otra Vida, or even this futuristic version of the United States.

A work that presents a post-capitalist society working through growing pains that still resonate in the present, I found this read to be thoughtful and compassionate in its exploration of humanity’s relationship to technology, nature, and each other.

I was attracted by the solarpunk background and I really love how the author resolves political, tech and social issues in order to create a realistic Otra Vida. And more, because with reincarnation there's also a spiritual problem that can change everything.

I think there's a good balance between science and spiritual thoughts and how they can converge in a community.

Characters that Ulibarri creates are so realistic, full of doubts and wishes and hope and fear. And of prejudices too. I really loved how the story goes around knowing better and trust each other.

And of course there is also the critical part towards climate change, police control, information control. This novella is short but intense and I really recommend it.

Ulibarri’s optimistic solarpunk novella is a brilliant little thought experiment. Smart and surprising.

Ulibarri's solarpunk debut offers a hopeful perspective for the future of humanity. The story revolves around Galacia Aguirre, the mediator of Otra Vida, an intentional community on the shores of an artificial lake created to address the climate crisis in California. The community is excited about a new gene-mining technology that can identify a person's past lives. Tanner Mendocino, a young heir, challenges Galacia for her position as mediator.

Meanwhile, Galacia struggles with a dark secret - her genetic profile reveals that she's the reincarnation of Thomas Ramsey, the man blamed for Earth's environmental destruction. Wowza.

Ulibarri makes the technology plausible without going into too much detail. The novel focuses on interpersonal dynamics and explores how our past shapes our future. I liked its balance between big ideas and personal stakes.

The world is in ruins due to the climate crisis, with one man, Thomas Ramsey, held up as the poster boy for climate denial, who sent many people into bankruptcy, depression and also, for those who could afford his shuttle to "Planet B", sent many people to their death when it exploded on launch, taking him with it. However, our story begins forty years later in Otra Vida, a utopic city in the middle of the desert where reincarnation has been scientifically Verified. What would it mean to know exactly who you were in a past life? And what would it mean for all the good you've done trying to mitigate the fallout of the climate crisis and look out for the health and wellbeing of an entire city, if you found out that in your previous life, you were none other than the most hated climate terrorist in the entire world?

This story was a wonderful little thought experiment. I love science fiction and speculative fiction and this short book has a whole lot of depth to sink your teeth into. I loved the way the author explored ways to tackle climate change and the vastly different reactions of each group to the same problem, eg Capitalist vs Marxist ideals which I saw in this book as for the profits vs for the people. This reminded me a lot of an anthropological text I read called A Postcapital Politics which tries to envision how a society outside of the hegemonic capitalist society could work. Ulibarri takes an idea and runs with it, forming the most wonderful society that looks out for its people making sure everyone has exactly what they need in a time where most live in scarcity due to greedy trade deals, border closures, and corrupt government deals. It shows the necessity to evolve from old ways of society and agriculture to a new method more in tune with nature and with more consideration for our mental health and wellbeing. It also shows how others may react to their ways becoming obsolete and the actions they may take to silence those who think differently.

Though that is still a major part of the plot and integral to how the story plays out in its crisis point, it also takes a back seat to the notion of identity and what it means to be human. The discovery of genetic markers, "fingerprints for the soul" on our genetic structure, sends the entire city of Otra Vida into a frenzy. Everyone wants to know who they were in a past life, convinced that people like Thomas Ramsey could only ever be reincarnated as a cockroach. But what if you had been a terrible person in another life? Would that negate any good you do in your current one, and should/could you be persecuted for something you did in a previous life? Furthermore, what if the mass extinction of wildlife across the world could be correlated with the rise in population growth in a different way than we ever thought conceivable? What would happen if animals who had been hunted for sport and greed suddenly found themselves reincarnated in a human body, full of hatred for the human race but unsure of why and what to do with it? These philosophical wicked problems were a very interesting inclusion that took a story that would already have been incredible and took it to even more phenomenal heights!

Another Life is a story of resilience, reinvention, and renewal that provides us with an optimistic blueprint for a better, more thoughtful future. Thank you Netgalley and Steliform Press for the advance copy.

I’m not really a big fan of science fiction novels, but this one really surprised me in a good way.
When I started the novel, I felt like there was a lot of characters that I didn’t really know well and a lot of them were introduced really early in the novel. I had a difficult job knowing who was the character talking and their relationship with the protagonist. It got easier as I was reading and what was the task of every character in the novel I got to the end.
Apart from that, I really enjoyed how the world functions and how its society was described. Even though it was meant to represent the future, it actually felt really close to our Time. The reflections about morality, or our society were really worth-reading.
The plot was really interesting and how the main character reacted to the news that she was in another life a person that destroyed a lot of families and what was the main reason of how the world worked then.
Overall, I think it’s a really interesting read. It is something that I wouldn’t have read because I’m not a really big fan of the genre, but the plot caught my eye immediately. That was the first time I got close to use “solarpunk” and it probably won’t be the last one. It is brief and I didn’t find it tedious, so I really recommend it.
I think the best things in the novel are the atmosphere and the plot.

Such a great read! I wasn't sure if it was going to be for me in the beginning, but I'm so glad I stuck around. This dystopia sci-fi was a quick read that kept me wondering what I would do given the knowledge of a past life. There were a few minor grammatical errors which I'm sure will be cleared up in editing, otherwise it was a great read! Thank you for the ARC!

"We were handed a world built from blood and ruin. There’s nowhere we can step that doesn’t stir up ghosts."

Sarena Ulibarri is a phenomenal writer who really knows her craft. And this book has some amazing futuristic solarpunk world building. Or maybe it's not so far in the future.

But its felt like the book ended to quickly. It paced perfectly throughout most of the narrative but the ending just felt rushed and was wrapped up in the last few chapter.

All in all though a very enjoyable read and great addition to the solarpunk genre.

When I saw this book was from the editor of several English solar punk short story anthologies (that I generally liked - including her stories) I was excited to see how she would create this world in a longer format, and I was entirely delighted.

I think this book is a wonderful example of everything solarpunk can be. I almost always wish this book was longer, but I think it told the story it set out to do, in a way that was interesting, unique, while drawing upon some of the existing solarpunk ideas. (that technological-nature connection) and not whitewashing society. It was diverse in a way that reflects society, it did not act like Indigenous people did not exist and specifically spoke of permission to live on the land being given, in a way that felt entirely natural, and not heavy handed. There was an evolution in characters, and there were challenges they faced with courage, and understanding.

Also enjoyed the little side story of how they started getting called “solar punks” just delightful.

There were past life things in the book that initially, I wasn't so sure about - but it *really* worked - I loved the grappling with identity arc within this book - within the semi-plausible, mostly utopian surroundings. I appreciated the authours notes about the likelihood of the setting,

if I need to define what an utopia is, or what should try to be, this book gives a good view of what an ideal society could be, (everything belongs to everyone, everyone works to help achieve the best for everyone, and more important, everyone is given exactly the same, there’s no money and if you don’t help or if you’re rude people can vote to make you leave this place) it is a pity that bringing this to life couldn’t never work, because there’s a vital factor that would for sure mess things up, and that is humans…

Outra vida, is a very ideal place, and to tell you the truth I would love to know a place like that in real life, but like I said before, humans would mess that up, for instance someone with the power that Galacia had (even thou she didn’t really act on that power) would let the power corrupt them, we have seen that happen in all communist places, the rich get richer and the poor get poorer, and that is why I really did like the society in this book, they managed to get a place of death (death valley) and transform it in an ideal place a bit like the shell on the show 3% with a project called water from oil, they clean and reuse water from the polluted water sources and construct their things from what is garbage otherwise…

OK going back to the book, Galacia is one of the founders of this place, and the book starts with her trying a very new and trendy thing, being tested to know who she was in other life, and that is one of the main things that mess things up for her, what would you do, if you discovered that you had been Hitler in your past life, would that make up Hitler in this one? Would you be different? Should people persecute you because you were Hitler in your past life? I am not saying that the person that Galacia was in her past life was Hitler but I think is a good analogy, so really a great part of this book is about Galacia coming to terms with this truth, and we also get to know how Outra vida come to be, what happened before, and how is like a city with thousands inside America, but doesn’t belong to America.

I really enjoyed this book, I did like the characters, and I did enjoy the grown that Galacia had, even passing the baton to the next generation… I really recommend this book, and this book will for sure, be an example of feminist utopias in the future.

Thank you NetGalley and Stelliform Press for the free ARC and this is my honest opinion.

“I promised everyone another world and that’s exactly what I delivered.”

If I’m being honest, when I started reading this I thought I might DNF it within the first 10 pages, but I am so glad that I stuck it out because I really enjoyed reading this and found myself wishing for more!

Another Life gives a brutally honest look at what very well could be our near future and how life really does tend to come full circle. I found it to be beautifully written, but if you are not big on science like myself I did struggle at times to get through the technical terms.

I think this book could have been a bit longer so that some issues could have been better explained such as why the main character is called Galacia even though her actual name is Lacey or other aspects of the fictional world that have been created.

There were also quite a few typos/errors that were missed in editing that sometimes tripped me up on my reading, but as I did read it before the publishing date hopefully those issues will be resolved.

Overall I really enjoyed this read and found my self very emotionally invested in the characters and their lives and loved how this book gets your mind thinking about such prevalent social issues in todays society, but by approaching it from a different angle with the themes of reincarnation.

I found this novella to be a hopeful yet critical look at humanity’s future relationship with our planet. I really enjoyed the speculative fiction themes of past lives/reincarnation and interconnectedness through previous generations. I think theoretical issues were dealt with in an approachable and relatable way. I would have loved to see more of the impact of the past life technology on a greater scale; at the end the possible legal consequences were hinted at, but that would have been cool to explore further. Sometimes I was confused trying to keep track of all the characters and their relationships to each other, I also had difficulty at times understanding and picturing some of the unfamiliar vocabulary/technology in the story.
I found the characters to be likable and diverse. I would love to live in their community! Even though many of the stakes they were facing felt decently sized, there was always an undercurrent of hope and perseverance. I felt that many of the character’s individual storylines mirror the way young people are preparing to tackle our climate crisis- with hope and action, despite things feeling bleak at times while we’re irreversibly changing our environment. Overall this book felt like a lower stakes, lighter version of Parable of the Sower. I thought it was nice and very approachable.

A very enjoyable short science fiction book which I feel would be quite accessible for beginners and readers who want to read short books.

I find the writing quite engaging and I read the book in one sitting. Imagine the fun!

This is the story Galacia who lives in a city in Death Valley. There’s a unique discovery made in which you can find out who we were in our past lives. This sounded fun until Galacia came to know she was the reincarnation of the leader of a movement who favoured colonising another planet which was totally opposed to her own ideals. She kept this a secret until it had to come out and she had to face the consequences while dealing with her political rival. A good representation of strong young characters.

I find the characters well written and the ending a little too soon. But the story is quite easy to read and follow. I has a good time reading the book.

Thank you, Stelliform Press, for the advance reading copy.