Frontier

This book is the pinnacle of hopepunk, a genre I adore. It's got lovers torn apart, trying to make it back to each other, survivors of a damaged planet working on helping it heal, and folks using tech to make the world better for everyone. Of course, it's go great villains, too--people who are scared of and hate tech and medicine and science of all kinds, hypocrites who want to keep tech for themselves, power-hungry abusers of power, and religious zealots who have no idea where their scriptures can from or what they actually mean. It's fast-paced, full of excellent world-building and characters, and has a wonderful, uplifting ending.

Frontier was not actually on my radar for 2023 releases, and I only heard about it because I was invited to participate in an Instagram tour with Pride Book tours. I am so incredibly grateful that I was invited, because otherwise I would’ve missed out on one of my new all-time favorite books! Frontier blew me away and I am absolutely dying to see what Grace Curtis will write next!

Frontier is a fascinating instance of a character remaining nameless for the majority of the narrative. Rather than giving the protagonist a singular name, Curtis referred to her instead by a myriad of names, each reflecting the way she was viewed by the people surrounding her. This allowed me as a reader to build a unique sense of the protagonist’s identity, as I understood her through everyone’s eyes but her own. Additionally, this allows readers to meet a barrage of fascinating side characters, each with their own journeys and motives. This writing technique is not one I have seen before, but was very impactful on me as a reader, and contributed to my overall obsession with this book.

My favorite part of Frontier has to come down to either the world-building or the protagonist’s dedication to her lover. Both are written so compellingly that it is impossible for me to choose a single favorite element! I will be thinking about Frontier for years to come, and it will always hold a special place on my bookshelf.

My Recommendation-
If you love books full of sapphic longing and characters willing to do whatever it takes to protect the ones they love, you need to grab a copy of Frontier ASAP! This book would be an extra perfect read for fans of Gideon the Ninth and Upright Women Wanted!

Thanks to NetGalley and Rebellion Publishing for this ARC in exchange for this review.

So the set up of the chapters was a lot different then what I was expecting. The Stranger is the main character. The entire story revolves around her trying to find a way to see if her crew, and specifically her lover, are okay after The Stranger’s ship crash lands on a post apocalyptic earth. I loved that this earth had a different set up then a lot of Sci Fi I’ve seen, that the main religion is Gaia, gravity is her greatest gift because it keeps her children close, and the space travelers of old are sinners and heathens for wanting to leave.
But what I liked about the story most is that for over 75% of the book, she isn’t the main POV. A majority of the chapters begin with the inhabitants of this Earth. That isn’t to say she doesn’t play a big part. We get a glimpse into the lives of these characters as they come into contact with The Stranger at different parts of her journey. By starting with all these other characters the world is fleshed out in a way that wouldn’t exactly be possible if we stuck with The Stranger. Through them we get to see different aspects of The Stranger as well, her dangerousness, kindness, her struggle, her name even changes depending on who meets her. I like this because it made me think of real life, how each person we come into contact with in life will see us differently then the next, due to the circumstance and day.
The love story driving The Stranger’s journey is peppered throughout, her longing and devotion to her lover are evident even if she doesn’t say much. I don’t want to spoil anything, but when we get to look more into her background and see where she comes from her actions make a lot more sense and I was rooting for her to the very end.
A great read over all.
I could honestly see this as a movie as I was reading.

I have to admit, this one started pretty slow for me. But I also don’t typically enjoy westerns. That being said, I really enjoyed this book and once I got into it, I couldn’t put it down.

Frontier has the perfect mix of western and sci-fi, which was so interesting because I don’t think I’ve read any other books like that. The two genres also added so many layers to the plot, it all worked together really well.

I’ll definitely be rereading Frontier and I can’t recommend it enough!

This book was so much fun. If you are a fan of western and sci-fi that’s sapphic, a bit dystopian, and humorous, then you should pick this up. The first part of this book is told through different stories where various side characters encounter our main character, The Stranger. Piercing together The Stranger’s story while getting insight into all these characters is so fun. Eventually, we learn the Stranger’s name, backstory, and motivation , it endend up making me emotional in a way that I didn’t expect.

Grace Curtis captured the real thrill and soul of Westerns in Frontier. I'll admit, this book started off a bit slow for me but as the story started to unfold through what felt like a collection of short stories, I fell in love. Not only is this a tale of one woman's journey through the wasteland that was once our vibrant Earth but also vignettes into other's lives and their personal struggles and passions. The characters come to life with their own personalities and the way they interact with and view our heroine, slowly helping bring to light just who this woman who fell from the stars is and what she wants. Our heroine only wears one hat during her adventure (well and a bonnet) she wears many names as she weaves through the stories of others trying to find the only thing worth finding in a wasteland, love.

Beyond just my love of the characters and the different stories, Frontier absolutely shines with it's world building. Curtis manages to shape the world through things that seem so simple as curses and prayers. She supplements a bit with snippets of history books or cut off transcriptions which weave together to paint a world destroyed by a climate crisis where those who stayed on Earth view those who left as sinners, abandoning the god that is Earth.

It is a beautiful, grit-filled story with just as much tender moments of love and joy as action packed moments of suspense. It is described as The Mandalorian meets Mad Max which I whole-heartily agree with but would like to add that it also made me think of The Princess Bride.

Note: Review will be posted to linked Instagram account (exlibrisCass) on 1/18/2023

Read an ARC.

Spectacular snow-globe of a story. This is a queer love story in an indulgent sci-fi / western world. Does not apologize and feels authentic, like this is what could come to pass in hundreds of years.

I call it a snow-globe because this story is a standalone glimpse into another world, each secondary character has depth and purpose. Nothing went into this story on accident and the main characters are flawed but human / relatable.

10/10 will buy an actual copy and read again, plus anything else this author writes.

This book was a pleasant surprise! I mean, space gays in a western story could never have failed me, but I really enjoyed it outside of that. Fun characters, cool plot, good writing!

- FRONTIER is a fantastic sci-fi western, set among the humans who stayed behind on Earth, adopting a new religion worshiping the planet while also being ruled over by a network of old-fashioned sheriffs.
- I loved the structure of this book. For most of it, we follow the Stranger from the points of view of other people as she travels, giving us short glimpses of the different cities, beliefs, and factions of this world. When we do get to her perspective, her story is a punch to the heart.
- This book is full of gunslinging, witty retorts, inventive worldbuilding, and queer love. I hope you'll seek it out if those things pique your interest!

This was so charmingly wonderful. A little bit western.. a little bit sci fi.. a little bit love story...and all delightful.

The nameless main character is moving through a destroyed future Earth searching for her lover, that she was separated from. As the story progresses we learn a little more about her, how she got here, this sad Earth, some of the people who live her (many of whom are quite interesting) and the Deputy who is determined to hunt her down. It all unfolds very slowly, and satisfying.

Excellent!


Thank you to NetGalley for an eArc in exchange for an honest review.

This was an epic standalone book.

The Stranger (as we know her) is stranded on earth. A foreign plant with dangerous characters at every corner. Stalked by a power hungry sheriff, our hero trudges through desolate barren places searching for her love, who she’s lost when her ship has fallen earth-side.

The Stranger is your classic gun slinging, wise cracking hero of this apocalyptic sci-fi western. Through every chapter I rooted harder for this misfit. As she meets a bevy of characters. human and not, that help her along her journey.

I gasped, I sighed, I swooned. Definitely recommend this one for adventure, sapphic romance, and intrigue.

Thank you to Rebellion and NetGalley for this digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Frontier is kinfolk to The Mandalorian, Firefly, and Mad Max, but I’d also point to the 1972 television show, Kung Fu. In that series, a Shaolin monk named Kwai Chang Caine (played by David Carradine) wanders through the American old west, looking for his half-brother. But these comparisons are only of value in helping readers decide if this book might appeal to them. Once you crack into Frontier, the comparisons will soon fall by the wayside.

Told in a series of vignettes and interludes, the story begins in the future on a ruined, mostly-abandoned Earth. The sparse population that remains struggles to survive in spite of a corrupt justice system, dwindling water supplies, and starvation. Most folk cling to a new religion that worships Gaia—a female planet-god that binds them close to her heart through gravity and an encouraged hatred of technology.

We enter this future alongside a trio of grubby, pathetic scavengers scheming to salvage a newly-crashed escape pod, after witnessing its fiery plunge to Earth from outer space. Greed takes over and once that dust settles, the way has been cleared for a boot-clad, gun-toting woman to emerge from the pod.

Referred to only as “The Stranger”, we soon learn that she wants to find a working communication device. She’s desperate to send a message. She needs to find someone who’s gone missing; the woman she loves. Through various adventures, mishaps, detours and standoffs, she makes her way towards a place rumored to have the technology she needs to send her message, in hopes it reaches the ears of the love of her life. And so she keeps moving, any way she can, towards that destination.

As she travels, she encounters a variety of people and situations. Each reacts to her differently, and thus The Stranger becomes The Courier, who temporarily teams up with… well, Garraty. I quite liked Garraty. That’s all you’ll get about him from me, so as not to sand away the shine of discovery for you.

And when The Courier’s vignette ends, she becomes The Tramp to a small boy struggling with the local concept of God. Later, she is The Stowaway on a problematic train ride. As she continues the struggle to reach her destination and fulfill her dream of finding her lover, she becomes The Traveler, Darling, The Guest… and when the time is right, we learn that she has a name.

The interludes tell one story, while the chapters tell another. Eventually, they twine together. The worldbuilding that created this post-apocalyptic Earth is strong enough I could almost taste the dust in the air while squinting at the scenery, from small decrepit towns, to open desert, to a huge and crowded city. The author crafts a future Earth that wobbles between the brink of despair and the edge of hope. Which way will it ultimately tilt?

The character development is some of the best I’ve ever encountered—succinctly managed, and with a sharp understanding of ‘show, don’t tell’. The plotline(s) wander about in an easy, organic fashion, and while they might seem to be disjointed in the moment, each proves in the long run to be anything but. To my astonishment, I learned that this is Grace Curtis’s debut novel. I absolutely want to read more from her in the future.

My thanks to author Grace Curtis, Rebellion, and NetGalley for allowing me to read a digital review copy of this book. This review is my honest and unbiased opinion.

Imgr link is to a Instagram post scheduled for the 14th
First Youtube link is weekly vlog that features Frontier
Second is to a Short that goes up on the 14th
Blog Post goes up the 14th as well


I was so excited when I finished this book I completely forgot to write this review. That… almost never happens. I even hurried off and pre-ordered a beautiful special edition.

Frontier is a collection of short vignettes telling the story of a mostly unnamed narrator as she searches a scorched, post-apocalyptic Earth for her lost love. The two were on a mission of aid and peace to the planet and were shot down. We follow her through the eyes of the people she meets and interacts with along the way, and we see the best and worst of the planets inhabitants.

Our narrator and all the other characters all felt very genuine and unique to me so this read so well. The setting was easy to picture and imagine, the atmosphere was just cloudy enough to make it easy to fill in the details. This was just overall a well structured and thought out story. The truly wonderful part for me was the hopeful feel of this. Around the 70% there is a shift in the story and by the end I genuinely felt a hope and happiness there. It’s still a desolate earth and there were still terrible people on it but there was also hope, and that’s something rare for me in SF these days.

I would recommend this one for fans of Becky Chambers, and really any SF fans. It’s genuinely one of my favorite books I’ve read so far this year but I don’t want to say too much without spoiling it! I highly recommend this one, it is a fantastic hopeful SF that is going to go on my shelves.

5 out 5 Empty Laser Pistols

[Graphic: Religious bigotry
Moderate: Xenophobia and Violence
Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Ableism, Torture, Sexism, and Vomit]

I have never in my life intentionally read a Western but I will give anything queer a shot and I'm so happy I did. Frontier by Grace Curtis was nothing like I was expecting. I was expecting tumbleweeds, lots of dust, some horses. All that typical western stuff. Instead, I got conversations on a dying planet, a dystopian landscape, a corrupt justice system, and Gaia. Plus everything queer and fluffy and gut wrenching in between. Overall, an amazing read that exceeded all of my expectations.

**Big thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.