Well, that was a hot bath and a cup of tea on a rainy day of a book. Hero - not an asshat! Heroine - not stupid! How amazing that that's remarkable. The worldbuilding is laugh-out-loud charming, the plot happens at the proper pace, there's a dastardly villain and just enough complexity to keep it from getting dull - all in all, pretty much perfect for what it sets out to be.
...that said. Yes, it's got that kind of prim political correctness about -isms that leads to easy answers that I don't think do the cause much service, in the way that literature is supposed to. Then some of the character angles it sets up could have been...weightier, or were wiggled out to easily. Let's just say the sex scenes could have been a hell of a lot more interesting if they'd been primarily from David's perspective, and Kalla's choices kind of sort themselves out very neatly by the end.The romance, of course, is endlessly convenient, but that's ok.
Like, the book is good enough that i'm almost kind of torn - on the one hand, why am I reading about sweet romance and giant mechanical trolls and mad scientists and secret lesbian communes when theres all this great stuff all over the place that could be a darker and more intense story about vulnerability, technology, masculinity, secrecy, society, etc, whatever, and with themes and whathaveyou and everything? On the other hand, dude, giant mechanical trolls and mad scientists and secret lesbian communes!
I guess overall it pretty much manages to hit a good balance. Maybe there is a messier, more conceptual book tucked somewhere in there, but it very possible that it wouldn't be as enjoyable. I'll take what I can get.
