Rainbow Reading is our weekly series focusing on book reviews with a geeky/sci-fi/ fantasty/supernatural flair with LGBTQ characters.
This Week:
Labyrinth of Stone by TA Moore
This Week:
Labyrinth of Stone by TA Moore
| Labyrinth of Stone is set in a dystopian future where thousands of people had been transported from Earth to an alien world, seemingly at random, during the 'Black Rapture,' 10 years previous. | The characters in this book are harsh, danger is real and the consequences of trusting the wrong person are deadly. |
The main characters are General Kearney, Captain Teller and Ben Colt. Kearney, Teller and Colt all live in something called the Reach - which is an alien structure that provides some means of protection from outside threats (of which there are plenty.)
Those inside the Reach are soldiers and their families. The ones outside face the possibility of turning into a mutated creature because the food they eat or liquid they drink is infected with what sounds like parasites that very slowly feed off the human from the inside out. Survival is all that matters in this world, and the people here will do whatever needs to be done to protect themselves or their families.
Those inside the Reach are soldiers and their families. The ones outside face the possibility of turning into a mutated creature because the food they eat or liquid they drink is infected with what sounds like parasites that very slowly feed off the human from the inside out. Survival is all that matters in this world, and the people here will do whatever needs to be done to protect themselves or their families.
Very quickly into the book, the reader learns that General Kearney and Colt are lovers that hold many secrets about the Reach and how it operates. Colt has left the Reach with no word and has not been back. After Colt left with no explanation, Kearney is hesitant to trust anyone. And those he does trust (because some part reminds him of Colt) are choices that lead to betrayal and in some cases assassination attempts. The reader gets a good sense of Colt and how important he is not only to the safety of the Reach but to the sanity of Kearney - eventhough the character never actually shows up.
We are offered some theories as to why Colt might have left, but no real proof one way or another. This is a dangling thread that makes me hope there is another book coming.
Kearney has a breakdown and assigns Teller to find Colt or else replace Colt as his second-in-command - and lover. This causes Teller to pause and consider the threat, because Teller is straight. It also means going outside of the Reach for an extended period of time with his team. Teller finds himself oddly attracted to Kearney, and questioning his sexuality and relationship with both Colt and Kearney.
Some of my pet peeves about the book - I wish there was more up front world building. I actually wondered if I had started book 2 into a series, but discovered I had not. Some of the more interesting bits about the world and the dangers in it show up right in the middle of the action. I would have to go back a few pages to see what I had missed. However, the world is fascinating, as well as how the people were transported there.
It gave me a lot of room to question what brought them there - and for what reason:
- is it all part of some experiment?
- did something happen to earth and these are the survivors?
- is it a random event that displaced thousands of people and has no real meaning?
It gave me a lot of room to question what brought them there - and for what reason:
- is it all part of some experiment?
- did something happen to earth and these are the survivors?
- is it a random event that displaced thousands of people and has no real meaning?
The characters in this book are harsh, danger is real and the consequences of trusting the wrong person are deadly. There better be another book planned because I have to know what caused Colt to leave, and how Kearney and Teller’s relationship continues to proceed.
