Title: Disobedience
Author: Daniel Sarah Karasik
Publication Date: May 21, 2024 by Book*hug Press
Genres: Science Fiction
Protagonist Gender: Between
A transfeminine protagonist and an insurrectionist love interest risking everything to escape a vast prison camp for the unknown ‘freedom’ of a world ravaged by centuries of warfare and environmental catastrophe. Disobedience was one of those reads that captured my attention from the first paragraph of the cover blurb.
The problem is, all of that is largely explored within the first few chapters, serving more as background, a reason to move the story forward, rather than a story in and of itself. I was so curious about Shael, so hopeful that their love for Coe would blossom as the story progressed, but they end up settling for the role of narrator, never embracing that of protagonist. For a story in which so much can happen, and so much can change, Shael does nothing to advance it. The story happens around them, carrying them along, but I’m hard-pressed to think of even one instance where they make something happen.
That very same cover blurb ended with talk about redressing harm, violence, healing, compassion, and justice, promising alternative forms of connection and power, and that sounded fascinating. I knew this was going to be a work that would operate on two levels, but Daniel Sarah Karasik seemed to have big things to say, and I was fascinated.
As weak as I felt this was as a novel, it was as equally strong as a book of ideas. It’s a story of gender and sexuality, of being other or between, with queer progress very much backsliding into the closet. Themes of oppression and control are rife throughout, with our introduction to Shael and Coe coming through forbidden sexual play that makes a BDSM kink out of violent correction. Although the plot points around them are fuzzy, at best, class warfare, capitalism, slavery, and conformity are all key themes that are explored very well. You don’t always (I’d even say often) understand that world, but you feel it, and that’s what idea-driven speculative fiction should do.
Where imagination and idea intersect, however, is a murky sort of middle ground that’s as problematic as the world-building. The writing itself is both dense and clipped, creating a supremely uncomfortable reading experience. Perhaps that’s intentional, a reflection of Shael’s thoughts and emotions, but it made Disobedience a difficult novel to stick with. As I mentioned earlier, there’s not a lot of plot to the book, and what little we have is told, not shown. In fact, much of the book is just talking, and without excitement to color it, without narrative depth to give it meaning, talk is . . . well, cheap.
My heart and my head are divided on this, with one wanting to give it 4 stars for ideas and the other 2 stars for entertainment, one wanting to give it 5 stars for the concept and the other 1 star for the execution, so I’ll settle for a solid 3 stars.
Rating: ♀ ♀ ♀
My sincere thanks to the publisher for sending me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Sally Bend 
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