Grimlock ♥ Ultra Magnus

I didn't get it at first.   And yes, I feel as if this could have gone through one more round of editing, to clean up some awkward phrasing and sentences, but overall?   This it fantastic book.   When I tried to read another, I kept coming back to this despite its faults, because of the clean prose - well, mostly - and the subversive elements - particularly when it comes to gender and sexuality. 

This book is mostly about Shapers, then humans, then Shamans, the first being shapeshifting aliens, and the last being, again, aliens.   Vastly different, both Shapers and Shamans take the constructed identity of gender, and turn it on its head.   Same with sexuality.  

It's tense, thrilling, and moved me more than I can explain by dissecting the book.   It just... did.   I bought this book because Rose Mambert was sitting next to Ellen Datlow at the autograph sessions this past Readercon.   Rose was charming, especially as she pointed out she figured she'd have nothing to do since she isn't that well known and Ellen, well, is.   I was, honestly, just trying to be polite and engaging when I started talking to her, and looking at her books.  

She had one about a rock band that were vampires, and we talked about the movie Suck, but I kept getting drawn back to Narcissus is Dreaming.   I'm not sure why.   Flipping through the books, and looking at the back multiple times, I was convinced this was the book I'd buy if I spent my money on one of Rose's books.   And I wasn't wrong.   This was clearly the book for me!

Dragon Cello, Blake, and Rush... I was drawn into the lives of these three Shapers, drawn into the turmoil that was caused by them not being accepted by humanity, drawn into how they played against each other.   I was antsy to read it when I had to put it aside, even to sleep, and just had to know what was happening.  

And I feel like I have to say this again - but the subversiveness of the gender/sexuality issues really worked  because they were so alien.   The Shapers refer to themselves as it, they are emotionless, the way they approach sex and reproduction is just not at all how humans would approach these subjects. 

Divine.   Sublime.   Beautiful, even when it's so painful it makes you want to weep in horror.   Oh, yes, I will be checking out more of this author's works in the future.