It is thoughtful and unafraid to deal with uncomfortable conversations. This is an ambitious novel, tackling difficult and multi-faceted topics (including war, colonialism, and racism).

I didn’t always like the characters (okay, one of the characters, but I won’t spoil it for you), but I always appreciated the layered, believable relationship they built between them, which spanned continents and many years. It’s complex and deeply flawed, but it’s also passionate, genuine, and loyal. They definitely don’t have a simple, sweet romance. There are a lot of nuanced political machinations taking place, including negotiations between the people who helped to found Everfair and the rulers of the area who preceded the existence of Everfair.Īt least three of the points of view characters are queer women, along with more minor characters. I would argue that the relationship between two of them is at the core of the book. The story spans decades, tackling politics, war, espionage, grief, love and betrayal. The alternate history of the Congo was fascinating, and although the steampunk element was more subtle than I was expecting, there was so much going on that I didn’t notice. This means that you get to see the story from so many angles: the well-meaning white supporters of Everfair, the existing king and queen of the region trying to regain control, the Chinese workers brought in by the Belgium king, mixed-race European Everfair inhabitants, etc. Each chapter switches perspectives, and there are tons of point of view characters (I actually lost count).

I wouldn’t pick this up as a light or quick read: it definitely took me a while to get through. I was happily surprised to see that in addition to that premise, this book also has several queer women main characters!

I like steampunk, but I’m even more interested in steampunk that isn’t in a European context. I picked Everfair because I was intrigued by the premise: a steampunk alternate history of the Belgian Congo. That’s part of being so immersed in the LGBTQ book internet: I’ve usually heard about the representation before picking it up. It’s rare for me to pick up a book and be surprised to see it has queer representation.