I’m holding myself to this one! I just received my copy of Chameleon Moon by RoAnna Sylver, and I’m immediately sucked in.
The blurb from the back describes the premise that’s then laid out in the prologue; Parole is a city crumbling into fire, quarantined from the rest of the world and left to die by the military and law they once trusted. Now they only have each other, and the bare hopes that maybe one day they’ll get out. The prologue is fantastically written, with a voice on the radio trying desperately to guide people to safety.
The first chapter takes place ten years later, and follows a scaled lizard-boy named Regan as he attempts – and fails – an assassination. Regan is immediately sympathetic and interesting; I don’t remember the last time I read a book with a lizardfolk (of any variety) main character, and maybe it’s just the books I’ve been reading, but it immediately puts Chameleon Moon into the category of Not Your Normal Fantasy.
More than that, however, I think what’s exciting me the most about Chameleon Moon is that I think this is the solarpunk/noblebright stuff I’ve been hearing so much about. (Perhaps more of the second than the first.) But I can feel the punk roots underneath it, from the radio announcer warning people not to trust the military to Evelyn’s performance. I’m unsure how Sylver themself describes the book, but even the first two chapters are filled with determined, revolutionary hope in the face of insurmountable odds.
So! I’m invested, and I can’t wait to see where this goes next.
I’ll have a full review up once I’m done the novel; in the meantime, if your curiosity is piqued, Chameleon Moon is available for purchase on Amazon.
(Added note: I went to look at the publishing information and holy crap? This is self-published? It’s absolutely gorgeous and SUCH high quality. I shouldn’t be surprised, I know, but I was expecting at least a small press with the amount of work that’s gone into the formatting.)
Elliott Dunstan 