On a generation ship called Matilda, the decks are segregated by race and class — the lower decks labor in conditions mirroring antebellum slavery. Aster is an autistic, nonbinary healer who discovers clues about the ship's true history that could change everything. Octavia Butler's literary heir.
Clean — political sci-fi.
Skip if you dislike:
Moods: Dark Political Intimate Speculative
Tropes: Generation Ship Antebellum Slavery in Space Neurodivergent Protagonist Class System
The most direct heir to Butler's tradition — unflinching and visionary.
Nuanced — Solomon uses it to illuminate rather than exploit.
Brilliant, neurodivergent, and entirely original.