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Far Removed cover art

Far Removed

By: C B Lansdell
Narrated by: Amy Jensen, Christopher Tester
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Summary

On the moon of Knyadrea, the sea yields intelligent life. For a species shaped by tides, change is the only constant.

Little can be hidden in the glare of a spotlight.

Charismatic and innovative, Oklas Sayve has risen to prominence in Apidecca, the moon's capital city. A politician and college director, he has the resources to effect the changes he envisions for the world. But the sovereigns he serves oppose him at every turn and his status cannot protect the low-strata students attending his college. After a young knyad is wrongly linked to insurgent activity, Oklas must find a way to smuggle her out of the city while hiding his involvement from the authorities.

A spark in the dank depths.

Below the grand Assembly Chambers, a knyad in a mask sculpts, grasping for scraps of beauty in her shrinking world. Years ago, Prismer made a costly mistake and now has only her job at the projection booth and a few special interests to fill her days. But it is not her sculptures that draw the attention of a powerful client, and she is soon met with a request to undertake a dangerous mission. Will she answer the call and risk losing the little she has left?

Mysteries surface. A supernatural substance is used in corrupt ways. As identities shift and predicaments are reshuffled, what alliances might be forged?

About the author: Mountains, seas, and urban sprawl: these are as much a part of imaginary worlds as the place where Coe Lansdell lives, at the tip of Africa. Her dogs ensure she is exercised daily. Encounters with birdlife and fynbos on weekends are essential to her creativity. For best results, she should be left to soak in a rock pool at least once a month. Most days, she can be found in her home office, wearing her headphones to drown out the howling southeasterly wind. A textbook illustrator of over a decade, she conceptualized and painted the cover illustration for Far Removed.

©2023 C B Lansdell (P)2023 C B Lansdell

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Sci Fantasy with Character

A thoughtful sci-fi with fantasy and horror elements. It feels similar to Ghost in the Shell. The story takes place on an alien moon. Lots of worldbuilding and new terms to come to grips with, but not too difficult to follow. The descriptions draw you in, and the plot moves quickly. Both narrators give great performances. They really make you care about these characters, bringing out the personalities of the two protagonists.

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Expertly narrated

Far Removed is the first in the Apidecca duology.

Before I get to the story I would like to mention the narration. Both the two main character POVs - Oklas and Prismer - were expertly done. The narrator for Prismer, in particular, captured her personality with a voice that was both engaging and gentle. The voices for characters that were not Prismer or Oklas each felt unique, and this helped me get lost in the story. If you like sci-fi, and you listen to audio books, I couldn't recommend this one enough.

*** SPOILERS ***

On the moon of Knyadrea, the knyads are born of the tides. Their world is one great innovation and technology, but underneath the surface of Apidecca, its capital city, corruption festers. Oklas, a college director and inventor, is a champion of his students, trying to ensure they live a better life, and a protector of those who are under threat from the state. Illanu, a young knyad linked to insurgent activity, is one such student. Oklas arranges for her escape from the city with the aid of Prismer, a masked knyad who was once caught stealing supplies from her employers. Because of this, she was forced to undertake scumbling, a transformation which removes the eyes, nose and mouth and replaces them with an optic pattern (like a single eye), in an attempt to dehumanise an individual. Prisma is successful in her mission, but Oklas is caught working against the state and captured. He ends up being scumbled like Prisma, and she must show him how to survive the life of a maskad.

I loved Oklas and Prima as characters. They felt so real. Prisma is sensible, durable and hard on herself when she lets her guard down. She is also incredibly kind, even though she doesn’t think that way about herself. For example, following Oklas’ scumbling and public denunciation, she tells him of the rumours circulating about him but keeps the nastier ones to herself, seeing that they would serve no purpose. Oklas, on the other hand, is charming and intelligent. Following his scumbling he seems to lose the personality that had served him so well in life, but with Prisma’s help, regains something of it, perhaps becoming a bit wiser in the bargain. By about one-third through the story I could not put it down because I was so immersed in the plot, and I think this was because I felt like I was in the characters’ heads, and feeling something of what they felt. The tension when Oklas was caught was unbearable! I didn’t think the same thing would happen to him as it did to Prisma, and then it did, and I knew how much he would lose. I’m desperate for these characters to be alright by the end of the duology. Their closeness towards the end of the book was heartwarming.

*** END OF SPOILERS ***

The world was well described and fully realised. I felt like we see only the tip of the iceberg as readers/listeners, which is as it should be, but the rules and worldbuilding were sound. I don’t read as much sci-fi as fantasy, but I didn’t have any trouble understanding what was going on. In particular, I greatly enjoyed the mystery of resyn, a kind of rare fuel, and feel it will play a large part in the sequel. The writing style reminded me of Ursula Le Guin, in regards to profound ideas being discussed within a sci-fi setting, as well as the beautifully crafted prose. The world had a Hunger-esq element to it (more 2nd and 3rd Hunger Games than the 1st). Hope is a big theme in this story, as is truth.

All in all, I would say this is an outstanding story and probably the best sci-fi I’ve read/heard. I would massively recommend for those who enjoy character-driven plots.

Quote - 'It seemed knyads felt their creator’s presence most keenly in the forgotten depths of the world. There was a change in the wind, a promise of better things to come, and Prismer was a part of it.'

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