The post-apocalyptic world has changed. Colors
have changed.
The skies are now red, and the seas fandango pink.
There are those who’ve acquired skills as “squinters”.
By narrowing their eyes, they can see people in different colors—colors by
which they can define their mood.
Senlin was born a squinter. A child of the foster
system, the lack of love has left him
with casual views on sex.
When Sicong recruits him into SQX, a squinter organization,
Senlin wants nothing more than to jump his bones, but Sicong’s detachment makes
Senlin believe his feelings aren’t reciprocated.
Senlin and Sicong’s relationship begins to grow as
they undertake missions together.
That is, until an enemy of SQX turns his attention
upon them.
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Lime and Tangerine falls under both Sci-Fi and Gay
Romance genres. Sci-Fi/Fantasy genres don’t come natural for me. I suppose I’m
not as imaginative as some of the fellow authors in this aspect. I’ve always
been more fascinated with contemporary real life situations rather than science
fiction, and it’s safe to say I haven’t read much of the sci-fi classics. While
I enjoy movies like Star Trek and Star Wars, I’d never class them as my
favourites. This story started off as a submission invitation for a
sci-fi/fantasy anthology. The anthology fell through but I fell in love with
Senlin and Sicong.
Contrary to sci-fi/fantasy genre, gay romance
comes so ever naturally. I’m gay and I’m, in heart, an old-fashioned romantic.
I love seeing people falling in love and tear up at the slightest moving
gestures between couples – I think that stems from, growing up gay in China,
the original fear of dying alone loveless. With that growing up, it was very
easy to fantasise about romantic situations, especially about people falling in
love.
One of my favourite genre, as well as romance, is
contemporary, if you can call that a genre. They always say write what you
know, and this is what I know.
As well as fiction, I also write in other forms,
such as poetry, memoir and prose essay. When I was writing in Chinese, I was
writing more prose essays than anything else. With poetry, I’ve written a few
but I’m still struggling.
I also don’t limit myself as a writer. Who knows?
One of these days I may be writing a stage play on the Western/Cowboy genre.
My Review:
This was an okay read for me. I really wanted to like this book, as it sounded very interesting and I loved the idea of squinters, but I had some issues with it. First, there is some discussion about how this is a post-apocalyptic world, but the how and why is mostly skipped over. I would have liked to see it expanded, as I didn't get a good feeling for this world. All these drastic changes occurred, yet if you removed the squinting ability from this book, it would be a contemporary novel set in today's world. There was no feeling of a post-apocalyptic world, rather a world that just happened to suddenly have squinters.
Also, there is a big enemy organization introduced, yet never really touched on. We only ever deal with single agents, not this big giant organization that was built up and is so terrible. I would have liked to see more of these elements, of a post-apocalyptic world and this enemy organization. It seemed like they would play significant roles, but never really did, which left me feeling a bit let down at the end.
The only world-building that is expanded on is the ability of squinters. This was heavily featured, and there was a lot of in-depth explanation on how their abilities worked, how their powers could be used, what all the colors meant, etc. I found this very fascinating, especially the title. I thought it was an odd title choice until I was able to work out what it meant to this world. I liked that little mystery added in, which allowed me an "a-ha" moment when I figured it all out.
Second, the characters. I liked getting to know Senlin, even though I wasn't a big fan of him at first. By the end of the novel, I did like him and his few snazzy lines. My favorite though was Shuli. She was a treat as a secondary character. She added much needed comic relief and common sense into the story. However, it seemed like she was included just to explain to Senlin why Sicong was acting the way he did. Instead of Senlin having a discussion about his and Sicong's relationship or about their issues, he would go complain to Shuli, she would explain away Sicong's actions, and Senlin would be all happy about it and then go on without bringing it up with Sicong. This is not healthy or good for a relationship and really hurt their romance, since they didn't really get to build much chemistry between each other.
Because of this, I didn't really get to see or know much about Sicong. I started out thinking he was a bit of a jerk, especially when he revealed Senlin's past just to...I'm not even sure, humiliate him? It was unnecessary and never explained. All I know is that by the end, I didn't dislike him, but I didn't really care about him either.
All in all, this was an okay read for me. It was a fun, short read that might appeal to sci-fi fans, especially since the world-building around the squinters' abilities shows a lot of promise.
*I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.*
My Review:
3 stars
This was an okay read for me. I really wanted to like this book, as it sounded very interesting and I loved the idea of squinters, but I had some issues with it. First, there is some discussion about how this is a post-apocalyptic world, but the how and why is mostly skipped over. I would have liked to see it expanded, as I didn't get a good feeling for this world. All these drastic changes occurred, yet if you removed the squinting ability from this book, it would be a contemporary novel set in today's world. There was no feeling of a post-apocalyptic world, rather a world that just happened to suddenly have squinters.
Also, there is a big enemy organization introduced, yet never really touched on. We only ever deal with single agents, not this big giant organization that was built up and is so terrible. I would have liked to see more of these elements, of a post-apocalyptic world and this enemy organization. It seemed like they would play significant roles, but never really did, which left me feeling a bit let down at the end.
The only world-building that is expanded on is the ability of squinters. This was heavily featured, and there was a lot of in-depth explanation on how their abilities worked, how their powers could be used, what all the colors meant, etc. I found this very fascinating, especially the title. I thought it was an odd title choice until I was able to work out what it meant to this world. I liked that little mystery added in, which allowed me an "a-ha" moment when I figured it all out.
Second, the characters. I liked getting to know Senlin, even though I wasn't a big fan of him at first. By the end of the novel, I did like him and his few snazzy lines. My favorite though was Shuli. She was a treat as a secondary character. She added much needed comic relief and common sense into the story. However, it seemed like she was included just to explain to Senlin why Sicong was acting the way he did. Instead of Senlin having a discussion about his and Sicong's relationship or about their issues, he would go complain to Shuli, she would explain away Sicong's actions, and Senlin would be all happy about it and then go on without bringing it up with Sicong. This is not healthy or good for a relationship and really hurt their romance, since they didn't really get to build much chemistry between each other.
Because of this, I didn't really get to see or know much about Sicong. I started out thinking he was a bit of a jerk, especially when he revealed Senlin's past just to...I'm not even sure, humiliate him? It was unnecessary and never explained. All I know is that by the end, I didn't dislike him, but I didn't really care about him either.
All in all, this was an okay read for me. It was a fun, short read that might appeal to sci-fi fans, especially since the world-building around the squinters' abilities shows a lot of promise.
*I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.*
About
the Author:
Kevin’s writing is mainly influenced by his
growing up as a gay Chinese; he also sometimes pops out totally random stories
that has nothing to do with his growing up.
Besides his passion for writing, Kevin also
opened a cafe in December 2015. “There, the cliché of authors writing in a
cafe.”
KEVIN CAUCHER can be found at:
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