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Dalí is an awesome SciFi novel with a nonbinary protagonist featuring complicated and sometimes dismal politics, dangerous deep cover missions, cool aliens and a vast cast of interesting characters.

Dalí Tamareia has everything—a young family and a promising career as an Ambassador in the Sol Fed Diplomatic Corps. Dalí’s path as a peacemaker seems clear, but when their loved ones are killed in a terrorist attack, grief sends the genderfluid changeling into a spiral of self-destruction.
Fragile Sol Fed balances on the brink of war with a plundering alien race. Their skills with galactic relations are desperately needed to broker a protective alliance, but in mourning, Dalí no longer cares, seeking oblivion at the bottom of a bottle, in the arms of a faceless lover, or at the end of a knife.
The New Puritan Movement is rising to power within the government, preaching strict genetic counseling and galactic isolation to ensure survival of the endangered human race. Third gender citizens like Dalí don’t fit the mold of this perfect plan, and the NPM will stop at nothing to make their vision become reality. When Dalí stumbles into a plot threatening changelings like them, a shadow organization called the Penumbra recruits them for a rescue mission full of danger, sex, and intrigue, giving Dalí purpose again.
Risky liaisons with a sexy, charismatic pirate lord could be Dalí’s undoing—and the only way to prevent another deadly act of domestic terrorism. 

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Content warnings include: violence, slavery, abduction, human trafficking, cannibalism, sex on-page, transphobia and trans-excluding language, slurs, racism, discrimination of marginalized groups, denial of reproductive rights, suicide attempts, grief after death of family, substance addiction, death, assassination.
Mentions of: rape, abuse, terrorism, death of pregnant woman.

The main character, Dalí, is a non-binary biracial third-gender changeling, meaning they are (a fantastical version of) intersex with the ability to assume male or female secondary sexual characteristics at will, which they do when the situations demands it (mostly during fights, sex, intimidation or manipulation). Without outside influence in either direction, Dalí is neither female nor male.
Dalí is an ambassador and diplomat, who after the death of their husband, wife and unborn child, has lost their will to live. But after an encounter that almost leaves Dalí dead, they realize other changelings and third-gender rights are at risk and decide to take part in a risky mission.

The book has a pretty long introduction, but that didn’t bother me at all in this case. It aided world-building as well as getting to know Dalí and this huge universe’s political situation. I liked all the different alien species and the treaties between them, though I must admit that the political situation of the humans was a bit hard to read: basically right-wing extremists are at rise, wanting to not only keep humans isolated but also take third-gender (especially reproductive) rights away, with the aim of genetic genocide. It reminded me a bit too much of the world’s currents political climate to not hit home hard.

This combined with Dalí having just lost their family made for a heavy read at first. The mood changes throughout the book however, following Dalí’s emotional development through numbness, grief, anger, sadness and more. Even as they find something other to focus on than their grief, the book is never really happy, though as Dalí gets distracted by their mission, so did I.

Dalí is non-binary and prefers neither male nor female attributes, instead liking the neither outside the binary, unlike other changelings who often lean more to one side (which is mostly tied to the binary upbringing among humans.) Despite their personal preference, Dalí doesn’t mind assuming either sexual characteristics when they feel it benefits the situation, though their readiness to change to others’ preferences is challenged at at least one point.

I loved Dalí as protagonist. Even filled with grief I found them a great main character, with their sarcasm and quiet competence, but it is under stress and in dangerous situations that they truly bloom. I loved reading about how they negotiated (pun intended) danger after danger, and their empathic abilities was another touch, that, while almost overly convenient, added a new dimension to Dalí’s calculations that I found fascinating.
Another facet I found intriguing was their high sex drive – which was particularly high given that Dalí doesn’t just like sex, but has what boils down to a danger-kink. Because they were in danger and encountered dangerous people a lot.
However, despite Dalí’s preferrence for casual sex, the book is not erotica, and most definitely not a romance. There is no romantic subplot, though Dalí does form several emotional connections.

Despite the non-binary protagonist and the whole third-gender rights thing being a huge topic, the language used was still surprisingly binary and cis-normative, to the point of it being almost uncomfortable for me as a trans reader in the context of the book’s plot. I’m not sure if this was deliberate, to show how much still needs to be done for third-gender rights in the setting, but it stood in contrast to how there’s other alien species with more than two genders.

The book is very well written and I had trouble putting it down again. I enjoyed it immensely, it was engaging, exciting and emotional in all the right ways.
There were a few times when I wasn’t entirely sure which in-book word meant what, but there is a glossary at the back of the book explaining most terms, aliens and characters.
The various threads of plot were pretty well wrapped up save for one or two side ones, and I’m immensely excited for the upcoming sequel.

Bonus points for tons of Princess Bride references!

You can buy the book here.

You can read my review for the equally amazing sequel here.

~iam