Second in the Road to Nowhere series, I’ve been waiting for this with a lot of anticipation after the thrill and heartbreak of Elison’s debut novel, The Book of the Unnamed Midwife. Elison did not disappoint.

This is as gripping, and horrible as the first novel, though different. In Unnamed Midwife the story split between dystopian near-future and far-future. Book of Etta is set 100 years after, and mostly details the story of Etta/Eddy, a scavenger from Nowhere who struggles to survive while also saving as many women and girls as they can.

I say they because Eddy/Etta is seen as a woman in Nowhere, a man whilst on scavenging raids, and fluidly switches between the two as needed for survival. Eddy is definitely resentful of the strictures imposed by Nowhere’s society and finds no real relief in any other place they encounter.

I think Eddy/Etta is supposed to be a Transman, but I don’t know enough about the subtleties to know it. I must admit they (to me) came across as gender-questioning for the most part, though there is a definite dislike of being forced into a “woman’s role” threaded throughout the story. I couldn’t unpick how much of that was due to being either a (straight) trans man or a lesbian gender queer person who was gang-raped at an early age and thus found the very concept of being a woman to be threatening and triggering.

Transwomen are represented too. Flora, a lesbian woman Eddy joins up with, seems to truly be what she is. But the novel leaves open the idea that there are trans women in the dystopian society because they have no other choice, having been used as catamites by the predominantly male rape gangs that raid the countryside and infest fortresses.

I liked it enough to devour in one sitting. Not as much as the prequel, but enough to absolutely be looking forward to reading more. I assume based on the ending that the next novel will be a continuation of Eddy’s story and not skip another century. ( )

This very much feels like the sexual exploitation version of The Road -- not quite as bleak, more hopeful in the end (I think?), both less and more horrifying on any given page, depending on how you feel about rape/genital mutilation/sexual slavery vs cannibalism.

On the whole, I liked both the character of Etta/Eddy and her personal inner journey over time. I found the world all too believable. I thought the different way settlements dealt with the lack of women to be fascinating.

I'm troubled by the ending on so many levels -- that the actual safety/savior is presented as a religious community, that E has to bend, in the end, to her biological fate in this world -- these things are deeply messed up. Perhaps that's the message? People are complicated, things are horrible, keep going (but why?).

I'm not sure I'll return to this universe, but it was a powerful read. ( )

This review first appeared on scifiandscary.com.
I really enjoyed Elison’s first book, ‘The Book of the Unnamed Midwife’. It’s a gripping, thoughtful take on the post-apocalypse fantasy with a far more female emphasis than we’re used to in a genre that often panders to male power fantasies.
I went into this follow up with high hopes, and whilst there is a lot to enjoy here, I didn’t feel it managed to match the high standard of the first book.
‘The Book of Etta’ takes place one hundred or so years after Midwife, and centres on Nowehere, the settlement that the heroine of the first book ends up in. The first chapter is fantastic, the best I’ve read since the opening of Ania Ahlborn’s ‘The Bird Eater’. It does a great job of immersing the reader in the nightmarish world Elison has created and of introducing the protagonist, Etta/Eddy. Ze is an interesting, believable and memorable character. Male when exploring the wastelands, looking for women and children to save; female when in Nowhere. We follow zir through both environments, as ze encounters other human settlements, each with a different social structure which is contrasted against that in Nowhere. Over all of this looms the spectre of Estiel, the largest city in the region, and its vicious ruler The Lion.

The book is largely about two conflicts, that between the two sides of Etta/Eddy’s personality and a broader conflict between the different ways humans have organised themselves in the new world. The examination of gender identify and fluidity is often interesting, although it can feel like it dominates the narrative at times. There is a lot more social commentary here than story at times, and it can feel like it’s laid on a bit thick. Contrasting it to Becky Chambers’ brilliantly engaging exploration of similar themes in the Wayfarers books leaves this book feeling a bit preachy. The real problem isn’t either the message, or the fact that there is a message at all. I’m a firm believer that speculative fiction can do a great job of casting a probing and helpful light on the burning questions of modern life, and gender identity is definitely an important one. What’s lacking in this book is a story that feels as strong as the concepts and questions Elison is struggling with. The first book didn’t have a great deal of plot either, but the quest nature of the story didn’t demand one. The lack of a driving story in the sequel is more of a gap, and the book is sometimes episodic and unfocussed. The ending is a little rushed and too often chance rather than deliberate action is what gets Eddy/Etta out of trouble. That’s a shame, because at times the book is great, an authentically different take on post-apocalyptic fiction written with passion and purpose. It’s certainly the only book in this genre I’ve read that has extensive discussion of menstrual cups.

Elison has announced that the next book in the series will be the last, and this definitely feels like the middle instalment in a trilogy. My criticisms aside, I’ll certainly read the final book when it is published. Elison is a welcome voice in modern sci fi and I’m excited to see what she does next.
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I need this audio ASAP

This was okay - but pales in comparison to that amazing first book in this series. ( )