Review: Redbean by Dixon March

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Review of Redbean by Dixon March (4530 words)

Luna Station Quarterly, Issue 051 : Purchase or Read Online

Set in an unhappy world with an unhappy protagonist named Larron, it starts off with her looking for food to nourish her during her pregnancy. She picks up a box of beans, and I think it is clear pretty quick that it is the speculative element of the story. While I was anticipating something perhaps happier than her current existence, this story did not immediately go in that direction!

It got even darker, but the prose and descriptions were vivid throughout. Even though it got harsher and more grim than the story was at the beginning, I could see her Larron finding pockets of joy and being able to nourish herself and her little one. Which is different from when the story started, so I suppose it was sort of happy after all, just not in any way I would have assumed. As much as I like standard SFF tropes, I do enjoy stories that turn those tropes upside down.

Again, this is just my interpretation, so your opinion of the story may vary - but it is still an interesting read nonetheless!

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