The Spirit Bares Its Teeth by Andrew Joseph White

First let me say that this is a terrific title and it is one reason I picked up the book. If you decide to read it, keep in mind that there might be more than one spirit.

The Spirit Bares Its Teeth is set in 1883 in an alternative Victorian England. Decades before, the veil separating the spirit from the physical world thins and at the same time people are born with violet eyes. These people can lift the veil and see into and exploit the spirit world. In England at least, people with this ability are rigorously controlled through acts of parliament and the Royal Speaker Society. Anyone practicing spirit-work without being sanctioned could be executed or sent to an asylum. Women are not allowed to lift the veil, ostensibly because of their constitutions; they are subject to veil sickness. In reality, men realize the power that comes from being able to see beyond the veil and want it for themselves. Women born with violet eyes are relegated to the role of brood mare, to be married off to wealthy men in order to produce violet-eyed male babies.

In this misogynistic world we meet our protagonist, Gloria/Silas, a neurodiverse 16 year old born female who only wants two things: to live her life as a man and to become a surgeon. Her brother, George, is a surgeon and indulges Silas (as I will henceforth refer to him), in both her desires. Under George’s tutelage she develops an extensive knowledge of anatomy and surgery.

In an attempt to avoid marriage and her horror of pregnancy and being a mother, Silas attempts to join the Royal Speaker Society by pretending to be someone else. She is discovered to be female. She would likely have been executed for this crime but for the intervention of Lord Luckenbill, the president of the society, who wants her for his son, Edward.

To save her, Silas’ parents agree to Luckenbill’s suggestion to send Silas to Braxton's Finishing School and Sanatorium to be broken in spirit and turned into a good and subservient wife. Really, it’s the Victorian version of a conversion. This is where the story gets going. All is not as it seems at Braxton’s, girls disappear completely and are not heard from in the outside world again. Silas is determined to find out what happened to the missing girls.

I picked up this book after one of my favorite booktubers, Willow Talks Books, flashed the cover in her tier ranking of 267 books; it’s in her A tier. I loved the cover and title, but I didn't read much about the book before I checked it out. I was 103 pages in before I knew it, slowed down, and realized that it’s a YF book. I hadn’t noticed that in the description. I confess I might have let it go had I known. But a 100 pages had flown by and I was loving it. I have to say that YA has come a long way since I was a yute. I can’t imagine themes of transgenderism and body horror in books I read back then.

Something that struck me is that had it been aimed toward an older audience it would have been longer and developed in a more detailed manner. Instead it’s more “this is the way it is and let’s keep moving”. This isn’t a criticism and doesn’t take away from the book. White is a very talented writer whose words flow across the page.

I like White’s style of writing. I find it smooth and flowing. Like I said above, after starting the book I was 100 pages in before I came up for air. I also finished it in a day and that’s without skimming. I like the way the author writes Silas and how he generates empathy in the reader.as Silas deals with his neurodiversity and frustration at not being able to live his own life the way he wants, as a man and surgeon. Later in the book Silas finds an ally in another trans character, Daphne, a biological male desiring to live as a female. I’m an old, white, CIS guy but I felt that the author does a good job of conveying the deep needs of the two trans characters particularly within the moral strictures of Victorian England.

This book is horror and potential readers need to anticipate they will experience intense misogyny, psychological, emotional, sexual assault, revenge, and body horror. Trigger warnings apply. The author hits hard on the misogyny and how the patriarchy had no compunctions to declaring someone ill who flaunts societal standards. In the book this is called veil sickness which is treated by institutionalizing, brainwashing, and in extreme cases death. The stakes for survival are high for Silas and his ally, Daphne. This may be YF but the author doesn’t hold back. The reader is repulsed by the Victorian misogynistic treatment of women and lifted up by the resilience of the main character to meet the terrors they face.

I don’t know if the author intends this to be a standalone but I would really like to see more of these characters and this world.

Annie Bot by Sierra Greer

There may be spoilers ahead so beware.

Annie Bot is a book that seems to polarize readers. It’s the Washington Post’s Best Science Fiction of the Year but at the other end I have heard a well articulated but scathing, “I hate this book with a passion” review. I’m toward the lower end of those extremes and had a problem with the way it was resolved. As I read and followed Annie’s development I had Star Trek’s Data and Blade Runner’s Roy Batty in mind. Roy in particular because he only wanted a chance to live.

Annie Bot takes place in a world where robots, indistinguishable from humans,have been engineered and are available to consumers, though the price is high. The female models, called Stellas, have three modes: nanny, housework, and cuddle bunny. The owner also has the discretion of turning on autodidactic which means the robot can learn and grow. The skin of the robots is grown from human embryos and can apparently grow body hair. A YouTube reviewer noted that this astounding technology is not reflected in other aspects of society.

Cuddle bunny Annie is purchased by Doug who has her in autodidactic mode. Annie’s programming compels her to satisfy all of Doug's wishes. Her programming is so sophisticated that her libido can be adjusted up to ten if Doug desires. As the story progresses, we see Annie learn and grow as an individual but she can’t go against her programming and suppresses the emotions she is developing. She can be confused, conflicted, depressed, unhappy, angry.

Doug is divorced and single and his relationship with Annie is shown to be domestic abuse. He explodes in anger but doesn’t tell Annie why he’s angry leading to her experiencing confusion and anxiety. This gets worse as the book advances with Doug’s verbal and emotional abuse, threats to erase her, and gaslighting. His physical abuse takes the form of putting her in a closet for long periods. He doesn’t acknowledge that Annie is still learning when he explodes in anger over trivial matters. Doug is a massive dick, I wonder if the author has positioned Doug as an incel, acting out his frustrations and insecurities and need for undivided attention from human women. Doug is divorced but has given Annie his ex-wife’s features and Annie is the unhappy recipient of his anger and resentment toward his ex. She was lucky to escape.

This is very painful to read and I would give the book a trigger warning.

The resolution was the most unsatisfactory part of the book for me. Annie escapes but not under her own agency, it is given to her. She should have been able to take it. I wanted her to find a way to defeat her programming. Instead, Doug is given a redemption arc, a redemption he absolutely does not deserve. He is not a good guy and it was impossible for this reader to believe he can change in the way he does. After watching the suffering he has put Annie through, giving him redemption pissed me off. He should have been punished in some way, broken, forced to watch Annie in triumph.. Bah, I’m mad all over again just writing this.

Annie Bot did make me think about what is human and even more so who would purchase a cuddle bunny. Would the relationship between owner and cuddle bunny necessarily devolve into abuse? Would the primary market be those feeling resentment and anger toward human women? Could robots gain independence in this world? Interesting sociological implications. I would like to see the author write a followup that looks at meatier issues.

I won’t say don’t read it because it can make one think about what is human and the place of synthetic beings in society but I give it two stars for the war it was resolved.