BURDEN OF SHE is the second book in G.W. Darcie’s Inversion series, and it quickly catches up on events from the first book for a seamless reading experience. Here, after Alpha She Kāya and her male partner Tye have discovered that men used to have power over women before the near-apocalypse, they hope to convince the She-led government to reveal this truth to the world. As they look for the right moment, an extremist political group called the Quo aims to seize control and enact strict laws to keep men subjugated with violent punishment for disobedience.
The book’s premise is built on shaky ground, operating on the assumption that if women were larger than men, we would not have a patriarchal society. The minimal worldbuilding never allows the story to breach full believability and immersion. Kāya’s naive hope—that “all She will come to know that our superiority was not earned through struggle during humanity’s near extinction but is rather the result of genetic engineering. And with understanding will come compassion, and with that, rules will be changed to create a fairer, more inclusive society”—also stretches plausibility, as the rise of the Quo refutes this idea. Kāya says she has “proof that men will never dominate again,” but that evidence goes undescribed. Even in this inverted world, She are still sexualized; their armor consists of thigh-high boots and a thong: “With hard leather shielding to protect vital areas and open skin everywhere else, my regalia displays my dominance.”
The narrative dips in and out of Kāya and Tye’s inner monologues, which provide intimate insight into their thought processes. However, the overly casual voice, which includes comments of “Huh,” “Oh, yeah,” and “Well,” disrupts the flow of the text. Emotions are expressed through exposition rather than through action or description, and ellipses make characters’ thoughts trail off—leaving them feeling unfinished. This gives the impression that they are incapable of conveying tangible emotion or coming to logical conclusions. Nevertheless, Kāya and Tye each have distinct voices that engage attention.
Emotive dialogue, filled with both banter and vulnerability, bolsters intimacy between characters but slows the book’s pace as conversation dominates plot. The threat of a fascist government exerting control over men increases suspense and ups the stakes, balancing the more character-driven narrative that centers on how grief and social expectations shape Kāya and Tye’s relationship. Extended time between major events creates lulls in the story that are interspersed with disjointed moments of deus ex machina, as when one of Kāya’s friends reveals she has been lying about her identity (though the truth alters little in the plot).
While these reasons make the novel difficult to recommend, BURDEN OF SHE still displays strong potential for future installments.
In spite of its inconsistent voice and irregular pacing, G.W. Darcie’s BURDEN OF SHE is a unique, character-driven science fiction novel.
~Aimee Jodoin for IndieReader