I was not familiar with this writer, got this short book in a bundle of "dark SF." I really liked it. Sort of baffled at first by how ordinary the story seemed: relationship issues, family issues, social issues...then gradually the hooks sank in and it got weirder but yet completely moving. Ended the book with tears in my eyes, completely unusual for me. Huh! ( )

https://fromtheheartofeurope.eu/bsfa-award-best-novel/ ( )

em is human, formerly working on a planet that humans are colonizing, partially driving out the native intelligent species, which is close enough to humanoid for serious misunderstanding to be easy. She and her alien companion—with whom she is in what seems like unrequited love—now run an inn in an Earth province that has seceded from modernity (chips in the head/expansionism, mostly) and sell the alien brew that restores pleasant memories to immediate experience. Her son is one of the POV characters, and he’s callow and unpleasant enough to make reading not super pleasant either. Humanity as destroyer, I think, but I admit I couldn’t finish. ( )

The two planets featured in this short science fiction novel are at least as important as the characters. On earth the main character Jem operates an inn in a part of Britain that has eschewed technology for a simpler life. By space travel, she has returned from Qita, a planet with rich resources where the inhabitants don't usually engage in conflict. Jem has brought her Quitan friend Isley home with her, and he has been granted unusual permission to stay on earth and help Jem run the inn. Conflicts arise between Jem and her son and her brother, and also among local folks and another Quitan arrival. The issues which give this book particular relevance include suspicion of those who are different, response to a mysterious plague, complicated family relationships, and loyalty among friends. The ultimate lesson of the Quitan culture brings the book to a thought-provoking conclusion, ( )