Clouds and Earth is the first instalment of the trilogy The Piece Outside by Sayde Scarlett. It is the post-apocalyptic story of a war heroine, Lieutenant Alisande Attiyeh, who survived the Long War against terrorists. In time of peace, Sandy, like everyone calls her, suffers from PSTD and struggles to have a life. She feels restless, alone, unless to the point of being bored, while her boss Murro wishes the heroine would resign given that she cannot fire her. And that when the story takes a twist dragging down Sandy into a spiral. Is she a hacker? Is she conspiring against the state?
I devoured this novel in three days because I could not stop turning the pages to find out more and I felt sorry when I finally finished it because it was over too soon. Not many books leave me with this sensation and they are usually my favourite stories. Clouds and Earth is a science fiction novel written by a woman with a woman as the main character. We need more books like this one, where women are not just a parenthesis for the main male hero. But Sayde Scarlett goes beyond that and does relay us only a female main character but also a plausible one. Sandy seems real. she’s rich, kickass and a pretty gal but she’s not perfect, far from it. She has many flaws and we see most of them. Hopefully, we will see more in the other instalments, which I certainly will be reading.
Reviewed for Readers' Favorite