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A Feast for Flies
Zira once had a life. A girlfriend. A favorite bar. A hairstyle. And a secret. But when her father sells her out as a Reader, she has to leave every part of that old life behind. Now she's forced to work for law enforcement, reading and erasing memories of those who violate the Golden Nova's few and corruptly enforced laws. She's hated and feared by everyone who would prefer to keep their memories private and intact. The only thing making her new life bearable is her working partner, Bea, her service dog who has the ability to shut out all the thoughts of the people around her.
When Zira makes the decision to omit a memory from a report to protect a stranger, it arouses suspicion. Suddenly she's in trouble at work, and a vindictive casino boss and the queen of a massive drug empire are vying to get her under their control. Caught between three corrupt factions and the vacuum of space, can Zira keep her loved ones safe, and be able to live with herself in the end?
When Zira makes the decision to omit a memory from a report to protect a stranger, it arouses suspicion. Suddenly she's in trouble at work, and a vindictive casino boss and the queen of a massive drug empire are vying to get her under their control. Caught between three corrupt factions and the vacuum of space, can Zira keep her loved ones safe, and be able to live with herself in the end?
- GenresScience FictionLGBTQueer
176 pages, Paperback
Published November 14, 2023
43 people want to read
About the author
Leigh Harlen
17 books46 followersLeigh Harlen is a queer, non-binary writer who lives and works in Seattle with their partner, a goofy dog, and a mischief of rats. Their non-writing hobbies include petting strangers’ dogs, enthusing about how awesome bats are, and eating cookies.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
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December 31, 2023Review to come (soon IY"H) but I wanted to note that I loved this one and it is going on my award ballots for this year! Dystopian spaceship + the disability-informed take on psychic powers that you always wanted (you wanted that, right?) + emotional support animal not played for laughs. And a twisty crime story on top of that. Very cool.
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Source of the book: Print review copy from author
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Source of the book: Print review copy from author
February 10, 2025
This was so satisfying! A grimy and fun butch-noir crimi about a mind-reading law enforcement officer who stumbles into a triple-cross, spying on multiple crime bosses and the organization she herself works for, to save her service dog Bea and her gf Marilyn's life. There is a freaky drug using the spinal fluid of Readers (those born with telepathic powers), sleazy neo-Las Vegas vibes (in space!), turns and twists, and Zira is just a really cool protagonist I enjoyed spending time with. The cover art also really nailed the vibe of the book for me.
November 15, 2023
Content warnings: literal mind manipulation, flies, absent parent, dead parent, there is a dog and the dog does not die (or come to harm otherwise)
If you were looking for a science fiction story with service dogs, look no further. Zira is a Reader, a kind of mind reader that also has the ability to erase and alter memories. Once upon a time, she had a life that wasn't conscripted to law enforcement, but one omission puts her fragile sense of safety in the balance.
The pacing of this book is a race against keeping three different dangerous factions at arm's length away from each other and Zira. The way past and present comes together adds to much of the conflict; the nodes and webs connecting the characters are myriad and tight. Each scene starts with uncertainty and ends with even more conflict. As much as Zira resents it, she believes in responsibility around her Reader abilities and seeing her interact with others who treat it less ethically add a lot to that aspect of the world-building.
Zira's relationship with Marlyn, her ex-girlfriend, is a second-chance romance that also drives Zira's drive to clear her own name but also get to the bottom of the danger plaguing both the Golden Nova and the various syndicates plaguing the ship. This novella honors the stakes of a noir and the world-building intricacy of ship-bound space sci fi for something truly thrilling.
Bea is also the best boy and no harm comes to him.
If you were looking for a science fiction story with service dogs, look no further. Zira is a Reader, a kind of mind reader that also has the ability to erase and alter memories. Once upon a time, she had a life that wasn't conscripted to law enforcement, but one omission puts her fragile sense of safety in the balance.
The pacing of this book is a race against keeping three different dangerous factions at arm's length away from each other and Zira. The way past and present comes together adds to much of the conflict; the nodes and webs connecting the characters are myriad and tight. Each scene starts with uncertainty and ends with even more conflict. As much as Zira resents it, she believes in responsibility around her Reader abilities and seeing her interact with others who treat it less ethically add a lot to that aspect of the world-building.
Zira's relationship with Marlyn, her ex-girlfriend, is a second-chance romance that also drives Zira's drive to clear her own name but also get to the bottom of the danger plaguing both the Golden Nova and the various syndicates plaguing the ship. This novella honors the stakes of a noir and the world-building intricacy of ship-bound space sci fi for something truly thrilling.
Bea is also the best boy and no harm comes to him.
August 4, 2023
Listen. I know I am the one publishing this book, so of course I love it, but let me tell you why! A space noir story on a generation ship declining into corruption and vice! A very good doggo who is also a support animal! Sapphic feels! Weird plant bullshit! Underground resistance!
I am so happy to be finally bringing this book out into the world for more people to enjoy!
I am so happy to be finally bringing this book out into the world for more people to enjoy!
Want to read
May 15, 2024"The science fiction elements were light, just the way I like them. The murder mystery elements were thrilling yet grounded. The action was evocative but not too intense while the romance was charming yet realistic. Harlen also managed to write Bea in a way that made it clear he was more than just a pet without falling into the trappings of anthropomorphizing." Alex Brown, Locus Mag https://locusmag.com/2024/02/alex-bro...
December 5, 2023
Zira is a Reader, able to read and extract other people's memories. She didn't want this ability, and she certainly doesn't want to have to use it for law enforcement purposes, but she has no choice. While performing a reading to convict a criminal, Zira exerts the small amount of freedom she has and conceals some information. But the consequences are far worse than she imagined, and now Zira is under investigation, and a suspect in a murder she didn't commit. Solving the murder herself might be the only way to get out of this mess with her life. And if she's really lucky, she might find a way to escape the city-spaceship where she lives and travel to one where she can be free.
This is a novella, and as is often the case when I read novellas, I wished there was room for more: more exploration of the world, more sense of character histories, more time for plot to unfold. What's here is good, though. The story is exciting and fast-paced, the characters have nuance, and I could picture the seedy neon setting. Plus, Zira has a loyal support dog by her side, and stories are always better with a very good dog!
This is a novella, and as is often the case when I read novellas, I wished there was room for more: more exploration of the world, more sense of character histories, more time for plot to unfold. What's here is good, though. The story is exciting and fast-paced, the characters have nuance, and I could picture the seedy neon setting. Plus, Zira has a loyal support dog by her side, and stories are always better with a very good dog!
December 5, 2023
Picked this gem up at a local bookstore, really enjoyed the read. Or was fast paced and a wild ride. The author has an ability to world build quickly as the action is moving fast.
Will be looking out for more worried but Harlen.
Will be looking out for more worried but Harlen.
January 31, 2024
A Feast for Flies by Leigh Harlen can easily be a one-afternoon-read, if you have a free afternoon. I enjoyed this novel over the course of three days.
This is the first novel I have read from the publisher Dancing Star Press, which has a nice mission statement.
Quote: "not only dragons can be eaten, but so can oppressive governments."
Well, this fits as a premise for this book for sure!
A Feast for Flies is a novel that - despite its shortness - serves with fleshed-out characters and a tight plot that never lets you go. The showdown might have been ten pages longer for my taste. Apart from that, the novel respects my time as a reader and doesn't feed me with anything unnecessary. Everything a great novel needs: It's there.
Zira's father has turned her in for money. She is a reader with special capabilities (read persons minds and memories and is also able to "eat" the memories, to the extent of only leaving a "drone" without any memories at all). As a reader, she has to work for the government, there is no choice.
But Zira would prefer to leave her ship The Golden Nova (she lives on a spaceship that has left a destroyed earth generations ago). She'd rather live on another space ship, the Oasis, and grow plants for the rest of her life. Preferably with Mar, her ex-girlfriend.
Zira has lots of problems, right from the beginning of the novel. With Bea, her (male) dog as her only friend, she pays a high price for rescuing a stranger woman, the sister of a felon she recently helped to convict.
All of a sudden, Zira's life and the life of her dog are in danger.
Trying to solve the problems, she runs into even deeper problems with three different groups working against each other and working against her, trying to involve Zira into their agendas.
Zira's only options seems to be to play the three opponents off against each other and try to build a new life with Mar.
There is a lot to like about the novel. I loved how the tension builds up. My first hook was Zira's life goal and the way I could feel her longing for leaving her job and her ship behind.
The plot then moves forward so fast that I could not help but engage with the novel. Plus, the relationships (especially with Bea, her dog and Marlyn, her Ex), were just convincing.
The worldbuilding bears lots of stuff to be frightened about, especially the convictions to have all your memories eaten up and end up as a "drone" without personality. This might not be a new SF idea, but still, it's a frightening one.
The description and metaphors of the mind reading were convincing. I like the description of the flies, although their part was not as big as the title might suggest.
There are also lots of sentences which are worth printing and putting on my wallpaper:
"Paulson's irritation was like bored fingers drumming on a desk, and the terror pouring off Curtis Farrow was an icy fist twisting her insides."
"She had an odd, very precise manner of speaking as if she took the time to carve and perfect each syllable before letting it pass her tongue".
Or how it felt to wake up next to somebody who's still dreaming for a Reader:
"In sleep, Marlyn's emotions and thoughts were fragmented. Hazy and dreamy and soothing, punctuated by the seeming nonsense imagery of dreams."
This is the first novel I have read from the publisher Dancing Star Press, which has a nice mission statement.
Quote: "not only dragons can be eaten, but so can oppressive governments."
Well, this fits as a premise for this book for sure!
A Feast for Flies is a novel that - despite its shortness - serves with fleshed-out characters and a tight plot that never lets you go. The showdown might have been ten pages longer for my taste. Apart from that, the novel respects my time as a reader and doesn't feed me with anything unnecessary. Everything a great novel needs: It's there.
Zira's father has turned her in for money. She is a reader with special capabilities (read persons minds and memories and is also able to "eat" the memories, to the extent of only leaving a "drone" without any memories at all). As a reader, she has to work for the government, there is no choice.
But Zira would prefer to leave her ship The Golden Nova (she lives on a spaceship that has left a destroyed earth generations ago). She'd rather live on another space ship, the Oasis, and grow plants for the rest of her life. Preferably with Mar, her ex-girlfriend.
Zira has lots of problems, right from the beginning of the novel. With Bea, her (male) dog as her only friend, she pays a high price for rescuing a stranger woman, the sister of a felon she recently helped to convict.
All of a sudden, Zira's life and the life of her dog are in danger.
Trying to solve the problems, she runs into even deeper problems with three different groups working against each other and working against her, trying to involve Zira into their agendas.
Zira's only options seems to be to play the three opponents off against each other and try to build a new life with Mar.
There is a lot to like about the novel. I loved how the tension builds up. My first hook was Zira's life goal and the way I could feel her longing for leaving her job and her ship behind.
The plot then moves forward so fast that I could not help but engage with the novel. Plus, the relationships (especially with Bea, her dog and Marlyn, her Ex), were just convincing.
The worldbuilding bears lots of stuff to be frightened about, especially the convictions to have all your memories eaten up and end up as a "drone" without personality. This might not be a new SF idea, but still, it's a frightening one.
The description and metaphors of the mind reading were convincing. I like the description of the flies, although their part was not as big as the title might suggest.
There are also lots of sentences which are worth printing and putting on my wallpaper:
"Paulson's irritation was like bored fingers drumming on a desk, and the terror pouring off Curtis Farrow was an icy fist twisting her insides."
"She had an odd, very precise manner of speaking as if she took the time to carve and perfect each syllable before letting it pass her tongue".
Or how it felt to wake up next to somebody who's still dreaming for a Reader:
"In sleep, Marlyn's emotions and thoughts were fragmented. Hazy and dreamy and soothing, punctuated by the seeming nonsense imagery of dreams."
April 1, 2024
3.5 stars
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews