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Suluti: A science fiction fantasy novella
Suluti is a science fiction fantasy novella set in the year 2065 about an Inuit family in Iqaluit, Nunavut. With the help of friends, they embark on an adventure that started before they were born. They meet the Memdaji, a type of being that can communicate telepathically and master the art of telekinesis. On their journey, they learn about latent abilities that all human beings have had for thousands of generations.
- GenresScience Fiction
190 pages, Paperback
Published April 5, 2025
1 person is currently reading
455 people want to read
About the author
Tuutalik Boychuk
2 books6 followersTuutalik Boychuk grew up in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada. Between 2009 and 2024, she lived in Iqaluit, Nunavut for thirteen years and Kingston, Ontario for two years. Her name means mermaid in Inuktitut. She comes from an Inuk mother and a father of European descent.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
September 21, 2025
* Thanks to the author and LibraryThing for an ARC. *
I'm rounding up a 2.5 Star review to 3 here because this really is a fresh setting for an Alien Contact story, and there are some very nice SF elements in the story. There are characters, setting, and plot devices in this text that could have made for a striking novel, but sadly, this really reads like a working draft. Nothing, truly nothing, is fully developed here, from the near-future world building, to the history of alien contacts, to the nature of the aliens (three separate species!), to the contact and resolution itself. It's all rushed out like notes set down to be fleshed out at a later date, and left simply unsatisfying.
Infodumps occur throughout in lieu of plot progression and activity, and dialog is choppy and hurried, as if the author is in a rush for the next bit; this creates difficulty for a reader to settle into a tale and feel invested. But the lengthy infodump about the vast social revolution that changed the face of North America in the early 21st century simply fades offstage, and we're left with chatter over tea about the nice alien dropping by tomorrow. There are many, many Contact stories in which extraterrestrials bring major social change to humans and the ones that work are the ones in which a reader feels engaged, feels the stakes, and is shown the scope of the steps necessary for the fruition; this all is just blithely glossed in Suluti, as is the titular technological innovation by which Inuits changed the world.
I do hope an expanded, richer version of this appears someday, but as it stands, this is just too thin.
I'm rounding up a 2.5 Star review to 3 here because this really is a fresh setting for an Alien Contact story, and there are some very nice SF elements in the story. There are characters, setting, and plot devices in this text that could have made for a striking novel, but sadly, this really reads like a working draft. Nothing, truly nothing, is fully developed here, from the near-future world building, to the history of alien contacts, to the nature of the aliens (three separate species!), to the contact and resolution itself. It's all rushed out like notes set down to be fleshed out at a later date, and left simply unsatisfying.
Infodumps occur throughout in lieu of plot progression and activity, and dialog is choppy and hurried, as if the author is in a rush for the next bit; this creates difficulty for a reader to settle into a tale and feel invested. But the lengthy infodump about the vast social revolution that changed the face of North America in the early 21st century simply fades offstage, and we're left with chatter over tea about the nice alien dropping by tomorrow. There are many, many Contact stories in which extraterrestrials bring major social change to humans and the ones that work are the ones in which a reader feels engaged, feels the stakes, and is shown the scope of the steps necessary for the fruition; this all is just blithely glossed in Suluti, as is the titular technological innovation by which Inuits changed the world.
I do hope an expanded, richer version of this appears someday, but as it stands, this is just too thin.
August 29, 2025
Peacefully, even placidly, Earth slides into another Copernican revolution, this time it's Homo Sapiens that is no longer the center of the universe.
I love the way this book undoes so many ingrained tropes of alien encounter and futuristic fiction.The Suluti technology is a really great example of the way indigenous voices tell a different story about technology and progress, about the intertwining of innovation and tradition.
Even though it sometimes felt like we spent a long time dwelling on pretty banal points (for example Angela outlines the privacy policy for sharing extra-terrestrial encounter reports) it did feel like every piece was trying to share an idea about how to be a good citizen of the galaxy.
I love the way this book undoes so many ingrained tropes of alien encounter and futuristic fiction.The Suluti technology is a really great example of the way indigenous voices tell a different story about technology and progress, about the intertwining of innovation and tradition.
Even though it sometimes felt like we spent a long time dwelling on pretty banal points (for example Angela outlines the privacy policy for sharing extra-terrestrial encounter reports) it did feel like every piece was trying to share an idea about how to be a good citizen of the galaxy.
July 31, 2025
Really interesting story!!
The story does a really good job of blending almost like a sci-fi fantasy with a traditional culture. It was pretty well written and I was engaged throughout the entire story.
I also appreciated the inclusivity and diversity in this story. There were LGBTQIA+ characters, as well as characters with disabilities, one being deaf.
I would for sure recommend this book!!
The story does a really good job of blending almost like a sci-fi fantasy with a traditional culture. It was pretty well written and I was engaged throughout the entire story.
I also appreciated the inclusivity and diversity in this story. There were LGBTQIA+ characters, as well as characters with disabilities, one being deaf.
I would for sure recommend this book!!
August 3, 2025
Disclaimer: I received a copy via a Librarything giveaway.
There are times when I wish I could give two separate independent sets of stars, and this is one of them.
Suluti is actually quite imaginative with a diverse cast. It takes place in the near future, and in general, the events are quite behavior. The only one I have an issue with is AI inventors being as altruistic as they were somewhat described. A business model that steals creative output isn’t going to be so nice. I could easily buy fashion, becoming a way to earn billions and the political bits. The tech that Boychuk create is interesting, and, more importantly, a believable outcome considering a variety of cultural and climate factors. The book really shines when the characters interact with each other. Many of the characters seem they could walk off the page.
However, while the writing is clean in terms of errors, there is far too much repetition. For instance, there is a whole chapter of info dumping that provides background to a character, and then in the next chapter, there is a summary paragraph of the background that the reader just read. This really slows down the novella. What saves the work is the interactions and conversations between the characters. Boychuk shines there. While I have some reservations about the over use of telling/info dump, I would read more set in Boychuk’s world.
There are times when I wish I could give two separate independent sets of stars, and this is one of them.
Suluti is actually quite imaginative with a diverse cast. It takes place in the near future, and in general, the events are quite behavior. The only one I have an issue with is AI inventors being as altruistic as they were somewhat described. A business model that steals creative output isn’t going to be so nice. I could easily buy fashion, becoming a way to earn billions and the political bits. The tech that Boychuk create is interesting, and, more importantly, a believable outcome considering a variety of cultural and climate factors. The book really shines when the characters interact with each other. Many of the characters seem they could walk off the page.
However, while the writing is clean in terms of errors, there is far too much repetition. For instance, there is a whole chapter of info dumping that provides background to a character, and then in the next chapter, there is a summary paragraph of the background that the reader just read. This really slows down the novella. What saves the work is the interactions and conversations between the characters. Boychuk shines there. While I have some reservations about the over use of telling/info dump, I would read more set in Boychuk’s world.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews