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Conserve and Control
Time has moved on and the City is no longer a place where queer folk live in fear or face expulsion. The forest, once burned to flush out resistance fighters, is now a protected nature reserve. In Espera, there are trans politicians and queer business leaders and the streets are lined with permaculture gardens. But the riches of a green lifestyle are not for everyone.
Growing up in a poverty-stricken neighbourhood with his refugee family, Aq works as a security officer for the Union. He works too hard and sleeps too little. Until he meets Carl Kingson, a businessman made rich by conservation. As Aq quickly learns, Kingson has a fetish for servitude and if it involves money, so much the better.
Outside the city, Teal, a trans woman, and Cyan, her non-binary research partner, find themselves on the front line as the forest is threatened yet again by a new wave of eco-developments.
Teal dreams of the days of Ash and Pinar, the celebrated heroines of the Uprising, and wonders if the stories of Ash’s journeys through time might be more than just legend. But living in the shadow of the great reserve fence and its army of guards, Teal and Cyan are closer to resistance than they could possibly know.
Growing up in a poverty-stricken neighbourhood with his refugee family, Aq works as a security officer for the Union. He works too hard and sleeps too little. Until he meets Carl Kingson, a businessman made rich by conservation. As Aq quickly learns, Kingson has a fetish for servitude and if it involves money, so much the better.
Outside the city, Teal, a trans woman, and Cyan, her non-binary research partner, find themselves on the front line as the forest is threatened yet again by a new wave of eco-developments.
Teal dreams of the days of Ash and Pinar, the celebrated heroines of the Uprising, and wonders if the stories of Ash’s journeys through time might be more than just legend. But living in the shadow of the great reserve fence and its army of guards, Teal and Cyan are closer to resistance than they could possibly know.
368 pages, Paperback
Published March 24, 2018
4 people are currently reading
120 people want to read
About the author
Otter Lieffe
8 books62 followersKes Otter Lieffe is a writer, ecologist, and community organiser currently based near Berlin. She is the author of a trilogy of queer speculative fiction novels, several short stories, and a colouring book series on queer ecology. Kes writes from a working-class, chronically ill, transfeminine perspective.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
March 25, 2020
This book is full of twists and turns and so much action that I read it super quickly. Like the previous book, Margins and Murmurations, this second book includes many themes and characters we never see in mainstream fiction. Conserve has something for everyone, truly. Looking for romance and intriguing BDSM scenes? Check! Are you a linguistics nerd? Check! Critical and sharp commentary on capitalism, green-washing, cultural appropriation and more? Check! And last but not least, those who want to learn fun facts about how queer the animal kingdom actually is, will be pleasantly surprised with these nuggets of eyebrow-raising information.
Happy reading everyone!
Happy reading everyone!
March 5, 2020
I really became involved with the characters, they were interesting (and representation really cool, it made me think about my own assumptions with certain characters). The critique of conservation and sustainability, 'green capitalism' is important and well portrayed. I liked how the characters' behaviour and mannerisms in a future world were used as a tool to interrogate our own behaviours (and insensitivies etc), sometimes it did feel a little 'constructed.' Really excited for more of Otter's writing!
January 31, 2023
Good fiction. It's speculation about the future woven together from the interesting, troubling and liberatory things going on now. Interesting for people who are involved in ecological and LGBTQIA+ activism and troubled by the dilemmas of green and rainbow capitalism, and ability of the sytems in power to appropiate activist causes for their own ends.
Things that are really happening now- interesting, troubling, and liberatory things- are woven into the storytelling, for example the discussions of queer ecology, which is fun and also useful, because then I can cross-reference.
I also like the language nerdiness in the use of of Polari in some of the chapters.
Things that are really happening now- interesting, troubling, and liberatory things- are woven into the storytelling, for example the discussions of queer ecology, which is fun and also useful, because then I can cross-reference.
I also like the language nerdiness in the use of of Polari in some of the chapters.
July 18, 2018
A very interesting read that keeps you engrossed and makes you ask yourself quite a few questions.
I felt like some of the plot-lines weren't connected enough to the story as a whole, and some messages got under-developed because of that. I still think the book deserves a four-stars rating though. I had fun while reading, I was interested in what the book was trying to say, and I would definitely recommend it to a friend.
I felt like some of the plot-lines weren't connected enough to the story as a whole, and some messages got under-developed because of that. I still think the book deserves a four-stars rating though. I had fun while reading, I was interested in what the book was trying to say, and I would definitely recommend it to a friend.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews