The premise and the beautiful cover is what made me want to read this book. I was disappointed, such an interesting idea and an interesting world building. I felt blown away by this story. Surprising!

Sci-Fi/fantasy books are not usually a genre I read, or at least not often. However, I was intrigued by the description of this book and decided to give it a whirl. What I found was a very bizarre book that featured gender wars, talking fish and multi-faceted characters.

There is a battle between the sexes and women currently hold the upper hand and food is doused with Testrial that seems to calm men down and they act more like servants than men. Not all men are like this, there are those that avoid any food that contains this ingredient and several are on course to create the "perfect" woman and return things to a time of the past where women were more like "pets" for the men. Obviously, most women (and some men) don't want to see that happen. So a small band of protestors seeks to shut down Berky and Candor's quest for this new lifestyle.

I found the characters to be quite interesting and the interactions between all kept the story flowing. There is some scientific discussion but nothing to drawn out to lose a reader. There is humor that I didn't expect and was darker than you might expect. I was surprised by a few twists at the end regarding the twins, Nadia and Diana. There was also some graphic violence that was unexpected and it made me uncomfortable considering the level.

This book is definitely a journey for the reader and while sometimes it felt like I was trudging through, other sections were brilliant. Overall, we give this 3 1/2 paws.

The Perfection of Fish
J.S. Morrison
Black Rose Writing, Jul 2020
405 pages
Sci-fiction
Provided by NetGalley
⭐⭐⭐ 3 Stars

The cover was what caught my eye with its wonderful colors. Titles these days are all over the place and can mean anything, so I really didn’t pay too much attention to this one. Silly me. I hope I’ve learned my lesson. Especially when it comes to sci-fi. When they say fish, they mean fish.

The story takes place in a town that really no longer exists. With people who should no longer exist outside of supervised care facilities or state prisons. The “twin girls” that the “scientists” try to take advantage of throughout the book are damaged, to begin with, and become more so from what happens under the scientists’ care. One has hidden inside the family cabin and is afraid to go outside. She is preserving the history of the vanished town and her father’s work. The other sister has left the town and struck out to get away from it all, but she’s worried about her sister. So she comes back to rescue her from the scientists. The two don’t work well together because they can’t agree on what to do, stay or go.

The girls’ story is interspersed with scenes from the “scientists” side of things, and it couldn’t be wackier. Take someone’s science discovery and tie it to a hoaky religion and raise money. Run your experiments on fish and see what you get. Don’t forget the political aspect of it all. Women run things and men take a supplement that suppresses testosterone. This is a post-apocalyptic society if there ever was one. I forget what year it’s supposed to be, but it’s futuristic.

The pace was rather brisk and the tension was high at times, especially the closer to the end it got. But it could also be rather laid back at times. In the 60s we used to blame things like this on someone doing drugs, but it’s not PC to say things like that anymore. So I guess I just have to blame it on a really weird imagination and bad dreams. This is not something I ever want to read again and it will definitely take me some time to forget all that I read. It does have staying power. I may recommend it to my son, he’s a Pratchett fan. This might appeal to him. He’s also an adult and could handle this. This is definitely not for children. I wouldn’t even give it to a young adult, though I’m sure some will read it. I’m going to try to be fair and rate this on its writing quality and impression, not on whether or not I liked the subject matter, so it will probably get a higher rating than it might have initially. I took quite a while to think about this one because my first impulse was to trash it, but it doesn’t deserve that. Though I cannot recommend it either.

I was super excited when I found this book but it was a bitter disappointment. It was chaotic and bizarre and I didn't connect with anybody. I'm really sad I didn't like it because I wanted a good Sci-fi thriller so so much!
This book was provided to me from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in response for an honest review.

Right off the bat this book was quick paced and character driven. It was nonlinear, which I do usually love, and this was no exception. It follows a handful of characters that don't actually intertwine until a good chunk of the way through, but their separate journeys are just as interesting as what happens once they do get together.

Not going to lie, it was a bit confusing at times and I was left wondering if this book was going to be as good as I originally thought, but I turned out to really like it. The characters were interesting, with complete backstories, sometimes even going as far back as their childhood. I was a bit slow to understand the world and what actually was going on, but as I read, it was explained to me fairly well. I love characters fighting bleak futures and this was quintessentially that. I was able to place myself in the book since the scenes were described, at times, almost too well. Overall this was really good and I would recommend it to people who love realistic science fiction futures.

This has a cool premise and it's executed quite effectively via interesting characters and an imaginative plot, along with clever aspects and humor. I admire the author's creativity and writing skills, and look forward to his next book.

As always, thanks to Black Rose for the review copy!!

I want to thank NetGalley, the publisher, and author J.S. Morrison for providing me with an ARC of the novel The Perfection of Fish!

Something about this novel piqued my interest, and I’m really glad that I requested it! Once I initially started this and got into it, I couldn’t put it down. The world building was done beautifully and the narrative suckered me in! A precautionary tale about genetic engineering that was executed perfectly. If this interests you in the slightest, read it!

Thank you again to those named above for the chance to read and review this novel!

Morrison has written a cautionary tale about genetic engineering. The story flowed smoothly. I enjoyed Morrison's sense of irony. It's a non stop read.

Thankyou to NetGalley, Black Rose Writing and the author, J S Morrison, for the opportunity to read an advanced readers copy of The Perfection of Fish in exchange for an honest and unbiased opinion.
I will be the first to admit, I don't know what it was about this book that drew me in. You certainly cannot judge a book by its cover. The premise of the storyline had piqued my interest, so I thought "why not". I am so glad I did.
The first couple of pages had me wondering what I had gotten myself into. But, I kept turning those pages. I had to. The more I read, the more I wanted to read. I was hooked.
No words can describe how good this book is. Everything from the narrative, the vivid scenery and imagery to the characters, was well thought out and written.
Absolutely loved reading this book and would highly recommend it.