This had such an interesting premise and cast of characters. It had so much potential and was well written however there was just something about it that didn't work for me. I struggled to stay invested and interested in the story and skimmed chapters.

The episodic style of how it is written is engaging and not something I've come across often in fiction. It works well with this book's combination of sci-fi and western.

There are a lot of different and fascinating plot points in this story and the world-building is expansive and well-fleshed out. However, I did feel like the novel lacked emotion. The main character whilst well-rounded felt a little hollow at times. It was hard to connect to her actions and backstory and how she interacted with those around her, particularly for the first third of the novel.

Overall this was a good read but lacked something for me in the emotional category.

The characters are likeable enough, and I enjoy the monster of the week format.
The issue I have with this book is that it lacks a heart. The main character's name is not revealed until three-quarters of the way through, and rather than creating an intriguing mystery, it only serves to distance you from her. I didn't know enough about any of the characters to care about them, no matter how likeable they were. I believe this book would work much better if it were longer and allowed more breathing room throughout. As is, it's a pleasant but emotionally cold read.

This is an episodic, sci-fi, sapphic, western and honestly it was a great time. Set on a ravaged Earth, post climate change, we follow a traveller from space, and the people she meets along the way (good, bad, and everything inbetween), as she tries to get back to the woman she loves.

There was such an interesting religious element to this book, as the people who originally remained on Earth took to worshipping it, and took on the hardships that climate change dealt as a punishment to meekly accept, and deeming those who left for space as sinners and traitors to Gaia. I loved the episodic element of it, seeing how various different characters lived on this changed world, the attitudes among them, and how they interacted with our main character.

This book is pretty fast paced, coming in at around 250 pages, but I still felt like everything was well fleshed out. It wasn’t needlessly padded, and I still came to care for the characters, even the ones that only showed up briefly on the journey, and got to grips with the world they were dealing with.

This book was adventurous, and didn’t shy away from the gritty western feel. Overall, pretty enjoyable, and I look forward to reading more from the author in future!

Thank you to Netgalley, and Hodder Books, for the copy to review!

I originally requested this on NetGalley because of the comparison to my favourite author of all time, Becky Chambers. This was not Becky Chambers, more like Bekki Shambers. A poundland version of Becky Chambers, if you will.
Thats not to say that this book is bad, because it isn't. It sits firmly in the "yeah, its alright" bracket. The characters are likeable enough and I love a monster of the week kind of format. This would make a great little CW show, and take that whichever way you want to.
The problem that I have with this book is that its lacking a heart. You don't find out the main characters name till three quarters of the way through, and rather than making an intriguing mystery it only serves to put distance between you and her. I didnt know enough about any of the characters to get invested, for that matter, no matter how likeable they were. I think this book could work a lot better if it was longer and given more breathing space throughout. As it stands, its a nice but emotionally-cold read.

It's an original, thought provoking, and gripping dystopia featuring a woman with too many names and the capacity to survive in this inhospitable place called Earth after a disaster.
The author did an excellent job in developing a fast paced and gripping story that kept me turning pages.
Great world building and storytelling.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this arc, all opinions are mine

Mankind has destroyed planet Earth and most of its inhabitants have set off for a new destiny amongst the stars. Some people refused to leave, and still eke out a difficult living on the ruined planet. Kei has crash-landed into this difficult and dangerous world and is searching for the rest of the crew and her lover. Power struggles, religious bigotry and human kindness exist here in abundance, all she has to do is find the right people to help her.

A fast-paced sci-fi that kept me at the edge of my seat!

This was quite a fun read. It was space opera with twists and turns. I liked the characters and the writing was easy to follow. It discussed a lot of themes in detail, and especially character relationships. Not sure if this is standalone, but I would love to read more in this world!


Thanks to the publishers and netgalley for the e-arc!

Dystopian Sapphic Sci-fi - Frontier is about a stranded soldier who crash lands on a broken earth and tries to find her lover.

We are taken through a version of Earth that has been ravaged by climate change and is populated by religious fanatics who refused to leave when most of the people emigrated to a different planet. They are very anti tech and have very warped religious views.

When the Stranger lands, she starts looking for a communicator that she can use to find her person, but is immediately drawn into a one step forward, two steps back minefield as she negotiates with a plethora of characters and situations, and has to adapt to what must be for her, a very backward mindset.

The world building is very deftly done - we are drawn into this post apocalyptic world without the author being over sanctimonious about the effects of climate change. Character development is sacrificed here as we don’t get to spend enough time with any of the people before we are thrown into the next situation. It makes for interesting fast paced reading without much depth.

3.75 Stars overall

I hear the words 'sapphic' and 'sci-fi' and I'm immediately sold!

Frontier is a queer sci-fi Western about an unnamed protagonist from a space Empire who crashlands on Earth, looking for the woman she loves. Earth has long since been wrecked by climate change and the remaining people are suspicious of anyone from space. We then meet all the people our protagonist, The Stranger, encounters on her journey.

I quite liked this book. The post-apocalyptic, Western setting drew me in and proved to be infinitely fascinating. Society is on the brink of collapse on a ravaged planet. The people who remained on Earth after its decline are resentful of anyone who left the planet in a space shuttle. So much so that a cult-like religion formed around the planet Earth and all modern technology is prohibited. Anythign and anyone connected to technology and space is deemed sinful. Thus the commentary on religion and faith was quite rich and thought-provoking.

The structure of the book was quite interesting with it being written almost more from the POV of the people the Stranger meets instead of from the POV of the Stranger herself. Among those she meets were a feral librarian, the kid of a cult leader, a disgruntled seamstress and a turtle. Almost all of which got the Stranger into some serious trouble. The structure also had the effect of keeping an air of mystery around the Stranger, of whom we learn almost nothing until late into the book, apart from their mission of finding someone. Oh, and when we did find out? It was so lovely. At the heart, this book was a love story and the part where we learn about the Stranger's paramour was perhaps my favorite in the entire book. Ultimately, despite its bleak setting, the book ended on a hopeful note with a happy ending which made my heart feel so full!!

Overall, it was a short and entertaining read that I recommend to fans of Sarah Gailey's Upright Women Wanted and Becky Chambers. 3/5 stars.

Laser guns and lesbians, what else do you need? Absolutely ADORED this book - hook it to my veins, can't wait to reread.

A sci-fi western love story about finding someone who is lost. Our main character's story is told through a number of vignettes from the people she meets and in doing so slowly reveals more about who she is, her past, and the current climate she finds herself in. Uplifting and harsh, it's a rollercoaster of emotions throughout the journey..

Read it, love it, and thank me later.

Sci-Fi is one of my “go to” genres. In books/TV etc…if I need comfort I go there.
So did this one do everything I hoped for?
Absolutely yes!
I loved it. The author has an excellent descriptive way of writing, it plunges you straight into her world.
The characters were well written, the story was easy flowing and enjoyable all round. I would definitely recommend this one and I’ll be looking for more from this author in the future.

One of my sci-fy highlights so far. The post apocalyptic scene and the search for the love of the life is a unique Storyline. The writing is extremely easy and good to follow. With a lot of fun and a mix of culture and knowledge of the past carries the author the readers through a very amazing story.

"Frontier" is a science fiction novel that takes place in a post-apocalyptic world devastated by climate change. The story follows the protagonist on her journey to find the woman she loves, and is set against a backdrop of a society that is divided and suspicious of outsiders. While the novel has romantic elements, it is more of an action-adventure story than a romance.

The narrative is told from various points of view, which can be confusing at times and takes away from the depth of the story. The characters are not as well-developed as they could have been either, because of the structure of the narrative, which feels a bit more like short stories connected by the appearances of the main character on her journey through Earth.

The futuristic setting is well-described and thought-provoking, with an interesting exploration of a society cut-off from the rest of humanity and deeply religious. However, the story itself is not particularly thought-provoking.

Overall, Frontier is a decent science fiction novel with an interesting setting, but it falls short in terms of emotional depth or meaning. I would give it a 3.5 out of 5 stars.

The way this book is structured almost feels like a collection of short stories, all featuring the same main character, who remains unnamed for most of it and is instead known by a different nickname in each chapter/section. The fact that the protagonist remains the same prevents the story from feeling completely disjointed; however, I did feel confused a few times, wondering if we were still following the same person, or the woman she was looking for. The intentional withholding of the character's name didn't help with that.

That said, the scenarios the protagonist finds herself in were all interesting to read about, and told me a lot about this version of Earth. Through her and the people she meets along the way, we get to find out about the dominant religion, how law & order works, how much Earth and its people have changed since a part of humanity abandoned the planet, and how in other ways, they haven't changed at all. I really liked a lot of the side characters that we meet as well, and wish there had been time to explore some of them a bit further.

I don't think I would call this a romance, since it takes a good while for our main character to find the person she's looking for, but if you're looking for a scifi Western, give this a go.

Grace Curtis's Frontier is a satisfyingly strange debut novel that augments its SF setting with western vibes. It opens when an escape pod crashes into the parched landscape of a future Earth, and our protagonist steps out into an unfamiliar land. As she searches for a way to communicate with Noelle, the lover she left behind, she encounters drug-carrying tortoises, threatening saints, complex barter systems and apartments built within the ruins of an old spaceship. Curtis constructs the novel through a series of vignettes, and we often see our protagonist through the eyes of other characters. This kind of quest narrative rarely works for me, but it does here because Curtis uses it as a way of letting us walk through the world she's created, and explore the different societies people have built up since the vast majority of the population left Earth. Despite the devastation caused by climate change and the presence of fundamentalist religion, this novel feels bright and fun rather than grim: Curtis enjoys playing with western tropes, and the focus is on how we rebuild rather than on how we destroy. It's the atmosphere of this world that will remain with me rather than the specifics of the story, but I look forward to whatever Curtis writes next.

This was an entertaining gunslinger adventure with some great world building and compelling characters. The structure was a little unusual and I occasionally found myself a little confused but overall I enjoyed it!

Being a huge Becky Chambers fan, I was really hoping to like this one. We are not really introduced to the main character, instead having her as a 'lone stranger' on a post-apocalyptic Earth. The core of her story is one of romance, and this was completely at odds with the mystery of her character. I couldn't root for her or the relationship at all because I couldn't figure out why I was supposed to care.

Science fiction is a genre that I’ve always wanted to dive deeper into, but other than a few authors, series’ or themes that I already know I love, I get a little intimidated and unsure where to go next.

I can’t remember where I first heard of Grace Curtis’ debut, ‘Frontier’, but as soon as I saw it compared to the ‘Wayfarers’ series by Becky Chambers it was an immediate yes from me. Her soft, thoughtful, introspective sci-fi is 100% a type of sci-fi that I love. I loved ‘Frontier’ too.

Saints and preachers, librarians and horse thieves, lawmakers and lawbreakers, and a crash-surviving spaceborn vagrant searching for her lover on a scarred Earth.

Earth, the distant future: climate change has reduced our verdant home into a hard-scrabble wasteland. Saints and sinners, lawmakers and sheriffs, travellers and gunslingers and horse thieves abound. People are as diverse and divided as they've ever been - except in their shared suspicions when a stranger comes to town.

One night a ship falls from the sky, bringing the planet's first visitor in three hundred years. She's armed, she's scared... and she's looking for someone.

Love, loss, and gunslinging in this dazzling debut novel by Grace Curtis. For fans of Sam J. Miller, Mary Robinette Kowal, and Becky Chambers, Frontier is a heartfelt queer romance in a high noon standoff with our planet's uncertian future, full of thrills, a love story, and laser guns.

The novel started off a little abstractly and I wasn’t too sure if it was going to settle into something I’d enjoy, but the writing was sharp and engaging so I persevered. I’m SO glad I did as I fell into the style and got swept along with the story of an unnamed stranger who has fallen to Earth in mysterious circumstances, desperate to track down the woman she loves.

On top of the protagonist being unnamed for around 60% of the novel, her identity also changes in the narration as she moves from place to place and becomes a different person to each narrator in that place. The Stranger to the librarian she helps; the Tramp to the son of a preacher who feeds her when she’s desperate; the Courier; the Guest. It’s such an effective style, and one I don’t think I’ve ever seen before. It could be alienating to some, but I loved it and the way that it shaped her character and identity.

The structure on this world is fascinating, and also terrifying. Humankind left a climate-ravaged Earth 300 years ago, leaving behind only those faithful to Gaia who refuse to leave her behind. To the rest of the galaxy they are illegally stationed on the planet, and to those who remain, the rest of humankind are sinners. Even though the two sets of people haven’t met in centuries, they are at war in ethics, morality and religion, and this is the world that the Stranger lands in. Dry, parched, desperate, and yet full of innovation and a grit and determination to thrive.

‘Frontier’ is a novel of hope. Hope for the people willing to help and love you when you need it. Hope that the end of the world might not be the end. Hope that climate disaster might still be avoidable.

This book was exactly the book I needed to get me out of my reading slump. It took me by the hand and dragged me over the finish line as I struggled put the book down in order to do supposedly important things like, sleep, I guess.

Frontier is a really awesome interpretation of climate disaster and human society in the aftermath. It somehow managed to meld together sci-fi with western with dystopian, and left me wanting to read more of this fantastic genre mash-up. The story also has an interesting layout in that it tells the story of our main character's adventures while half the time being told from another character's perspective - and even better, each character is fantastically fleshed out and seems real, even if they only they have a couple pages to tell their story.

I was shocked when I read that this was Grace Curtis' debut book, and I'm eagerly awaiting more.

Thanks to Netgalley, Hodder&Stoughton and Grace Curtis for providing me with this ARC!

Frontier reads like a lovely fish-out-of-water, scifi western. What I mean by that is, that our crashlanded heroine stays unnamed for the longest time, draws quicker than her opponents with her phase pistol (she uses technology people on Earth have deemed heretic) , and travels around leaving other characters at the roadside. Characters that you wouldn't mind spending more time with, but our heroine can't afford to waste any, because she is on a mission to find someone very special. To do that, she puts up with a lot of inconveniences - like confronting a bibliophile sheriff, theft, and smuggling to name but a few.

I enjoyed my time with Frontier. I recommend it to people that a. enjoy westerns b. the Fallout games c. a bit of romance.

Thanks for the advance copy!