After a disastrous climate change left the earth dry and almost uninhabitable, a mass evacuation of the population had been carried out. Only a few people are left who mainly belong to the faith of Gaia and see climate change as the earth’s punishment for their behaviour. Technology is frowned on as being part of what caused the disaster.
Hundreds of years later, a spaceship crashes down onto earth containing a woman who we only know as The Stranger. She is trying to find someone and desperate to find a way of communicating with them.
This is a very episodic book and has the feel of a TV series or video game as The Stranger travels though this dystopian wild west inspired landscape. She meets a whole range of different people and often has a task to perform before they will help her. Some of these people are more likeable than others but each encounter gives us a bit more information about The Stranger.
I did enjoy the different incidents but it felt very fragmented and almost frustrating as the story moved along so quickly. I preferred it when she finally arrived at New Destiny and in a flashback, we see her background and find out who she actually is. The story then becomes more straightforward and a lot of the details that were seemingly unimportant earlier in the story begin to make more sense.
There were a lot of things that I did love about this story, the dystopian setting especially and the hints of the galactic empire that we see in scholarly extracts were intriguing. However, the episodic character of the first part of the book really prevented me from engaging with the main character.
This was certainly an interesting debut novel and I will be interested to see what Grace Curtis comes up with next.
Thank you to Net Galley and the publishers for providing me with this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Frontier by Grace Curtis.
A western space opera, for fans of Becky Chambers.
For me, I found the book a bit slow to begin with but it did start to pick up and when it did I loved it. I wish some of the characters would of had bigger parts like Nana and Ken (that's just because I loved them). Overall though I throughly enjoyed it and I loved The Stranger. It was a beautiful love story full of adventure. I would definitely read more by the author and I would love a continuation of this book.

The cult of Gaia were left behind by humanity when they took to the stars. Fuelled by their belief in suffering under Earth's watchful gaze, all forms of advanced technology is officially shunned by the lawmakers and hardwordking folk of Earth. When a stranger crash lands, with a phase pistol and a highly advanced escape pod, it doesn't go without notice.

Part quest, part good old-fashioned episodic sci fi Western, 'Frontier' follows the Stranger on the search for a way to communicate. This is a warm, new take on familiar territory, that balances the horrors with a healthy dash of hope. With memorable characters, eccentric plot lines, and some great worldbuilding, this is a book I will be recommending.

I didn't like the way that this was written and put together. Our main character is referred to as many different things throughout, (The Stranger, The Courier etc) which I thought was interesting. Unfortunately, this did lead to me feeling very distanced from the main character when combined with the mystery of who she is, how she got there, who she's looking for etc etc. The first part was written like a string of short stories, which stopped at a 'background' chapter and then switched to a more continuous style. Some of the first parts were confusing or had no obvious meaning or point, particularly the dancers? That whole section was really odd. The 'love' story was very insta-love which I didn't like and was very telling, not showing. I don't think this is anything like Becky Chambers, aside from it being sci-fi, which is a shame because that is why I requested it.

what an enjoyable read! it's been a while since i've read anything dystopian or sci-fi but this one was so good!

- thanks to netgalley and the publisher for the free e-ARC.

Thank you Hodder & Stoughton and Netgalley for the arc of Frontier by Grace Curtis in exchange for my honest and unbiased review. .

Frontier is definitely very different to anything I’ve read in a while. It has been described as sapphic sci-fi western, and had the feeling of a video game.

Set on a post-apocolypse Earth practically destroyed by global warming, climate change and the rampage of humanity; whom for the most part have abandoned the planet leaving only a few stragglers behind, followers of the Gaia religion. The story initially focuses on a strange, unnamed character, titled by those she meets in accordance with their impression of her. These people tell her story through their PoV, which delivers a multifaceted view of this unknown character.

The world building is really interesting, as the distinctions between the arid deserts, where death and danger are a daily way of life for the small habitations, and New Destiny with its high rises, politics and religion, equally as dangerous, in such a distinct way.

The influence of video games is clear to see throughout this book, including the tasks along the way, as the main protagonist journeys toward their goal but, that’s definitely no bad thing, particularly when it’s done well. I would also say that the pacing is aligned to this format, there’s minimal pausing (with one exception but, trust me it’s valid,)particularly as you journey towards the final quarter of the book.
Overall a satisfying debut and stand alone book that will I would recommend if you’re looking for a total escape and enjoy video games.,

3.75/5

This was described to me as a sapphic sci-fi western, so of course I wanted to read it! Thank you so much Hodder & Stoughton for providing me with an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

I adored the world-building, I think this desolate, climate change-ravaged Earth is the perfect setting for this story. It's our world, our Earth, but in a way we've never seen it before. It's humanity at the brink of collapse and humanity's attempts to cultivate their own salvation. It's an immensely thought-provoking look at this world of ours hundreds of years into the future and the shattered pieces of it that remain. I adored this aspect of it and every conversation that surrounded this topic. I adored the different ideologies and religions, the various methods of survival on this abandoned planet, the condemnations of the spacemen (or 'sinners') that left.

I also loved the structure of how this story was told. We follow The Stranger, however we see her journey through the eyes of the numerous people that she encounters along the way. I really liked this structure of storytelling, however I did miss some of these characters as we moved on from them. They were all fascinating, each displaying their unique lives on this scorched Earth. It was really interesting to me which aspects of our societies held true in this civilisation and which aspects were different.

Throughout the journey we get to know our main character, The Stranger. We begin to understand her past, her motivations, her relationships with others and with herself. We watch her fight. I loved the situations she got caught in, I loved the Western feel of it all, and I (obviously) loved the laser guns!

I do wish that it was longer. I would've liked if we'd stayed in scenes longer and drawn out the mysteries and the intrigue even further. As much as I liked the ending, here too did I wish we could have witnessed it for longer.

Overall, this was a very quick, easy, fun read. If you often get confused by sci-fi or bogged down in the world-building of most, I wouldn't worry, there aren't the usual technical sci-fi terms and the world-building is explained very clearly.

What I loved most of all was the message of hope. Yes, climate change is devastating our planet and if we do nothing to prevent this then things will only get worse. But simply saying that the damage is irreversible and abandoning it does not inspire change or better the world. We still have the power to change things for the better. There is still hope. There is still time to save it.

I was drawn in by the idea of a queen, western- themed space opera and in particular the comparisons to Becky Chambers' wonderful Wayfarers series. Unfortunately, Frontier failed to deliver on my initial excitement. After a strong start the whole story started to feel very underdeveloped. The Western setting was mostly lost and it way very difficult to picture what this future earth was supposed to be like. I initially enjoyed the way that the Stranger's name changed depending on who she was interacting with, but the interactions themselves were underwhelming. The speech patterns were infuriating, constant "Huhs" and ellipses and broken sentences that made every conversation fragmented and slow. The Stranger doesn't go more than a few pages with any single character which was the real downfall of the narrative and a reason why the Wayfarers comparisons are so incorrect. There were no real relationships except with the person she was trying to contact and the details of that were left until too late in the story for it to have any real impact. The whole thing felt very episodic, with plot details appearing from nowhere and a plethora of two dimensional characters whose motivations were at worst a mystery and weak at best.

I thought this was highly original, and an interesting idea. I was pretty fascinated by the setting, and the lead character was interesting. However as it went on my interest dipped. That could be and probably is because I am an impatient reader, wasn't a bad book though, and I wouldn't put anyone off reading it.

This was a bit of a tricky one to rate. In the end I liked the story and the characters and their potential more than the way it was told.

The things I liked:
⭐️ I really liked the setting in this. The take of a part-apocalyptic earth with a cult of Gaia was very fun and I enjoyed the Wild West vibes. I think the world building was done well— there wasn’t any info dumping. Everything was shown in an organic way without being confusing
⭐️ the characters were all pretty interesting to me and I enjoyed most of the side characters as well. I think more novels need tortoise companions.
⭐️ the plot was straightforward but still engaging and I was pretty interested the whole way through.
⭐️ I really liked Kei and Noelle’s dynamic, I just wish we’d gotten more of it.
⭐️ I enjoyed the writing style and it’s light-hearted comedic tone. I got quite a few laughs in.

What needed work:
The style of this was quite unique. The first 60-70% of the book the main character is unnamed and her story to find the woman she’s looking through is told through a series of mini adventures with different side characters, only a couple of which we ever saw more than once.
Then it goes back and reveals some back story and leads to the ending.
I appreciate that the author was trying to do something a bit different but ultimately I don’t think it actually served the story she was telling as well as another style might have.
Firstly, it was a bit hard to connect with the main character, and at times it made it have a bit of a directionless feel. We know she’s from space and she wants to find someone but I think the emotional stakes could have been stronger.
I also liked some of the side characters more than others which I’m sure comes down to personal preference but made some sections of the story much less engaging to me.
It’s not until the flashback that we really get to see and fall in love with the characters and by then there was simply not enough time. What was there was good, but it was almost like a summary.
The MC had some sort of amnesia, but in all honesty I really don’t think it was necessary. She didn’t know anything that would have broken the main plot of the story, and remembering her own history and her love interest more clearly would only have upped the stakes imo.
I think this could have been a linear story, or perhaps present day and flashbacks alternating. That way we could have had more content about the Kei and Noelle and their relationship.
I think the structure as it was would work better if there was some big secret surrounding Kei and Noelle/ some deeper mystery but as it was it felt a bit extraneous to what is mostly a sci fi action adventure with a bit of romance.

I think this would make a killer TV show and I’d love to read more in this setting. I would definitely check out future books by this author.

A veces los esfuerzos publicitarios que se hacen en el mundo editorial confunden más que ayudan en la promoción de los libros. Frontier, para mí, es claramente un western crepuscular situado en el futuro, en una Tierra abandonada a su suerte por el imperio galáctico y manejada a su antojo por una religión obcecada en la antigua grandeza del planeta. Pues nada de esto aparece como tal en la publicidad, haciendo referencias a Becky Chambers o Sam J. Miller, grandes escritores sin duda pero que no parecen un referente especialmente acertado.

Las elecciones que hace para llevar a cabo la narración de su historia Grace Curtis pueden ser bastante controvertidas. El hilo conductor de la historia, es la búsqueda de una persona. Pero la autora decide no identificar a la buscadora y contar el viaje a base de retazos de historias donde este personaje no es la protagonista. Así consigue una sensación de extrañeza y un alejamiento que no sé si es lo que más le conviene a la historia, pero que es muy llamativo. Muy del estilo del tropo del forastero que llega a la ciudad y no deja de encontrarse problemas.

Las distintas situaciones en las que se va encontrando la extraña son descorazonadoras y bastante representativas del escenario planteado. Una Tierra abandonada, con las consecuencias del cambio climático, con una religión sectaria y unos representantes de la ley abusivos. En general el tono de la novela es bastante triste.

El último tercio de la novela cambia los recursos que se estaban utilizando, algo que puede ser demasiado tardío para quien no haya conectado con la novela desde el principio y descolocar a quien si haya entrado en el juego. De nuevo, una decisión arriesgada por parte de la autora. A mí personalmente esta parte final es la que más me ha convencido, pero puedo entender perfectamente que algún lector no haya llegado al final del libro por las sensaciones de lejanía que se provocan en los dos primeros tercios.

Frontier es una novela melancólica en la que resulta difícil entrar. Atrevida en su planteamiento, recuerda en algunos momentos a Cántico por Leibowitz y a Stark Holborn, pero con un camino propio.

This one had an interesting premise, but unfortunately, it didn’t quite work for me. It took me a while to get into the story and I found it to be quite episodic. It felt like a TV series, where each chapter was an episode and only towards the end did it all come together. While some might prefer that, I found it quite difficult to stay engaged. I will say that this did pick up towards the end I did find myself getting a little bit more invested in the story.

I absolutely loved Frontier by Grace Curtis!
The writing style was really good and I really loved the main character!
This book was such a joy to read and I could barely put it down!
I'm excited to see what the author writes next.
I definitely highly recommend this book especially if you are looking for a great Queer sci-fi read!
Thank you for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

I’ll preface this with I didn’t finish the book, and maybe if I had I’d have a different opinion, but I got 60% of the way through and stopped there.

The writing style is good, but isn’t what I engage with easily. Some parts felt jagged, and like they didn’t flow well into the text around them. While this style doesn’t work for me, I know there are plenty of 5 star reviews who echoed the same but found it easier as the book went on, so I would still definitely recommend at least reading the first third, even if the writing style doesn’t immediately work for you.

The premise is excellent and the description definitely intrigued me - this read as a Wild West meets as Sci-Fi plot, and that’s right up my alley. While that may usually be the case, I think I found it difficult to engage with characters who were integral to the storyline, and found myself unable to get invested - this is probably a mix of the writing style not working for me, and feeling like I didn’t know *enough* about the MC and their goal to feel truly interested.

I can appreciate that this is a generally well-written book, and if you gel with the writing style, I can easily see this being a five star read - it just unfortunately wasn’t the case for me. HOWEVER - I’m definitely going to revisit this as a physical book once it’s been published, so my review may change in the future.

Initial read thanks to an e-book ARC requested from NetGalley.

DNFing 50% in, no idea what the point of the story is, there's so many characters and nicknames I just got too confused. Also the formatting was terrible for the Kindle app, so many random page breaks.

In the distant future, climate change has reduced Earth to a hard-scrabble wasteland. Saints and sinners, lawmakers and sheriffs, gunslingers and horse thieves abound. Folk 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.

I wasn’t sure what to expect from the description, but I was pleasantly surprised by this book. I enjoyed that the main character was present throughout, and that the story was told not only from her point of view, but also from the points of view of the other characters she met along the way. The story was reminiscent of many Westerns, with a sort of lawless chaos taking place throughout. By the end, the love story finally comes together and ensured that the reader understands why the main character went through what she went through. And the fact that it’s an LGBTQ love story made me enjoy it even more.

Honestly a very ‘bitty’ book- I found that the dialogue and action go in fits and starts that made it hard to get fully absorbed in what was going on. The Firefly comparison is apt, but for me it lacked the heartwarming aspects and careful depth of other sci fi series such as Wayfarers or Victories Greater Than Death.

ah, frontier. charming and whimsical frontier. heartbreaking and mystifying frontier.

this book has everything.

end of the world? check. random murder mystery? you got it. betrayal? why not. gunfights? we need more gunfights. the crazy hunt for a lost comic strip that doubles as an analogy for queer ships and fandoms and also said comic strip may or not be in the possession of an even crazier otaku? yep. travelling book caravan? i'd donated my copy of the three musketeers to them if i could. cannibalism? mildly and technically didn't happen but, yes. the nation (?) inside a cult where people ritually dance and sing because they can and also that scene is so camp it made my heart happy? check.

seriously, everything.

while yes, this is one woman's search journey, it is also broken into multiple mini arcs. you'll basically get to meet a different character every chapter, each of them carries a different story of their own - you'll learn to love them, hate them, grieve them, miss them and eventually, you'll arrive at the final story. is it our protagonist's?

this book has a very fun and innovative concept, i'll give it that. depending on your personal preferences, it may or may not work for you. i am somewhere in the middle of this spectrum as i constantly felt the need to know more about our mysterious protagonist and her motivation. i needed more than a couple sentences here and there to remind us that, yes, she is still on a Journey. the mini arcs are enjoyable, sure. but i had to constantly reimmerse myself every time a new arc starts. there was nothing to anchor me down into the story, to make me excited enough to feverishly flip through the page and see what comes next. what was the point when the characters that i learned to love will just drift off into the wind by the end of this chapter? oh, you know who will be a great anchor? the protagonist! if i was given more time to know her! that final chapter truly arrived way too late. i would get it if this is not her story (something like the glass onion), but it literally said right there in the synopsis.

finally, that comp did not lie, fans of becky chamber will hopefully enjoy this book more than i did. if you are unsure, lessen your expectation. i still had a lot of fun reading despite not loving it as much as i would like.

//tw for animal deaths (the tortoise lives, don't worry), murders and violence.

I read an eARC of this book so thank you to Net Galley, the publisher and the author for allowing this.

Frontier is a really unique book. The author made some bold choices in the structure of this book and they have certainly paid off. I was intrigued to read this as the description sounded like Western in space. This is something I’m seeing more and more of lately and so far has been a great combination.

Frontier is set on Earth in the future. Ravaged by climate change and abandoned by most of humanity. A small group, followers of the Gaia religion remained after the great migration of humanity to live elsewhere in the Milky Way. Earth is now a post-apocalyptic landscape.

We meet a character whose name changes chapter by chapter based on the impression of those she interacts with. The Stranger, The Courier, The Homeless Woman etc. A bold choice by the author but one that actually works really well. I’ve seen this done badly in a different book and it left me confused and frustrated. This author has succeeded in doing this very naturally and it’s always clear we’re following the same person. Our protagonist is not from Earth but has crash landed and is desperately trying to find a way to her shipmates to see if anyone else, and especially her beloved have survived.

The format is almost video game like, our protagonist has a central mission she needs to achieve. Along her journey she interacts with different people and is given ‘side quests’ she has to complete for them before they’ll help her. This actually worked really well as it was always in service of the central goal. I was occasionally reminded of games like Fallout and The Outer Worlds while reading this. The structure allows the author to give you snippets of life for different people on this post-apocalyptic world without getting bogged down and it kept the narrative moving along quickly.

At one point in the book, a change happens and I did think the author had gone in a weird direction that rendered earlier parts of the book pointless. However the author quickly brought things back together in such an exciting and impactful way!

This is a very clever, very fun and exciting book and one that I will definitely buy.