BLUEBIRD by Ciel Pierlot – Review

I received this book for free from the Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Bluebird by Ciel Pierlot
Published by Angry Robot on February 8 2022
Genres: Adult, Science fiction
Pages: 400
Format: ARC
Source: Publisher
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Bluebird was a blast, and I’m so glad I had the chance to read it. According to the publisher’s description, you can expect “Lesbian gunslingers in space!” And yes, you get all of that, but Bluebird is so much more. Ciel Pierlot has written a thrilling adventure complete with spies, thieves, betrayal, secrets, gunfights, and more. Think Star Wars meets Indian Jones with a dash of The Good, The Bad and the Ugly, and you’ll have an idea of what to expect. I thought it would be fun to do a “list” review for this book, because there is a lot to love!

Here are ten reasons to read Bluebird:

1. The relationships. Pierlot really develops her characters so well, and I loved so many of the relationships. Rig and Ginka are my new favorite pair, and when I say “pair” I’m not talking romance. Rig is queer, but she’s in love with June. Ginka is straight and she’s in love with a man named Crane. But together, these two are dynamite. Think a comedy buddy movie with female characters and you get the idea!

2. The dialog. Give me fantastic dialog and I’m a reader of yours for life. It’s such an important element for me, dialog that feels real, dialog that’s funny and emotional depending on what’s going on in the story, dialog that’s sharp as a whip. Rig’s dialog was my favorite, but really, Pierlot gives all her characters a lot of good lines. Here’s just one example:

“If it isn’t Double Trouble,” he drawls, shifting his weight to one foot and casually resting his hand over the gun holstered to his thigh. “Pleasure to see you both again.”

“If it isn’t…I don’t have a good nickname for you yet; but I will, and it’ll be devastating, cause you’re an asshole,” Rig snaps back.

3. Badass women. Rig and Ginka are badass. But wait, so is June! I was surprised when seemingly quiet First Assistant Librarian June started holding her own in a fight. There’s definitely a Wild West vibe to the story, and the characters are constantly jumping head first into danger. It doesn’t hurt that the women can hold their own in fights with the men.

4. Humor. If humor is done right, it can make the book for me. That’s what happened here. The humor just worked, and the snarky characters, quips and snappy comebacks made me laugh out loud.

5. The worldbuilding. The story is obviously set in space, but there’s a touch of a fantasy vibe going on as well. Pierlot includes fascinating details about the different factions—Pyrite, Ascetic and Ossuary—which each have their own gods and belief systems. I also loved the idea of Windshadow and the Nightbirds, two clandestine groups with vastly different agendas. The author adds her worldbuilding details in an organic way so the story isn’t bogged down with info dumping.

6. High tech weapons and gadgets. There’s a cool type of weapon made of a golden substance called Helltech, and it’s Ginka’s main weapon. She can create knives and other sharp things just by thinking about it because of a biological connection, and it was pretty cool. And we can’t forget Rig’s guns, Panache and Pizzazz, which just might hide a secret… 

7. The romances. Romance isn’t the focus at all, but there are a couple of nice, emotional relationships in the story. My favorite is Rig’s and June’s. You could call theirs a long distance relationship, which I thought was pretty unusual. June is a librarian on Ascetic and she can never leave the library (not sure why). She’s dedicated to her faction and loves her job. Meanwhile, Rig loves her job and doesn’t want to give it up to live with June. Rig visits when she can, and it works for them. I also enjoyed the forbidden romance between Ginka and Crane, her Handler. It was sweet watching their relationship unfold, although I can’t say much about it because of spoilers.

8. An exciting plot that never gets boring. Bluebird has all of my favorite thriller tropes: assassins, thieves, double crosses, tests of loyalty, gunfights, chases through space, mortal danger, near death experiences, and enemies who fight with words just as much as with their weapons. 

9. The little details. I love when authors take an object and write a story around it that carries throughout the entire book. For example, Rig finds a scarf pin that belongs to her kidnapped sister, and the pin keeps popping up again and again. Likewise, a valuable crystal statue that belonged to Rig’s people, the Kashrini, becomes an important element. Both these objects added a nice extra layer to the story.

10. Wait, this is a debut? Ciel Peirlot’s writing is so polished and punchy, and it didn’t feel like a debut at all. Did I mention how much I loved the dialog? Oh yeah. Well, I’m mentioning it again.

I thought the ending wrapped up really well, and although it reads as a standalone, I would love to read more stories set in this world. Whatever Pierlot writes next, I can’t wait to read it.

Big thanks to the publisher for providing a review copy.