Authors Note: As in a lot of dystopian novels, there are some intense events that transpire, like mrder, rpe, violence in and out of prison life, etc., so please take that into consideration before reading.
In a not-so-distant future—perhaps one we are beginning to witness—the State’s power rises and it takes control over the Land and its resources. You, too, are expected to fall in line.
“The State’s” imposed order consists of the erasure of expressions of gender and sexuality that don’t align with its directive. Those labeled divergents, or “vergers” may face a terrible fate if caught. Luckily Ash, a white trans woman, and her best friend Pinar, a cis woman of color, have survived and are serving the resistance beyond State-controlled land. Throughout the Margins and Murmurations series, Otter Lieffe takes you on a winding journey of survival, world-building, and resistance from the perspective of all present sides.
So what part will you play in the new world order?
To say I devoured these books would be an understatement. I was absolutely voracious when I first got my hands on this series. Basking in the sunrise, commuting down to my civ blue-collar job, I would lose myself in these books and in feeling both seen and kin with the variety of representation. It was as though I were a part of the “resistance sex workers”, the expansive “trans and queer bodies network”, the “disabled kin”, and the “food access” baddies. A continual theme playing out over all of these books is that there are many different parts of making up a resistance and there is room for all of our skills and wisdom.
I would lose myself in these books and in feeling both seen and kin with the variety of representation.
Something not always seen in a series is that the trilogy can be read alone or in any order the reader sees fit. In order of publishing, the series consists of three books: Margins and Murmurations, Conserve and Control, and Dignity. There are some centralized characters that appear throughout the three books in varying capacities, the main two being Ash and Pinar, the series’ protagonists. Their past, present, and future—Ash is able to time travel—histories laid out and recalled by many really drive and expand the resistance’s movement. Two other characters central to the series that expand upon realities not really seen in the speculative fiction genre are Kit, a trans woman of color, and Danny, a cis queer man of color, who are both sex workers. The two help run the sex workers’ resistance movement, as the State protects sex workers only if they serve the State. The way Otter writes the in-work and out-of-work realities of these characters feels so authentic.
Margins focuses on a time after the “Femme Riots”, and after the State has gotten comfortable being in power. Due to climate change, it is struggling to maintain control of resources. The resistance continues to grow and co-opt information to use against the State, but can everyone be trusted and does everyone really have the same goals in mind?
The antagonist of this book is “the General”, a secretly-gay white man, very “Neo-Nazi” in character, who rises and falls from power. The aspects of his character give an insight into a part of the spectrum of queerness not always discussed openly in community, but known. There is a vast spectrum of queer perspective and nods to queer culture, for instance through different displays of cruising. We “meet” natural beings that are occupying the lands, further pushing the interconnectedness of care and our impact on the land we occupy.
The aspects of his character give an insight into a part of the spectrum of queerness not always discussed openly in community, but known.
After Margins’ occupation, I moved to Conserve and Control (which may or may not be the second in the series). It opens in “Espera”, a utopia where the resistance have won; all are cared for and respected, and “the Union” now oversees the people. But does this utopia serve everyone? A new set of characters are revealed; Teal, a trans woman of color, and Cyan, a white non-binary person, work together as environmental research partners whose tumultuous relationship unfolds through the pages. Aq, a cis man of color, works security for the Union and is assigned to a new detail who expands his experiences in the world of kink dynamics.
Not often do I get to encounter books that infuse and discuss both eco-activism and D/s dynamics, let alone in ways that feel authentic and nuanced. Reading some of Aq’s perspective, I re-felt what “baby” Dayze felt when I had my first D/s client—all those unknowns! (And what a bizarre feeling to have while sitting on a crowded bus, in my blue-collar clothes, sweaty and probably smelly after an eight-hour day laboring in the sun, a state in which, I know, multiple subs would ache to worship me in. Having multiple identities is so hot—like yes I am both a farmer and a sex worker. How would you like your healing today? With dignity please! Which is how I am about to finish off this series!)
Dignity starts with a moment of hope, setting the stage with what feels like the hum before an action, and then dropping you into the perspective of someone else. Yarrow, a non-binary white person, works a shift at a care facility. We are all met back up with Ash and Pinar, seemingly after the fall out from the end of Margins—still at odds with the State, still fighting alongside the resistance, but existing in a space of burnout and survival.
Dignity starts with a moment of hope, setting the stage with what feels like the hum before an action, and then dropping you into the perspective of someone else.
Survival and care as acts of resistance feel like the overarching themes throughout this book, with more emphasis on our more vulnerable community members; those who might be elderly and disabled. Ash and others from the resistance are older, some need support with access or have mobility devices, but most importantly everyone is in need of care. Seeking, asking, needing, and providing care are such acts of resistance; they can literally be life saving and are actions we all need and require, even in the act of resistance. They allow us all to continue to move forward, to take up space; to exist—and what is more powerful than existing? The perspective sanctioned by the State? Yeah right!
This series of books was truly transformative for me. They gave me hope that we can do this together and that we need each other to survive and to move the world forward. If people pushed to the margins did not survive to tell their tales, these books would have never been written, and I would not have this platform to be highlighting them.
Choosing to show up—actively choosing to care—takes work, and it is hard work at that. But it’s that work that transforms lives and allows for perspectives to be shared. Importantly, it is what allows us to exist! To live! To let someone care for you is to let someone love you. I hope we both can allow ourselves to let someone take care of us today.
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