An Unkindness of Ghosts by Rivers Solomon

TLDR:

An Unkindness of Ghosts is a rare “perfect storm” book for me: wildly entertaining sci-fi and beautifully constructed and deeply meaningful. It’s a 5/5 that hits hard without preaching—just sharp, human, and unforgettable.

The Breakdown:

An Unkindness of Ghosts is transgressive SciFi novel that takes place on a massive generation ship—basically a world in space—where society is brutally stratified, and the “lower decks” are treated like disposable labor while the wealthy live above them. The story follows Aster, a sharp, isolated healer trying to survive that system while digging into what the ship is really doing, what’s being hidden, and whether there’s any way to change a world designed to keep people in their place.

Rivers Solomon sets this story on a generation ship, but it doesn’t feel like shiny space opera. It feels lived-in and brutal and real—like a whole society you can smell and hear. On a pure “just tell me a good story” level, it’s gripping: great characters, constant tension, and that satisfying sense of stepping into a world that’s bigger than you expected.

What makes it special, though, is how much it’s doing under the hood. It tackles gender and gender dynamics, neurodivergence, race, body autonomy, consent, abuse—so many heavy topics—and somehow it stays nuanced. It doesn’t flatten people into ideas. It just lets them be complicated, harmed, resilient, messy, and brilliant.

Insights:

• It’s a masterclass in balance. The book never sacrifices story for message, or message for story. Everything feeds everything.
• The character work is the engine. Even when the setting is harsh, the people feel vivid enough to carry you through it.
• It taught me things without “teaching.” Especially around gender—stuff I don’t have a deep personal framework for—I walked away feeling genuinely expanded, not lectured.

Final Reflections:

Check trigger warnings. This book goes to some dark places. But for me, it was absolutely worth it—one of those reads that feels like a full experience. Five out of five on all fronts, and I’d recommend it to pretty much everyone willing to take on something intense.