Review : The 5th Gender by G.L. Carriger

The 5th Gender is a sci fi mystery romance about Tristol, an alien with lavender skin and prehensile noodly hair that has a mind of its own. He has quite a crush on the tall, dark, and handsome detective of the space station who has a crush on him back, but is reluctant to get together with the flirty purple one as Detective Drey can only do monogamy and the Galoi aliens are considered promiscuous. The two may finally be getting somewhere when they are interrupted by an emergency.

A ship from Tristol's home planet has docked at the space station. They are requesting help because there has been a murder on board and they have no idea how to solve the crime as their language doesn't even have a word for murder. Detective Drey is called on to help. Little is known about the Galoi though, so even though he's been exiled and is treated like he doesn't exist by his brethren, Tristol somehow has to help Drey solve the crime. And Tris hopes the detective decides to keep him along the way.

I like an awful lot about this book. The setting is well-thought out and explained well enough that it is easy to picture, but not overly explained where it takes away from the story.

The point-of-view shifts between Tris and Drey's viewpoints. This allows us to see the other one through a different light. They each have unique voices and it is very clear each time the viewpoint shifts. The changing POV really enhances the book. It also backs up the point that how we see someone isn't always how that person is, instead it is colored by our own perceptions.

The 5th Gender uses a higher level of language than most modern novels. This book is not at a 6th grade reading level and someone who reads at that level will quickly become confused and irritated. Of course the opposite is true as well. Those who like the way precise language feels will probably find the way it is written enjoyable. Personally, it was a relief to see words such as "foibles", "sentience", and "I shall be most diligent in his alimentation". Tris tends to use more complicated language when trying to explain things to humans.

We meet just a few alien species, which adds interest to the story without making it too confusing trying to remember which is which. The book is mainly about Galoi and humans, comparing and contrasting the two through interactions.

Tris had learned early on that there was very little humans would not do in pursuit of entertainment. (This also possibly explained all the progeny. ) They were easily entertained, especially, as it turned out, by Tris. It was a mutually beneficial arrangement. Tris was wildly curious and naturally flirty, and humans were easily flattered by both. Perhaps cats were the same.

The 5th Gender is cute and funny, but also deals with serious subjects. Gender identity, roles in society, even assumptions about who people are that are based on our own experiences and about how those assumptions can be hurtful and not capture who that person really is because we are looking at them through our own lens.

Based on the title of the book I sort of assumed it would feature gender prevalently (which it did), but I was expecting something about how some cultures on Earth consider humans to have five genders. This was not connected to that at all. It is about the Galoi alien race that comes in five genders. They are sexually dimorphic, and have very precise roles for each gender. It made me think a little of honey bees.

Galoi come in five genders. Antigua, which are the inseminators, they take a sort of matriarchal role. Male Isoga and female Isoga are those who nurse and raise the young, and they also are larger and protective. Male and female Loga are those who give birth. Tristol is a male loga, which means if he wanted to he could get pregnant by an antigua, but Tristol was exiled because he didn't want to carry children. Loga are required by Gal law to give birth to three children and choosing to be childfree makes him an outcaste, known as zyga. Tristol is commonly assumed by humans to be a gay male. This could technically be considered an mpreg, but Tristol does not get pregnant and no pregnant characters are shown in the book.

This really is the best kind of story, one that causes you to think about things in a different way. There is still fluffy and cuteness, but tied in are some scenes that make you ponder things and make some good points.

No one knows what someone else is going through or how they feel. We all have our own identities and emotions tied to those identities. Allowing your ego to decide for someone else how they should feel and forcing them into that box can be dangerous. This applies not just to aliens, but people on Earth too. Someone who is not interested in participating in heteronormative behavior or who is transgender have different experiences than people who do and never will the two completely understand each other because their experiences lead them to look at things differently. That is why it important to just accept that not everyone is the same or feels the same way, and how someone feels can be right for them. It may not be something that person even wants to feel, but denying it only makes things worse.

Which leads to a trigger warning. It is a major spoiler though, so all I will put down is that if you are really triggered by gender identity or the associated issues, you may want to be cautious about reading the book. It is worth reading, but you have to judge for yourself if you can handle it.

There is a throwaway comment about how ftm is hot, which comes across as a bit fetish-inclined, and some details can be a little offensive to some people. There is an alien race that comes in three genders but are all similar looking androgynous. They have neutral pronouns. Tris talking to one mentions that he is not attracted to biologically presenting females. Some people may feel a bit offended by that. Gender and sexuality are a bit too complicated to address in a way that makes everyone comfortable or fits everyone just right. It all goes back to seeing things through a different lens. Just be a little wary of reading this if you have gender dysphoria. It is a difficult subject.

But the story isn't all serious and moralistic. It is very lighthearted at turns. It hits just the right balance to make sure it isn't too heavy.

“Mister Montiguous escaped and went to visit ramen and Detective Hastion had to catch him.” 

“Tris, you can just say the cat. You don’t have to call him by name.” 

“But that would be rude!” objected Tris. “It is such a very good name: Mister Montiguous.”

His boss gave him a sly look. “Not Drey Hastion?” 

“That is a good name too. Is Drey Detective Hastion’s preliminary moniker?” Tristol tried it out on his tongue to see if it worked. It did. It suited Detective Hastion and he liked it very much. “Do you think he would let me call him Drey sometime?” 

“I think the good detective would let you call him anything you wanted.

Tris is a little flighty and forgetful. Drey is completely enamored by the little alien and goes all gruff in response. Their romance happens really quickly, definitely instalove, but it makes sense because they have been held back for so long that when they finally get together it happens with a bang. Image pulling a rubber band apart and trying to hold it there. When you finally release it it snaps together super fast. This is sort of like Tris and Drey. Tris wanted Drey immediately, but Drey was held back by his assumptions about the Galoi. When he finds out the truth he is already in love and ready to make a commitment. Though talking about marriage on their first day finally together is a bit much. Then again, who would let either of them get away?

Tris is absolutely adorable. He is bright and cheerful, good-natured and ready for whatever comes. He is also cute with a little small and lithe body, heart-shaped face, pointed teeth, and pointed ears. And he is lavender. One must be precise as appearance matters a lot to Galoi. Purple is far too generic a term. His skin is lavender, his hair is lavender, and his eyes are big, puppy-dog eyes of lavender. He also has hair very unlike humans'. It is made up of thicker tubes, like noodles, and he has a lot of control over it when he is paying attention. But, it also tends to reflect his moods and is prehensile. This means sometimes it is fluffing up in happiness and other times it's trying to sneakily touch his hot crush. A little like Medusa's hair if hers wasn't made up of snakes. Tris' hair is cute and he can be a little kinky with it.

The kinky sex scenes mean this isn't a book appropriate for young adults, although otherwise it would be lovely for that. Maybe mature YAs would be okay, but it would be a case by case basis. The audio story set in the same universe is appropriate for YA. The 5th Gender is part of The Tinkered Stars series, which so far only includes that book and the audio story that is difficult to get ahold of.

Detective Drey is a big, black man who is a little cautious with his size and strength. But his presence and warm, dark brown coloring is comforting. He is quite growly and gruff, especially as he is trying to resist flirty Tris. He has a close beard which Tris loves to rub up against, and a very large penis that tends toward purple when he gets hard. Tris thinks this is great!




And I just have to mention that I really love Tris' quarters. now I kinda want to do something similar with my own home, maybe make a napping spot in a closet. Tris' living room is really his bedroom and it doesn't have furniture. Instead, it is covered in mattresses and pillows to become a nest. The walls are painted to match his skin tone which makes them become a lavender sunset. The paint strokes reflect his emotional state. I like to think that after he adds Drey's personal palette to his walls it will turn out beautiful like the image below. A warm, brown presence adding steadiness to the lavender flow. Tris' nest is a reminder of how good art captures emotions and can convey a mental state.