The Seep

Hardcover, 203 pages

English language

Published Jan. 17, 2020 by Soho Press.

ISBN:
978-1-64129-086-9
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4 stars (4 reviews)

A blend of searing social commentary and speculative fiction, Chana Porter’s fresh, pointed debut is perfect for fans of Jeff VanderMeer and Carmen Maria Machado.

Trina Goldberg-Oneka is a fifty-year-old trans woman whose life is irreversibly altered in the wake of a gentle—but nonetheless world-changing—invasion by an alien entity called The Seep. Through The Seep, everything is connected. Capitalism falls, hierarchies and barriers are broken down; if something can be imagined, it is possible.

Trina and her wife, Deeba, live blissfully under The Seep’s utopian influence—until Deeba begins to imagine what it might be like to be reborn as a baby, which will give her the chance at an even better life. Using Seeptech to make this dream a reality, Deeba moves on to a new existence, leaving Trina devastated.

Heartbroken and deep into an alcoholic binge, Trina follows a lost boy she encounters, embarking on an unexpected quest. In …

3 editions

Review of 'The Seep' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

Humanity has been finally united, thanks to the psychedelic transcendence brought by our new alien friends, the collective trip-inducing hivemind goop known as The Seep. War is over, poverty is over, capitalism is over, colonialism is over, no one can tolerate exploitation when they're acutely aware of the feelings of everybody else and all the animals and plants and each individual body cell. Art flourishes, new and strange occupations flourish, property is collective and abundant in every regard, endless possibilities open up before ourselves. Guided by the new, hyperempathetic Seep tech, people are modifying their bodies to be furries and cyborgs and anything else they want. Other animals ascend to linguistic sentience and we can talk to them now. Some people opt to live chill lives crafting or Seeping out to cool art shows, others take to exploring the boundaries of identity and personhood itself.

No catch, really. No hidden …

reviewed The Seep by Chana Porter

The Seep

4 stars

Content warning minor spoilers

reviewed The Seep by Chana Porter

The Seep

4 stars

The Seep is a story about grief, more than anything else. The description of how Trina deals with her grief is well written. But I give the book only 3 stars because it feels shallow. How do we have multiple characters who turn out to be so important to Trina and her journey, without us learning much about them? I finished the book in an evening, and felt that perhaps something important had gone over my head because the story just seemed to be missing something. Trina is native, and Jewish, and trans. Does any of her identity and cultural background influence how she deals with the world created by the arrival of the Seep? It feels like it should be relevant, and I can speculate, but if there were hints from the author I missed them.

Despite the shallowness, the parts that are there are very good. Porter creates …

avatar for MxRemy

rated it

5 stars

Subjects

  • Fiction
  • Thriller
  • Dystopian
  • Alien invasion