Book Review – Dear Stupid Penpal

I signed up for ARCs from weird horror publisher Tenebrous Press, and this one showed up recently.

I try to be judicious with my reading time and don’t hesitate to stop reading books that don’t interest me. I finished this, and was happy to do so… With some caveats.

Essentially, it’s an epistolary story about love growing over email, between a character name Aku and another, Atticus “Finch” Davani. These are the “Penpals” of the title.

Finch is on board a spaceship and Aku back on earth, and they fall in love as they communicate across the void. Complications and drama ensue.

There are things I really liked about this one. Aku in the story is a poet, and his voice is actually poetic. Some of the writing in his letters is achingly beautiful.

Hartley did a wonderful job in general with voice and pace. There were lots of fun little interacts that felt really natural.

And, I suppose given the day and age, it’s important to mention that this is a queer love story, of several flavors, with wide representation: disability, religion, and color.

So, I want to commend  Hartley on writing a beautiful story that moves quickly.

If that sounds like something you’d like, in a near future weird SF/light horror story, then I think you’ll really enjoy this one. Stop reading this review and go pre-order/read this book.

And if, by any chance, Rascal Hartley is reading this, good job! Seriously. Now, go live your life happily.

But, like I said, there are caveats. So if you’re curious about some nitpicky details, read on.

Warning: this part has some spoilers, because a basic plot point that I would normally put in a summary ends up being used as major turning point in the story… Oddly.

**Spoilers Start**

So, as mentioned, Finch is on a spacecraft. An interstellar one. Sent to explore the vast reaches of space beyond the solar system using a hyperdrive system.

And along the way, the crew suddenly has the terrifying, shocking realization of the existence of… Time dilation. One of the most basic of all SFnal concepts. One that I, a philosophy/linguistics student with no grasp of physics or math, have known about since elementary school.

I mean, once I saw the mention of “hyperdrive” I started thinking, “These folks sure are blasé about never seeing their friends or families again.”

Because, for those who don’t know, (theoretically) when you travel fast enough to reach other stars within a single human lifespan, you’re at a significant enough portion of light speed that time travels much, much more slowly for you than those not traveling. Your people back on earth will outstrip you, aging and dying while you live on.

But none of the crew of this highly advanced spacecraft with FTL communication equipment etc. knew about that?

Sure, we can assume the government is despicably trying to hide that this is essentially a mission from which there’s  no return to normal life, but the media didn’t notice it before the launch?

None of their friends had ever read any SF books?

The actual scientists aboard that ship didn’t think about it until after they left?

I have to be honest, I just assumed the crew was utterly unqualified  for the mission when that became clear. It’s obvious Atticus shouldn’t be there. I mean, he’s kind of an idiot. So, perhaps the government chose people it saw as useless and disposable to be the guinea pigs for this inaugural trip. They didn’t choose the best and brightest, that’s for sure.

But! If you can ignore all that and not think too deeply about two people who have never met falling so deeply in love over email that their love lasts *literal millennia* then this is a fun book that actually has many more plot points that remain unspoiled by this review.