Queering Holmes

We-e-ell...the lamviin have hands. Like, actual human hands. Nine of them, to be precise (three at the end of each limb). Which is why in my longer review I called Smith's xenobiology "quaint," because crustaceans with hands is completely implausible from an evolutionary (or "ascensionist") perspective, but for Smith's purposes it works, and pretty well. At times it's possible to mostly forget that they are crustaceans; to be honest I'm still not 100% clear on just what they look like, despite the cover illustration. Which I think Smith intended.

So maybe I have squicked you out further with this comment, but if not, it really is worth checking out. :)