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Space Unicorn Blues by TJ Berry
IDs: Lesbian, Sapphic, Physically Disabled, Wheelchair User, Chronic Pain, Asexual, Transfeminine, Transgender, Asian, Māori, South Asian, Multiracial
Author IDs: Queer, Chronic Pain
CWs: Instances of torture, violence, forced cannibalism, and colonization, mention of transphobia, enslavement, and attempted genocide
Berry’s novel is one of the strangest things I have ever read. In the world of the novel, unicorns are real, as are fairies, elves, gnomes, and other magical beings. These magical beings, called the Bala, live in space on their own planets. When Earth becomes irrevocably polluted, humans start colonizing space, calling their empire "Reason." They discover the Bala, and immediately start fighting a war with them. Eventually, the humans win, and our story takes place after this battle has been won. The humans have discovered that the magic in the Bala can be used by humans if they physically take it from the Bala’s bodies. Gary, our protagonist, is a half-unicorn, Indian, asexual being whose incarceration has just ended. He must hide his unicorn identity, as unicorns are very rare and some of the most powerful Bala of all. Their blood is magic and can heal any injury. Their horns are what power lightspeed. Without it, all spacecraft have to travel at standard speed. Gary, in attempting to win his spaceship back in a gambling hall, runs into Jenny, our other protagonist. Jenny is a Māori disabled lesbian wheelchair-user. She is an ex-soldier, formerly part of the Reason space force that is responsible for massacring the Bala. Jenny also previously held Gary hostage on his own ship and used his horn to travel at lightspeed. Through a strange series of events, Gary, Jenny, Ricky (the owner of the gambling hall), and Cowboy Jim (Jenny’s former co-captain) set about on an adventure.
The novel has some interesting critiques of and engagement with ideas of colonization, queerness, race, and disability. The text explores accessibility in space in a number of ways, but perhaps most notably through Gary’s multiracial identity and Jenny’s disability. Everywhere they go, Gary must hide his identity and the physical parts of him that would identify him as a unicorn. Jenny has to navigate physical accessibility issues nearly anywhere she goes. There is an important meeting of these access needs when Jenny and Gary board Gary’s ship. Stoneships, for unicorns, are incredibly culturally important. They have a deep personal connection with the unicorn to whom they belong. Each Stoneship is a living system, and must be cared for as such. One way that the ship is maintained is by covering the floors in dirt and planting things in this dirt. Sounds nice, right? Yes, except the dirt and plants make it nearly impossible for Jenny to navigate her wheelchair through it. This is just one moment among many that interrogate and examine the complexities of conflicting access needs and cultural traditions. Berry does this brilliantly, insisting that these conflicting needs will happen no matter where we are, and asking how we navigate and accommodate these conflicting access needs while working towards justice for all.
Discussion Questions
1. Who is the hero in this story? The villain? Why?
2. What is this novel saying about colonization in space? Capitalism in space?
3. What does accessibility mean in this novel?
4. Was Gary in the wrong in the situation with Cheryl? Was Jenny? Was anyone?
5. What role does magic play in this novel, particularly in regards to disability and power?