Reviews of Different Senses

I just finished Different Senses by Ann Somerville. She’s an author from Australia. But in this book, her characters usually have Indian names–and their honorific is “Sri”. She writes of a planet where biologically-engineered human were created to be perfect to live there–they all have red hair, blue eyes, and many if not most, have ESP. They can sense the thoughts and emotions of others. Then the dominant race, the Black folks, moved in, took all of the best pieces of land, began to treat the local indigenous population as trash, etc. Someone commented to me when I spoke of the book, that he doesn’t want to read something that blames Black folks for being as bad as white folks are these days. But that’s not the point of the book–and you are led to feel empathy for all of the characters, no matter their color. It was published as a series of short stories, and I enjoyed them all. Now it’s a book, and the last chapter is the longest–mostly because it resolves the M/M tension that runs through all of the rest of the stories. It’s got lots of suspense, and a lead male who finds out his family line isn’t as pure as they had thought, when his ESP “turns on”. He’s shunned by his own family, and loses his police detective job, because having ESP is considered to be an invasion of other people’s thoughts–but it’s a part of him now, even as he despises it in himself. How he learns to accept himself as he is now, is a big part of the stories. He becomes a private investigator, and of course, he gets clients from the indigenous population, because he’s very good at what he does–also, he’s “one of them” now. I don’t usually read mysteries—I picked this up because of another author’s recommendation–and I’m so glad that I did.

Javen Ythen loves his job as a cop, doing his part to foster justice and community safety. He also gets some satisfaction from thumbing his nose at his powerful father and high-society mother, who feel police work isn’t an appropriate occupation for the son of the state governor. When Javen is seriously wounded in the line of duty, his world falls apart – not due to his physical injuries, but because the trauma triggers his genetic predisposition for empathy. It’s bad enough having everyone’s emotions clamoring in his mind, but for Javen, being matos has far more dire consequences. First, his new talent is an unwelcome sign that he is not pure Kelon, but of mixed race, since only the despised banis people, indigenous to the planet, carry the empathy gene. Second, privacy laws mean he’s no longer welcome in the police force. Worst of all, his long-time lover Kirin breaks off their relationship. It seems the man can’t bear the notion of being emotionally transparent – or perhaps Javen’s newly revealed racial background has some influence.

Depressed and bitter, Javen drifts into working as a private investigator. In his first case, he solves the mystery of a stolen jewel and clears the name of a young woman from the banis community. His new connections with the banis – or Nihan, as they call themselves - give him the opportunity to research his genealogy and find out more about his Nihani ancestors. He also begins to see, first hand, the many ways in which the original inhabitants of Uterden face discrimination and oppression from his own race. Over time, he adds Nihani interns and staff to his business, and as a result, becomes increasingly involved in their struggle for justice and equality. When a crooked court rules against Nihani interests and triggers violence and civil unrest, Javen finds himself in a life-and-death race to find the real terrorists, before the Kelon masters crush the Nihan and bury their aspirations for a better life.

Meanwhile, throughout the book, Javen struggles with his desire for the clever but hostile Nihani lawyer Shardul Hema Rishabh. As the only member of his people to have a Kelon law degree, Shardul seems to be involved in many of Javen’s cases. There’s an undeniable attraction between the two men, but Shardul could never love a Kelon, even one with some Nihani blood.

I downloaded Different Senses from Smashwords for free, during the Authors Give Back event, at the start of the Covid-19 epidemic. Though I’d never heard of the author, the book sounded appealing – science fiction is a long time favorite genre for me, and it had been too long since I’d read any MM romance. I’m so glad I followed my instincts. Different Senses is amazing, one of the best books I’ve read this year.

I loved everything about the novel. Ms. Somerville builds a believable world and a complex society, complete with customs, religions and language – a world ultimately not that different from our own. Every character is richly imagined and skillfully drawn. This is true not only of Javen and Shardul, but also more minor players such as the voluble Doctor Nihar and the blind Nihan elder Roshni. Everyone changes and grows over time. In particular, Javen’s father gradually transforms from something of a villain to an unexpected hero.

The oppression of the Nihan felt so familiar – especially given the events of the last month or so. The Nihan face the same sort of institutional racism endured by people of color in the United States. With few economic or educational opportunities, they’re viewed as backward and ignorant. Police and other representatives of state power are quick to suspect the Nihan of wrong doing and brutal in their reactions. At the same time, the Kelons admire banis artifacts, wear banis textiles, and create vast collections of works essentially stolen from the colonized culture.

In a neat little twist, by the way, Ms. Somerville has given the Kelon master race dark skins. The Nihan are red-haired, fair-skinned and green-eyed. That doesn’t stop them from being viewed as barely human.

The author doesn’t hit you over the head with this. There are no polemics in this book, although the underlying political themes provide one critical thread in the story. We learn about the Nihan situation through the eyes of Javen, as he gradually becomes closer to the people and their ways. The transition is subtle, sensitive, and extremely compelling.

The copyright page of Different Senses makes it clear that the different “chapters” in the book were originally published separately. Despite this, the book feels unified and has an integrated narrative arc, with an overarching conflict and resolution. I’ve referred to the book as a novel because that’s what it feels like: the story of Javen’s cultural enlightenment and his search for love.

Before concluding, I should mention the attitudes toward homosexuality on Uterden. The Kelons show themselves to be extremely prejudiced against the Nihan, but there’s no apparent negative feeling about same-sex relationships at all. Javen and Kirin are accepted as a normal family unit by everyone in the society. Javen and Shardul will have greater problems, due to their races, but not because they are both men. I loved this feeling of comfort.

This is a fantastic book. I will definitely be checking out some of Ann Somerville’s other work.

(no rating)
Javen Ythen loves his job as a cop, doing his part to foster justice and community safety. He also gets some satisfaction from thumbing his nose at his powerful father and high-society mother, who feel police work isn’t an appropriate occupation for the son of the state governor. When Javen is seriously wounded in the line of duty, his world falls apart – not due to his physical injuries, but because the trauma triggers his genetic predisposition for empathy. It’s bad enough having everyone’s emotions clamoring in his mind, but for Javen, being matos has far more dire consequences. First, his new talent is an unwelcome sign that he is not pure Kelon, but of mixed race, since only the despised banis people, indigenous to the planet, carry the empathy gene. Second, privacy laws mean he’s no longer welcome in the police force. Worst of all, his long-time lover Kirin breaks off their relationship. It seems the man can’t bear the notion of being emotionally transparent – or perhaps Javen’s newly revealed racial background has some influence.

Depressed and bitter, Javen drifts into working as a private investigator. In his first case, he solves the mystery of a stolen jewel and clears the name of a young woman from the banis community. His new connections with the banis – or Nihan, as they call themselves - give him the opportunity to research his genealogy and find out more about his Nihani ancestors. He also begins to see, first hand, the many ways in which the original inhabitants of Uterden face discrimination and oppression from his own race. Over time, he adds Nihani interns and staff to his business, and as a result, becomes increasingly involved in their struggle for justice and equality. When a crooked court rules against Nihani interests and triggers violence and civil unrest, Javen finds himself in a life-and-death race to find the real terrorists, before the Kelon masters crush the Nihan and bury their aspirations for a better life.

Meanwhile, throughout the book, Javen struggles with his desire for the clever but hostile Nihani lawyer Shardul Hema Rishabh. As the only member of his people to have a Kelon law degree, Shardul seems to be involved in many of Javen’s cases. There’s an undeniable attraction between the two men, but Shardul could never love a Kelon, even one with some Nihani blood.

I downloaded Different Senses from Smashwords for free, during the Authors Give Back event, at the start of the Covid-19 epidemic. Though I’d never heard of the author, the book sounded appealing – science fiction is a long time favorite genre for me, and it had been too long since I’d read any MM romance. I’m so glad I followed my instincts. Different Senses is amazing, one of the best books I’ve read this year.

I loved everything about the novel. Ms. Somerville builds a believable world and a complex society, complete with customs, religions and language – a world ultimately not that different from our own. Every character is richly imagined and skillfully drawn. This is true not only of Javen and Shardul, but also more minor players such as the voluble Doctor Nihar and the blind Nihan elder Roshni. Everyone changes and grows over time. In particular, Javen’s father gradually transforms from something of a villain to an unexpected hero.

The oppression of the Nihan felt so familiar – especially given the events of the last month or so. The Nihan face the same sort of institutional racism endured by people of color in the United States. With few economic or educational opportunities, they’re viewed as backward and ignorant. Police and other representatives of state power are quick to suspect the Nihan of wrong doing and brutal in their reactions. At the same time, the Kelons admire banis artifacts, wear banis textiles, and create vast collections of works essentially stolen from the colonized culture.

In a neat little twist, by the way, Ms. Somerville has given the Kelon master race dark skins. The Nihan are red-haired, fair-skinned and green-eyed. That doesn’t stop them from being viewed as barely human.

The author doesn’t hit you over the head with this. There are no polemics in this book, although the underlying political themes provide one critical thread in the story. We learn about the Nihan situation through the eyes of Javen, as he gradually becomes closer to the people and their ways. The transition is subtle, sensitive, and extremely compelling.

The copyright page of Different Senses makes it clear that the different “chapters” in the book were originally published separately. Despite this, the book feels unified and has an integrated narrative arc, with an overarching conflict and resolution. I’ve referred to the book as a novel because that’s what it feels like: the story of Javen’s cultural enlightenment and his search for love.

Before concluding, I should mention the attitudes toward homosexuality on Uterden. The Kelons show themselves to be extremely prejudiced against the Nihan, but there’s no apparent negative feeling about same-sex relationships at all. Javen and Kirin are accepted as a normal family unit by everyone in the society. Javen and Shardul will have greater problems, due to their races, but not because they are both men. I loved this feeling of comfort.

This is a fantastic book. I will definitely be checking out some of Ann Somerville’s other work.

I enjoyed this book thoroughly. It has all the elements I love in a book: It's a story about prejudice, friendship and racism (with a touch of detective stories) more than a romantic book and that shows from the beginning, so I'm a bit baffled about the 4 years complaining review, there's plenty of porn out there if that's what you're looking for (and I don't mean it in a negative way). I think is one of the best Ann Somerville books.

Yet another amazing read from Somerville.

I loooved how the story itself is seperated in two main parts. The first part is seperated in smaller stories each a case for Javen to solve (in the first ones he's alone, but gains friends along the way as he solves cases), and how all these small ones get interwoven along the way and lead up to the second part which is the inevitable clash between two populations.

I agree that I would have liked the romance to develop before those last 25-30 pages, but I think it's a natural flow considering Shardul's character. You get hints here and there from Shardul and I found it really funny and intertaining how akward Shardul is at times towards Javen.

It's a unique story which I haven't seen the like of before. I can't say this is Somerville's best novel because she has written so many amazing novels but she is definitely one of my favorite writers of all time and this story is a perfect example of how brilliant an author she is.

The story has a very, very good plot and solid characters (which I like best in a book). I enjoyed it very much and I read it within the first day of purchase. With all due respect, sex and overly emotional drama get too old, too fast. A good book needs good characters and well-thought plot like in this book in order to be read again and again by me.
So what if the romance is slow-pacing?! For me it's logical that well-founded, long-term feelings need time to be built and acknowledged by the characters and by the reader. So the confession is that much sweeter in the end.
The investigations are very entertaining for me and it's interesting to see what will be the result. AND the main character just happens to be gay and in search of himself and maybe love, which sometimes is secondary or parallel to the investigations. SO what? If you want a whirlwind romance and a love profession every 5 minutes... with the plot secondary to everything else... then your expectations will not be met.
If you want to read a well-put together book, then come on over and buy it. You won't regret it.

I do love a good slow romantic build up, but FOUR YEARS?? Okay, I loved the whole story, or rather collection of stories, but I do wish that Javen and Shardul had acknowledged their love for each other before the last 25-30 pages. So maybe I shouldn't rate this as a romance, but they are so much a part of each others lives for so long that it has to be. Since this is a review... not a rehash of the synopsis, I'll just state that the whole book was great. Wonderful world building, great characters and Javen is so real as a person that you really know him by the end of the book. I highly recommend this book to those who enjoy a complex ongoing tale that works it's way through this collection of stories. It is a fascinating look at prejudice and how it overshadows all aspects of a persons life.

This was a great story. I have read quite a few of Ann's stories and I have to say this was as good as the others. Likeable and believable characters, detailed and interesting 'verse development ... kept me very interested until the end. I would have like more interpersonal details between the protagonists but despite that I really like the book.

Excellent story. I enjoy all of Ann Somerville's work, but this book is my favorite. From the structure- cases, to the rich world. The characters are all well developed as always and I'm very satisfied with the relationship of the two main characters.

I finished this book this morning and like most of Ann Somerville's books, I thought there was a lot of bang for my buck. The thing I love the most about her verses is that it really sucks you in. I thoroughly enjoyed Javen's changes in person throughout the novel and the personalities of all the characters.

There is a lot of plot in this book, but I was a bit disappointed with the relationship-aspect of the characters. The ending especially, when it was a cut and dry explanation about how the characters did this and that and lived happily ever after.

I would rate it at about 3.5/5 overall.