Our Ways Unmasked by CB Lansdell

Our Ways Unmasked is excellent science fiction. Buy it. Read it. And if you haven’t read its partner in the Duology, Far Removed, get that too.

The book continues the stories of Oklas and Prismer, which are simultaneously distinct and, more and more, together. It is a story of growth, acceptance, hope, happiness, and sorrow.

Oklas faces the struggle of adjusting, from being a powerful Praemor minister to being a disfigured and shunned maskad. He fights, worried that he is less of a person, for a “cure”, for a way to be made whole again. He learns about prejudice and learns what it means to truly connect with a person.

Prismer grows quite a bit too, but she is less volatile and more stable than Oklas. She learns to come out from the shadows, to take her own turn in the spotlight. She claims her own self-worth. But she also drives the story. It is through Prismer that we understand most of Knyad society, that we learn about the complex life cycle of knyads. It is through her we learn about the religion and the traditions of Knyadrea.

The story is told in alternating chapters from Oklas’ and Prismer’s POV. There is tremendous world-building, deep, multi-faceted characters, and unique, yet not unfamiliar technology.
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Enthusiastically recommended!