Because my mom said so

, #2

eBook, 263 pages

English language

Published Jan. 25, 2025

ASIN:
B0DSG7WBLY
Goodreads:
223341787

Ismat’s dating life is terrible, and a lot of it has to do with honesty. Not that he doesn’t want to be honest, he just can’t – or it will ruin his life. He can’t tell anyone he works for the Dominion Security Bureau counter-terrorism division; he can’t tell his date who his father is, even if he knows them, and he most definitely can’t tell them how he actually feels about the gender he has to wear. A possible security breach in the Bureau means that he and his immediate boss are the only people who can be trusted with a case. Things rapidly become more complicated as the Bureau’s Director pulls two foreign agents into the mix. More complicated than others because Ismat finds one of them very attractive, something which he would rather the agent not know. Unfortunately – she’s telepathic. When the investigation leads them to …

2 editions

reviewed Because my mom said so by Or M. Bialik (Worlds of the PACT, #2)

Also a good space opera spy thriller

I guess people pick this up as queer fiction before they do as SF. And we do get enough of Ismat slowly working out their gender (again): male wasn’t it, becoming female for a job is not that bad, but still not it. But what else is there in the Dominion?

Then there is the main or surface story: it starts with the security service (meh, but we are with the non-corrupt folks) learning about weapon smugglers, and end up with a three- or four-way fight that is close to bringing the Dominion to a civil war.

Also, great world building. The author’s description and charts are quite helpful. PACT #1 is (i think) set in the Empire with Alliance folks saving the day. This is set in the Dominion, with Alliance folks saving the day.

Subjects

  • Adventure
  • SFF
  • LGBTQ+
  • Transgender