What in the world did I just read?! Nothing could have prepared me for the wild ride Bitch Planet took me on. I don’t think I’ve ever read anything so in-your-face before, but I liked it. Bitch Planet is like The Handmaid’s Tale times 11. Basically, any woman deemed noncompliant is rounded up and sent to a jail planet officially known as Auxiliary Compliance Outpost, colloquially known as Bitch Planet. Who decides if women are noncompliant? A council of holy “fathers” meets to judge offenders and decide their fate. This super creepy manifestation of the patriarchy is effective even if it is a touch literal. Women can be found noncompliant for almost anything: getting in a man’s way, being too fat or too thin, being a bad mother or wife, having too many opinions, etc. Eventually, the powers that be decide that forming a Bitch Planet team for the world’s most popular and dangerous sport, Megaton, is a good idea. One prisoner is tapped to form and lead the team to glory. Or death. Probably to death.
The art is very stylized and not what I usually go for, but it works for the type of story it is. There’s a lot of movement and energy in the art that helps create a frenetic, over-the-top experience. For the most part, the novel was easy to follow while still being a little challenging in a good way. My favorite parts of the novel were when it delved into the backstories of individual characters (kind of like Orange is the New Black does). That kind of zooming in of the story makes you feel closer to them and understand them better.
I will definitely be picking up volume 2 whenever it comes out. After the gut and mind punch that was volume 1, I won’t be able to keep myself away from future editions.
With every review I read of this on CBR, I want to read it more. Thanks for pushing this up a bit higher on the TBR list.