The Seep

Written by Chana Porter

Narrated by Shakina Nayfack

“A unique alien invasion story that focuses on the human and the myriad ways we see and don’t see our own world. Mesmerizing.”
—Jeff VanderMeer

A blend of searing social commentary and speculative fiction, Chana Porter’s fresh, pointed debut explores a strange new world in the wake of a benign alien invasion.

Trina FastHorse Goldberg-Oneka is a fifty-year-old trans woman whose life is irreversibly altered in the wake of a gentle—but nonetheless world-changing—invasion by an alien entity called The Seep. Through The Seep, everything is connected. Capitalism falls, hierarchies and barriers are broken down; if something can be imagined, it is possible.

Trina and her wife, Deeba, live blissfully under The Seep’s utopian influence—until Deeba begins to imagine what it might be like to be reborn as a baby, which will give her the chance at an even better life. Using Seeptech to make this dream a reality, Deeba moves on to a new existence, leaving Trina devastated.

Heartbroken and deep into an alcoholic binge, Trina follows a lost boy she encounters, embarking on an unexpected quest. In her attempt to save him from The Seep, she will confront not only one of its most avid devotees, but the terrifying void that Deeba has left behind. A strange new elegy of love and loss, The Seep explores grief, alienation, and the ache of moving on.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Brilliance Audio
• Release date: Jan 21, 2020
• ISBN: 9781721358595

Chana Porter

Heralded as “the new Philip K. Dick,” Chana Porter is an author, playwright, teacher, MacDowell fellow, and cofounder of The Octavia Project, a STEM and writing program for girls, trans, and nonbinary youth that uses speculative fiction to envision greater possibilities for our world. She lives in Los Angeles, California, and is also the author of The Seep, a finalist for the Lambda Literary Award. Her newest novel, The Thick and the Lean, was named Best Science Fiction of 2023 by The Times (London). 

Reviews for The Seep

[vera shaw · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

a story about grief in a world where magic has given everybody everything they could want

[Chaotic Virgo · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

It imagines a post-capitalist world but quickly unveils itself for the love letter that it is. It’s not the quirky political commentary you might be looking for. But one would find it just as universally relevant. Through an alien invasion, it articulates our deep human anger when we experience a brutal loss while the world has the audacity to move on. The world won’t stop moving for us to catch up. And well, Chana Porter will keep you wondering if the protagonist Trina will find peace with that (or if she even should).

[Maia Gaia · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

What a beautiful meditation on grief, pain, relationships, and humanity. The protagonist is a trans woman which brings up some interesting ideas/questions surrounding the scifi elements.
This is a very allegorical story, so I would really only recommend reading it if you're interested in that sort of experience as opposed to a more action-y or cerebral scifi. (Not a five star for me because it's not an all time fave, but one of the best I've read this year for sure)

[Mimz · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I enjoyed the narration, there was variation in their voice.

[Jayarna La Bozzetta · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This was like some sort of drug fuelled trip that was even weirder because I paused halfway through and went to work. Honestly, I highly recommend this to anyone who likes anything a little left of field. It was so strange yet poignant and very human yet strangely detached. I wish I could give it five stars but I just can't. HOWEVER please read it, this won't leave my mind for months.

[Ventura Dennis · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Weird, thought provoking and filled with existential musings, worth a read

[Mónica Eloisa Valbuena Ruiz · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

That was confusing and thoroughly boring. I love me some weird scifi but at least make the characters likeable.

[Kasey Ashton · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I'm still pondering over this book, need to sit with it for awhile before I can really explainwhat I think. Beautiful writing, phenomenal narrator.

[Charles Jones · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Goodness this one was way stranger than anticipated. Not what I expected at all, but not necessarily in a bad way. Seemed a little bit like an episode of Batman where the Scarecrow sprayed everyone with his dream mist and they all started freaking out haha

The underlying theme of dealing with grief and moving on though is what really held my attention. The story of how Trina Fasthorse Goldberg-Oneka (what a name!) deals with the grief of losing her partner was touching and raw and I think that is what really redeems this story.

[Ewa P · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This was the exact kind of absurd and vulnerable and hilarious and profound!! Definitely will be coming back to it and keeping an eye on the author!!

[Jade Watts · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A marvelous story of loss and impermanence- life affirming and tender

[Julius Verne · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I really enjoyed this book, spoiler free. There was another review that got me to read this book that was like "the title of this book is so aptly choosen because this book just.... Gets at you" or something. It was a cool concept of a story and I liked that it was all from one characters pov

[Nayah Wiley · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This book was weird. Not bad weird, great weird. It discusses the importance of loving, living, and moving forward in a very similar manner to Vi Khi Nao’s Fish in Exile

[TC Byrd · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

It’s what I needed when I needed it. Thank you.

[Diontae · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The Seep is a meditative reflection on love, loss, and identity. It explores what it means to be human and what humans truly need when everything is changeable and freely provided. In The Seep, a person's physical form is as mutable as what they do during the day. Further still the Seep offers to change memory if it causes pain. So what is left of our identity? Are they important at all?
If you read this expecting hard sci-fi or dramatic alien invasions, The Seep will disappoint. It was never trying to be that.

[sashastorylover · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Very unique and interesting scifi novella about soft alien invasion featuring trans woman as main character who is dealing with grief and loss.

[Kimberly · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I don't know how to feel but I liked it well enough. Sci Fi isn't my thing but this is an interesting concept tho and I might read it again some day

[Aubry · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Thoughtful if bizarre worldbuilding. Really made me think. I wish I could know more about this Post-Seep world.

[sturlington_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

An odd little novel about a "soft" invasion of mysterious aliens that gradually become symbiotic with humans and relieve us of our suffering, our scarcity thinking, our violence, our mortality, possibly our purpose. Of course there are philosophical questions of free will and if we need to suffer to be fully human. I thought it started out fairly strong, and the aliens intrigued me, but for me it got all mushy toward the end and lost its thread.

[psalva-706031 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This started out with so much promise. An alien invasion with alien/human symbiosis? An alien species that allows humans to heal, live forever, and modify their appearance? I was here for it. Even the main premise with Deeba wanting to be reborn as a baby- so much potential for a longer deeply rich sci-fi novel. I was fully engrossed through the first half of the book, but the plot took a turn and the story wasn’t holding together for me anymore. It started to get a bit silly when we started hearing more from the aliens and shifted focus to the aliens not understanding what humans wanted or needed and the “vengeance quest” of Trina. I was a bit disappointed overall.

[thedivineoomba · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This a book of a woman mourning the death of her partner in a utopian society. Its also about identity - who are you when an important part of your life isn't there. Its incredibly well written. Its incredibly well written. I totally get Trina - she just wants to be left alone. But everyone keeps bothering her with their words of kindness, and platitudes that don't help. I like the way identity is handled - from changing to become MORE yourself, compared to changing to BECOME somebody else. Its an interesting topic, and the author handles it well. I also liked that the story is exactly the length it needs to be. Highly recommended.

[whatsmacksaid · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Weird, but in a really good way. It’s nice to see such an interesting utopia story, too, instead of yet another dystopia. Definitely recommend this.

[stephkaye-923485 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Boring New World

This novella-length book's premise has become rather cliched in science fiction since Brave New World: an alien presence wants humans to be happy, which for the aliens means being part of a larger whole. The main character resists, insisting on free will and the value of suffering. There is some cute New Age whimsy, such as talking animals, but the writing is too often overly simple and awkward.

[shrike58 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I came to this story for the weird and stayed for the catharsis, as one follows the trail of self-understanding trod by a woman who has discovered that she might not be cut out for utopia. What lifts this story above the generally throwaway, goof-ball, utopias of the last golden age of the monthly digest magazines (think 1960s-1970s), is that the climax definitely felt chilling, as there is some doubt as to whether our protagonist is going to escape being an extra in a wannabe shaman's personal ceremony of transcendence.

[jzacsh-533759 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Super fast, fun read. Dark, but good

[bibliovermis · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This book wasn't what I expected at all, but I liked it immensely. It's billed as alien invasion sci-fi but it's really more allegorical—an exploration of grief and loss, using the alien invasion as a vehicle. The story unexpectedly takes the form of an adventure/quest, and is beautiful and engaging. The introductory chapters are really evocative of the current, mid-2020 mid-pandemic moment—if the author had spent a little more time in that part of the story rather than skipping ahead she might have been accused of prescience. Though secondary, the nature of the aliens is also fascinating, and I wouldn't say no to sequels further exploring the new state of humanity, the effects of the symbiosis established here further into the future, the barely touched on human separatists—there's really a ton of material I'd love to see the author use to further explore the human condition.

[dbsovereign · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I would give this five stars except I thought this book had a fascinating premise but one not fully realized. I enjoyed the book and even liked some of the characterizations, but was left feeling as though something was missing - not sure what that is...At any rate, it's a quick read and definitely deals with some important issues that are not normally dealt with in sci-fi. Also enjoyed the amorphousness of the sexuality exhibited by some of the characters. Something about the book reminded me of the moodiness in the excellent independent film _Another Earth_. Overall excellent and recommended.

[marfisk_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Originally posted on Tales to Tide You OverThis is not an easy book to review. What makes it fascinating is both simple and so integrated that I struggle not to reveal what should come out as you read. Not every reader will appreciate the novel as, though it has action sequences, it’s more a personal and philosophical exploration than most science fiction despite the genre element being crucial.The Seep explores the concept of utopia, self-identity, and immortality among other questions, but it isn’t a treatise or analytical. Instead, the novel begins with a lesbian couple having friends over to commiserate the beginning of an alien invasion. These hive-mind aliens have contaminated the water supply, already taking root in their human, and other, hosts. It’s the gentlest invasion ever, and no one is sure what this means.The timeline advances rapidly from that point to another dinner party where Trina, the main character, learns one of her friends has made an ethically questionable decision using the aliens’ ability to manipulate matter into whatever the host desires. Learning this changes how she sees her friend, but it also makes her question what came before The Seep as now reinterpreted through the alien mind.Then her wife makes an irrevocable decision, and Trina’s life falls apart.It’s this point where the story changes from mundane (if alien-introduced horns and wings can be characterized as such) into an alcohol-induced vision quest Trina doesn’t even know she’s on. It can be hard to tell what is metaphor and what is reality, especially with the hive mind capable of transforming anything, but that matters little as Trina’s reactions hold the narrative focus.The reader is invited to contemplate the theme questions alongside the main character, and I enjoyed that journey. I don’t have any more answers than I had before, but I have a better understanding of the framework behind my answers, and new questions to consider. The book stays near to the troubles of modern day from political and social to economic and environmental.True to the themes, the cast draws from many races, sexual orientations, and gender identities. Despite this, until Trina revisits the Detroit of her past, the feel is rather middle class to me, odd when at least two of the original group are artists, though hardly starving. It reminds me of a comic I used to read about a lesbian couple living a rather ordinary life in the lesbian community, something as hard to attain as a profitable art career. It’s more the tone of sardonic humor than anything else. The book’s omniscient narrator stays with Trina but speaks from a knowledge greater than Trina can claim.Though it is not tied to a specific religion or even preachy, the novel serves as a sermon of sorts. The story speaks to the importance of the past as it crafts us into the person we are today. Of how we need to treasure each moment because once it’s gone, we can never return. Either it or we will be different, changing the interaction. The book reads like a drug-addled stream of conscious at times, but one from which we rise a little wiser having asked questions about what is truly important and who we really are.Besides, on the less philosophical side, the conceptualization of The Seep is fascinating. I enjoyed the personal relationships that revealed Trina as part of a complex community even when she believes herself abandoned. She also breaks into the traditional format with The Seep, revealing more of herself and the hive mind than before.P.S. I received this Advanced Reader Copy from the publisher through NetGalley in return for an honest review.