High Times in the Low Parliament

by Kelly Robson

Overview

"[A] cheeky lesbian stoner fantasy . . . This is gallows humor with a light touch."—The New York Times Book Review

A 2022 Nebula Award Nominee
A 2023 Aurora Award Nominee
A NPR Best of the Year pick

A Most Anticipated Pick for Autostraddle | LGBTQ Reads

Award-winning author Kelly Robson returns with High Times in the Low Parliament, a lighthearted romp through an 18th-century London featuring flirtatious scribes, irritable fairies, and the dangers of Parliament.

Lana Baker is Aldgate’s finest scribe, with a sharp pen and an even sharper wit. Gregarious, charming, and ever so eager to please, she agrees to deliver a message for another lovely scribe in exchange for kisses and ends up getting sent to Low Parliament by a temperamental fairy as a result.

As Lana transcribes the endless circular arguments of Parliament, the debates grow tenser and more desperate. Due to long-standing tradition, a hung vote will cause Parliament to flood and a return to endless war. Lana must rely on an unlikely pair of comrades—Bugbite, the curmudgeonly fairy, and Eloquentia, the bewitching human deputy—to save humanity (and maybe even woo one or two lucky ladies), come hell or high water.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250823021
Publisher:	Tor Publishing Group
Publication date:	08/09/2022
Pages:	160
Sales rank:	424,762
Product dimensions:	5.00(w) x 7.90(h) x 0.50(d)

About the Author

Kelly Robson is an award-winning Canadian short fiction writer. Her time travel adventure Gods, Monsters and the Lucky Peach won the 2019 Aurora Award and was a finalist for the Hugo, Nebula, Theodore Sturgeon, and Locus awards; while her novelette “A Human Stain” won the 2018 Nebula Award. She is also a winner of the Prix Aurora and has been a finalist for the World Fantasy, Astounding, and Sunburst Awards.

Kelly grew up in the foothills of the Canadian Rockies, and as a teenager was crowned princess of the Hinton Big Horn Rodeo. From 2008 to 2012, she wrote the wine and spirits column for Chatelaine, Canada’s largest women’s magazine. Kelly consults as a creative futurist for organizations such as UNICEF and the Suncor Energy Foundation. She and her wife, writer A.M. Dellamonica, live in downtown Toronto.

Editorial Reviews

05/09/2022

With this charming fantasy novella, Nebula Award winner Robson (Waters of Versailles) offers a satirical take on political gridlock. In a fascinating, all-female world, fairies have established a European Union–esque system of government called Low Parliament to keep humans from destroying each other and the planet. Flirtatious scribe Lana Baker is persuaded into writing and delivering a letter for fellow scribe, Cora, in exchange for a few kisses, and winds up being sent to Low Parliament in Cora’s place. It’s a dangerous assignment: there’s a hung Parliament, and the fairies will drown everyone who works there if Parliament can’t come “unhung” by the new moon. Lana quickly befriends the fairy in charge of the scribes, Bugbite, via magical yeast (which acts a bit like marijuana) and psychedelic mushrooms. While high, they encounter Eloquentia de la Barre, a dancer with whom Lana becomes infatuated, convinced she’s the only person who can save Parliament. Lana is a charmingly breezy narrator, though her falling asleep during the penultimate parliamentary debate undercuts Robson’s argument that parliamentary systems, however flawed, are worth preserving, and Eloquentia’s climactic call for decision feels a little left-field. Still, Robson’s fans will enjoy this easygoing perspective on a politically charged fairy tale world. Agent: Hannah Bowman, Liza Dawson Assoc. (Aug.)

Publishers Weekly

"[A] cheeky lesbian stoner fantasy . . . This is gallows humor with a light touch."—The New York Times Book Review

"Witty, warmhearted, frequently gorgeous, and an awful lot of fun."—NPR

"Lana Baker is a scoundrel and a layabout, and I adore her."—Emporia Gazette

“High Times is funny, literally outlandish, and deeply relevant. A dazzling world, a terrifying predicament, and a lot of hallucinogenic drugs combine in an unlikely, engaging tale of friendship, wit, heroism, and romance.”—Malka Older

“Hilarious, and at times hallucinogenic, Kelly Robson’s High Times in Low Parliament lives up to its title. This book could flirt the knickers off a nun—or a politician—or a wicked fairy—then swagger back to snuggle us before our pillows grew cold.”—C.S.E. Cooney

“A great read, with all the right ingredients!”—Ellen Kushner

“A satirical send-up of politicians and bureaucrats wrapped in a story of queer love and female friendship, sprinkled with fairy dust . . . Readers who like their political fantasies and power trips to go down with a spoonful of sugar will eat this up.”—Library Journal

"Robson’s story, like Lana, is a tease, fascinating and clever . . . The political satire is sharp though, in this lighthearted romp."—Booklist

“Robson’s fans will enjoy this easygoing perspective on a politically charged fairy tale world.”—Publisher's Weekly

“High Times in the Low Parliament is, at its best, demented fun and shrewd satire . . . Robson has introduced us to a thoroughly engaging rogue in Lana, along with an appealingly grumpy fairy who comes to learn that humans might, after all, be worth saving from themselves. It's a pair we wouldn't mind visiting again.”—Locus

From the Publisher

07/01/2022

Winner of both the Nebula and Aurora awards and a finalist for the Hugo, Sturgeon, and Locus awards, Robson (Gods, Monsters, and the Lucky Peach) here offers a satirical send up of politicians and bureaucrats wrapped in a story of queer love and female friendship, sprinkled with fairy dust, and set in the 18th century. Lana has been packed off to Low Parliament as a reluctant scribe, just as the government is on the threshold of dissolving. Literally. The fae-controlled legislature will flood the building, drowning all the humans within it, if there are too many hung votes. Charming, insouciant, and frequently stoned Lana wants to live and pursue a romance with the dancing delegate from Provence, but she'll need the help of a friendly fae and some psychedelic yeast in order to save her fellow scribes and ladylove. The story trips along as Lana charms her way into love, friendship, and surprising herself most of all, power. VERDICT Readers who like their political fantasies and power trips to go down with a spoonful of sugar will eat this up.—Marlene Harris

Library Journal

12/01/2022

Lana Baker is Aldgate's finest scribe and a shameless flirt. When a promise to deliver messages in exchange for kisses draws the ire of a fairy, Lana earns herself a one-way ticket to the Low Parliament. Settling into her new life of recording the exhausting debates of the practically ineffectual legislative body, Lana befriends the cantankerous fairy Bugbite and the beautiful deputy Eloquentia, forming an unlikely trio upon whose shoulders rests the fate of humanity. Robson's (Alias Space and Other Stories) latest is a spirited novella featuring elements of fantasy, LGBTQIA+ representation, and political satire. Embracing a frenetic pace in lieu of expansive worldbuilding, Robson presents a roller-coaster ride that leaves readers wanting more. Narrator Amy Scanlon gives the characters distinct personalities and voices, abandoning her dry, breathy intonation to shift with ease between the flirtatious stoner Lana, the shrill-voiced fairies, and foreign deputies. Lending intimacy to the storytelling, Scanlon's performance will delight listeners with these unlikely heroes and their endeavors to save humanity. VERDICT Recommended for fans of fantasy, quirky characters, and political satire.—Andy Myers

Library Journal - Audio

Narrator Amy Scanlon’s British intonation and wry tone suit the delightfully charming, lazy, and witty scribe Lana Baker, who finds herself stuck in the Low Parliament. There she’s made to transcribe endless angry debates that inevitably end in hung votes—despite the threat of death by flood if members can’t come to an agreement, as decreed by the shrill–voiced fairies who watch over them. Scanlon’s breathy delivery adds to Robson’s wonderful world-building in this utterly fun political satire. Lana is endlessly flirtatious with every beautiful woman she encounters, but she’s especially taken with Deputy Eloquentia, whom she first spies while tripping on mushrooms with the cantankerous fairy Bugbite. Scanlon delights listeners as Lana works to save the humans—while also wooing Eloquentia, getting high, and endlessly teasing Bugbite. E.E.C. © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine

SEPTEMBER 2022 - AudioFile