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Kelly Robson
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High Times in the Low Parliament Kindle Edition

by Kelly Robson (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
3.7 3.7 out of 5 stars 147 ratings
Editors' pick Best Science Fiction & Fantasy
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Nebula Award finalist!

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

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.

At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
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  1. Print length
    162 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  4. Publisher
    Tordotcom
  5. Publication date
    August 9, 2022
  6. File size
    2652 KB
  7. Page Flip
    Enabled
  8. Word Wise
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  9. Enhanced typesetting
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"[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

About the Author

Kelly Robson lives in downtown Toronto with her wife, writer A.M. Dellamonia. Her novelette “A Human Stain” won the 2018 Nebula Award, and 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. Kelly’s first short story collection Alias Space and Other Stories was published in 2021. Find her on Twitter and Instagram.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B09CNDSKZH
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Tordotcom (August 9, 2022)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ August 9, 2022
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 2652 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 162 pages
  • Page numbers source ISBN ‏ : ‎ 1250823021
  • Customer Reviews:
    3.7 3.7 out of 5 stars 147 ratings

About the author

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Kelly Robson

Kelly Robson

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Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Like you, I'm a passionate reader. I spent most of my teenage years either hanging out at the drugstore waiting for new issues of Asimov's Science Fiction magazine, or when I was in the city, lurking in the SF and Fantasy section of the bookstore. This was pre-Internet and since there were no bookstores in my town and the library was pretty bare, good books -- the kind that made my heart sing -- were precious treasures. To this day, nothing is more important to me than reading, nothing is more delicious than a great novel, and few people are as important as my favorite writers.

My writing life has been pretty diverse. I've edited science books, and from 2008 to 2012 I had the great good luck to write a monthly wine column for Chatelaine, the largest women's magazine in Canada. I've published short fiction at Tor.com, Asimov's Science Fiction, Clarkesworld, and a number of anthologies. Several of my stories have been chosen for "year's best" anthologies, and in the past two years I've been a finalist for several high-profile awards.

My favorite writers are Connie Willis, Walter Jon Williams, Michael Bishop, Jack Womack, Hilary Mantel, Alan Bennett, Patrick O'Brian, A.M. Dellamonica, Saladin Ahmed, Gemma Files, Maureen McHugh, Cat Rambo, Peter Watts, and Caitlin Sweet. I have a huge soft spot for classic literature, including Jane Austen, Anne Bronte, Charlotte Bronte, Thomas Hardy, Ford Maddox Ford, John Galsworthy, George Eliot, and Mrs. Gaskell. I also love reading non-fiction -- history, historical geography, and science.

Customer reviews

3.7 out of 5 stars
3.7 out of 5
147 global ratings
A Fun Quick Read
5 Stars
A Fun Quick Read
Novellas are one of my favorite formats to read, especially when they’ve got queer representation, so High Times in the Low Parliament was the perfect read for me! I loved Lana’s easy-going personality and how it clashed with the high-stakes world around her. The world needs more characters who, when faced with imminent doom, flirt their way out.This book contained some extremely compelling components, including:- Optimists who don’t know what’s good for them (or who are too busy flirting to care about impending doom)- More lesbians and queer women than I could count- An absolute disaster gay protagonist- The healing power of dance- Fairies who have absolutely had it with human politickingIn addition to reading my print copy of High Times in the Low Parliament, I also had the pleasure of listening to an audiobook version. Narrated by Amy Scanlon, the High Times in the Low Parliament audiobook was an absolute five-star hit for me! I loved the way that Scanlon’s characters paired with Robson’s writing style. Additionally, the shorter length of this novella translated very nicely into the audio format, so I listened to the whole book in only a couple of days.My Recommendation-If you love a queer story with a flirtatious, devil-may-care protagonist, you need to grab a copy High Times in the Low Parliament as soon as possible! I would especially recommend this novella to readers who prefer short-and-sweet stories, like Princess Floralinda and the Forty Flight Tower!
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Top reviews from the United States

Joy1991
4.0 out of 5 stars fun quick read
Reviewed in the United States on January 25, 2023
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This book was fun and quite a quick read. I’m always a bit critical of single-gender world building. All characters that exist in this world use she/her pronouns, at the very least, and it is not a part of the plot, or ever explained, which I guess is normally for the best as it can get into terf-y territory pretty quickly. In any case, all the characters, all the romance, all the intrigue takes place within a world entirely comprised of she/her folks and fairies (also she/her) and one stoner gets swept off to parliament to be a scribe. The book doesn’t bother with deeply developing a plot, or making you think too hard about issues. It’s about a stoner gal and her fairy pal doing drugs and forming a bond with each other while the other human’s inability to govern nearly is on the verge of making the fairies drown the whole system of government. Like I said, no need to think too deeply about the plot, but it’s a fun read.
2 people found this helpful
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Mary Soon Lee
3.0 out of 5 stars I wasn't the right reader for this.
Reviewed in the United States on March 15, 2023
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This novella is one of five nominated for this year's Nebula Award. My favorite aspect was the richly positive portrayal of lesbianism. The worldbuilding was also strong, creating an alternate version of Europe where fairies enforce rules on a fractured multiplicity of human realms.

That said, I wasn't the right reader for this. It took me two thirds of the story before I warmed to the main character, Lana. I am pretty sure I was meant to like her much sooner than that, but I didn't. For instance, here is a paragraph from chapter 4 in which Lana thinks about the fairy Bugbite. To me, this reads as calculatingly manipulative where it might have been compassionate:-

Her every bone ached. All she wanted was to fall into bed, but here was an opportunity. Bugbite's size and homeliness would make her an object of ridicule among fairies, and outcasts always yearned for friends. Lana still had a chance to make an impression on the fairy, and she wasn't about to waste it.

It didn't help that I'd recently read -- and loved -- another of the Nebula-nominated novellas, C. L. Polk's "Even Though I Knew the End," rooting for its main character from start to finish (coincidentally, also a lesbian).

Many other readers love "High Times in the Low Parliament," but not, alas, me.

2 and a half out of five hung stars.

About my reviews: I try to review every book I read, including those that I don't end up enjoying. The reviews are not scholarly, but just indicate my reaction as a reader, reading being my addiction. I am miserly with 5-star reviews; 4 stars means I liked a book very much; 3 stars means I liked it; 2 stars means I didn't like it (though often the 2-star books are very popular with other readers and/or are by authors whose other work I've loved).
3 people found this helpful
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Zig Zag Claybourne
5.0 out of 5 stars Flirting with readers
Reviewed in the United States on August 24, 2022
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I've seen few authors take what could be a dry premise straight into outright amazing joy. Kelly Robson exults in it. I've been a Robsonian since Robson's Waters of Versailles made me a believer in the magic of toilets. Now Brexit, finding your joy despite circumstances trying to take it away, and unhinged politicians merge into a bubbly flirtation of a novella. Robson excels at finding wonder in the mundane, truth in the ridiculous, and heart in unlikely spaces. A big theme in this novella is letting yourself have fun. I loved Lana and Bugbite finding more to do in an ugly situation than complain. I highly recommend you read this book and do the same!
2 people found this helpful
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Whit
4.0 out of 5 stars Grand vision, playful world, sweetly imagined and fanciful
Reviewed in the United States on September 25, 2022
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I've read much of Robson's work and find her range remarkable. The characters here are vivid and likable in all cases. The world is full of interesting hints; the work doesn't feel as self-contained as some readers might prefer, but it's a novella, so I bring a healthy dose of tolerance and I welcome the potential for a larger world and one hopes another story set within it. The world-building wouldn't survive litigation of its details but it holds together and the many novel factors interlink effectively.
One person found this helpful
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Steph Warren
3.0 out of 5 stars Meandering political satire
Reviewed in the United States on March 17, 2023
*I received a free DRC of this book, with thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley. The decision to review and my opinions are my own.*

Based on the cover and blurb, I thought this would be right up my street: a comedic romp that satirises political bureaucracy with fae folk and feminism? Sign me up now!

Sadly, this just didn’t work for me. There is barely any plot at all, just Lana and her new fairy and human friends wandering around doing endless ‘hits’ of yeast or mushroom scales, snoozing, flirting and chatting casually about their impending doom by drowning.

Everything feels so hopeless and incomprehensible that it actually did resemble real-world politics in action, but with lower stakes (if none of them are too worried about the threat looming over them, then why should I be?) and less attempted humour. Even when Lana eventually came up with a plan, I can’t say I really understood it or why it would solve anything.

The best bit of the book, for me, was Lana and Bugbite, who were great fun in a female-Clerks kind of way. The other characters felt rather two-dimensional in comparison, with no real personality or development between them. Like the satire and the humour, they just fell flat for me… and yes, I did get them, I just didn’t enjoy them.

And that sentiment really applied to the book as a whole: I like the concept, the world and the two main characters but the vague and meandering execution left the whole book feeling like a wearisome slog through some obscure and technical historical political transcripts, while stoned. I see what the author was going for there, but it didn’t make for a great reading experience.

Review by Steph Warren of Bookshine and Readbows blog
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kormantic
5.0 out of 5 stars A pinch of gold!
Reviewed in the United States on September 28, 2022
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This was fun and funny, with a charming protagonist who fancies herself a rakish ladykiller. She and a waspish but loyal friend come to the aid of a beautiful and exhausted (but dedicated) public servant who just wants to get something done. Lives are on the line, but who can blame Lana for aiming for a few kisses along the way? Highly recommended.
One person found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

peter darbyshire
5.0 out of 5 stars It cast a charm on me
Reviewed in Canada on April 7, 2023
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High Times in the Low Parliament is absolutely enchanting, charming readers with its tale of a dreamy Europe, a peculiar parliament, hostile faeries, stoner scribes, and an impending apocalyptic flood. Anything that can transform politics into something this fun and sexy must have some sort of magic to it. Maybe it’s the faerie, maybe it’s the mushrooms, but whatever the cause you won’t want to put this book down. I hope parliament resumes for another session!
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P A DEWS THOMSON
4.0 out of 5 stars A Different sort of parliament
Reviewed in Australia on January 21, 2023
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When the fairies forced humans to argue out their differences, did they think it would be this difficult? Probably not. Can friendship and seduction shape the outcome. Certainly worth a try.
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Margomacd
5.0 out of 5 stars Super fun! Super queer!
Reviewed in Canada on August 17, 2022
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This is the lesbian buddy pseudo-historic comedy I needed! So good. So sweet. So funny.
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