The Hollow History of Professor Perfectus is a novella/longish short story by Ginn Hale.
Finished on: 2.7.2024

Content Note: (critical treatment of) misogyny

Plot:
Abril and Geula are a magic double act, taveling from fair to fair, Abril doing the magic, and Geula being her charming assistant. The thing is, nobody can know that Abril is doing actual magic as it has been forbidden. At the most recent fair, they start to uncover a nefarious plot, though, that puts themselves at risk as well.

I loved The Hollow History of Professor Perfectus, a queer, feminist steampunk tale that feels like only a glimpse at a much larger world. With this and the other novella by Hale I read, she has completely won me over. Time to read her back catalogue.

The Hollow History of Professor Perfectus is a dense novella because it imagines such a vast world that it can barely explore in the time it has. It should have made it feel overladen, like it’s trying to much, but Hale manages to give you just enough information to understand the details you need for the story at hand, while giving you enough broad strokes to make you utterly curious about the rest of the world. As far as I know, though, it isn’t actually part of a larger universe of Hale’s, so be prepared to be left wanting.

What definitely didn’t leave me wanting was the sweet romance between Abril and Geula. It was just what I the doctor prescribed. I loved them both individually, but togethere, they were even better. The main plot revolves around freeing women from patriarchy (in both a very literal and a figurative sense), and that worked extremely well for me to.

In short, it is a whole lot of fun and I want more of this stuff. And I shall have it soon.

Summarizing: yes!