Landlocked in Foreign Skin is a sapphic sci-fi mixed with horror novella, written by Drew Huff. An original and powerful story set in a ship sailing through the icy waters of Europa, following an alien creature, the Fisherman, who has been stripped of her skin, forcing her to be trapped inside the boat without the possibility of shapeshifting, locking here in the human form, in what becomes a great mix of cosmic horror, sapphic awakening and mystery.

Starting with an experience akin to her reborn, the Fisherman discovers her prison in the form of a woman, transmitting to the reader (as Huff took a smart decision of telling the entire story through her eyes) her first sensations, foreign for her, but most importantly, that she needs to recover her skin. But soon, she discovers that she's just a pawn in a bigger game for the Dame Isobel, in the hopes of finding the Wishing Fish (an ancient god for the Fishermen) and restore her lobotomized "friend" and stop the marriage her parents have arrange to cover the scandal; not only that, but she starts treating the Fisherman as her sexual possession, in a world where they must keep it hidden, as homosexuality is heavily punished.

However, there's another layer of conflict over it, as soon we will become aware of the dangers inside the boat; cosmic horror elements are added to the equation, complicating but enriching the story. Being narrated by a non-human creature, Huff reflects some contradictions of the humanity (and especially towards homosexuality), while also showing the novelty of feel like a human; but the whole cast is well developed, especially Isobel, who plays the role of villain, but who, on the inside, hides a scared girl, desperate for fleeing a world that doesn't accept her nature.

Despite being a novella, we can appreciate a huge amount of worldbuilding on it; not only the folklore around the Fishermen and their gods, but also the own human society, which resembles a bit to Victorian's prejudices, especially toward women. All is introduced without much info dump, naturally into the narration.
The pacing is relatively fast, with a precise prose that enhances the effect. We have a bunch of steamy scenes that fit perfectly into the novella, especially taking into account the POV, and there's also a bit for the gore lovers (similarly to Free Burn).

Landlocked in Foreign Skin is, simply, excellent. A sci-fi novella which successfully plays with its cosmic horror elements, and that especially shines due to the character's voice; if you want something different but equally amazing, you should definitely pick this novella.