A Couple Buys A Horse

Melenum has wanted to be a horse since before she can properly remember wanting anything, and in her province that's not a joke, it's a career path with contracts and training programs. It takes her four years to finish it.

The story picks up on the day she becomes the fully contracted property of Magdalene and Finn Park, a couple who have never owned a horse before but need one now, to haul their goods along a mountain route to a great monument. What was an abstract calling for Melenum becomes very literal service under two new owners.

The novel runs on rails rather than choices, following Melenum's transition from aspiring horse to working one, and the Parks' side of learning what owning her actually involves. It's a kinetic read, so there's no branching to chase, just the one road up the mountain and everything that happens along it.