Reviews tagging 'Gun violence'

To Be Taught, If Fortunate by Becky Chambers

6 reviews

talonsontypewriters's review against another edition

adventurous reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death and Confinement

Moderate: Grief, Gun violence, Suicide attempt, and Medical content

Minor: Death, War, Gore, Body horror, Sexual content, and Injury/Injury detail

cookiecat73's review

adventurous informative reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

Loved this!! I had a couple of nitpicks, but overall I thought it was great, the main thing I want to be different is that I would have liked it to have been longer, it didn't even need to have extra plot thrown in, I just liked reading about these characters and this world

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Confinement, Cursing, and Medical content

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Animal death, and Grief

Minor: Blood, Death, War, Death of parent, Dysphoria, Alcohol, Excrement, and Sexual content

lynxpardinus's review

adventurous emotional reflective

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Gun violence, Animal cruelty, Medical content, Suicide attempt, and Animal death

Minor: War and Ableism

Suicide attempt warming is just in case.

wickedgrumpy's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective relaxing sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Listened to this as an audiobook during a road trip and it kept me engaged the entire time.  I don't think that this will be enjoyed by all since for a sci-fi it focuses more on the crew and slice-of-life moments, rather than the planets they explore, and the discoveries they make.

It does bring up the topic that there is a lot to be said about the ethics of science and experimentation.  I think it all can be boiled down into something along the lines of having good intentions does not inherently guarantee that anyone/thing remains unharmed in the end or even in the midst of the process.  This is true for the scientists themselves and/or their subjects.

Becky Chambers has done an excellent job of making distinct and memorable characters that feel real because the book runs  the gamut of human emotions.  There's quite a bit of existential dread, and it can be rather heavy at times, but it also has it's moments of fun, enchantment, excitement, joy, and happiness.

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Content Warnings

Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Colonisation, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Abandonment, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Eating disorder, Excrement, Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, and Suicide attempt

massivepizzacrust's review

emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

I loved so much about this book but I've never read an ambiguous ending I liked, so if you're like me you should know that going in. There were several scenes that made me tear up even in this short of a time. I want to hug all of these characters and I'm going to spend some time staring into space now (pun intended)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death and Gun violence

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts and Suicide attempt

Minor: Death of parent and War

storykath's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful informative reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

A four-person astronaut crew explores life-filled planets light-years away from Earth, thanks to the technology of somaforming. As they explore each new world, they learn more about the universe, and also about themselves, each other, and human nature. As they leave Earth farther behind, they must confront the possibility of what they will find when they eventually return.

I am a big Becky Chambers fan - the Wayfarers series has a special place in my heart. To Be Taught isn't too far removed from Wayfarers, in that it's speculative, cozy sci-fi with diverse characters and engaging moral quandaries. That being said, To Be Taught doesn't quite live up to Wayfarers for me. I miss the multiple perspectives and lengthier narratives that get sacrificed in novella form. Some of the science is believable and well-explained, while other aspects feel less fleshed-out. For instance, the narrator Ariadne's role on the crew often feels contrived; she doesn't actually do much as the ship's engineer, which conveniently leaves her with plenty of opportunity to help the others and thus observe and narrate their actions. When she does act in her role, she can be indecisive and unscientific, with a lot of "probably"s and "I don't know"s that never get methodically addressed like I would expect.

As always with Becky Chambers, To Be Taught is an interesting, easy-to-read sci-fi that effectively uses outer space and science to reflect inwardly on humanity. While I can't rave as much about this novella compared to any of the Wayfarers books, I am still glad to have it on my shelf.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Cursing

Minor: Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Death, Gun violence, and Sexual content