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iolam's review
mysterious
reflective
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
If you liked the game No Mans Sky this is for you! I love Becky Chambers style of writing, she has a way of writing people that feels so endearing and lifelike even in a book as short as this. You can feel the appreciation she has for science in her writing and it’s the reason I always come back to her books.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death
mmefish's review
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts
strange's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
God… Becky Chambers never fails to impress me. Even in so little pages, she manages to make such an impact and I’m forever obsessed.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death
Minor: Suicidal thoughts
whylal's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death, Suicide attempt, Sexual content, and Grief
Minor: Confinement, Medical content, and War
davidbythebay's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
This was my first Becky Chambers book and it won’t be my last. I really enjoyed how full her characters felt - and how diverse they were, even though I may be reading into her prose and seeing diversity - for example regarding Jack and his “second puberty” I took that to mean Jack is a trans man. But it is never an issue, never mentioned explicitly, and never commented upon. Her characters’ race or sexual identity or religion or any other trait is never questioned of brought up; it just is. And that’s what makes the diversity here so unique. You can bring whatever you want to these characters.
Her characters felt real and so did the environment they were in. The craft itself isn’t explored in detail, but the science and the environment of the four planets they go to definitely are well detailed. (Moons, planets, whatever they really were, I’m just calling them all planets for ease.)
My issue was with the story elements. The prose was lovely. Chambers’ plot was great. I just took issue with small things. To start with, some things were abruptly ended or switched from one thing to another. It was more about ambiance of the planets. And I liked that, but it was almost episodic at times and that kind of felt abruptly shifting the story. One such scene lead from one thing pretty much directly to the ending and it felt so quick. Like there was only so many pages in the computer’s printer and she had to finish the story on them and print it because no more was available to her. The ending was another point of issue. I liked the ambiguity of the ending to a point. But the lead up to it was paved with a series of philosophical questions that are important but just kind of dumped there. And the immediate lead up to the ending was almost like the team saying “yup. Guess we should just debate this.” And then it starts and stops and nothing is resolved yet everything is resolved.
It was an enjoyable novella. Perhaps as a novel it could have been expanded on more. Some of those philosophical questions arose earlier on in the novella, but none are sufficiently explored in my opinion. It’s almost like a character asks the question, a brief discussion is had, and you barely see two sides let alone any other sides to the arguments.
That all being said, I greatly enjoyed reading this. I’m giving it 4 strong stars despite my quibbles.
Her characters felt real and so did the environment they were in. The craft itself isn’t explored in detail, but the science and the environment of the four planets they go to definitely are well detailed. (Moons, planets, whatever they really were, I’m just calling them all planets for ease.)
My issue was with the story elements. The prose was lovely. Chambers’ plot was great. I just took issue with small things. To start with, some things were abruptly ended or switched from one thing to another. It was more about ambiance of the planets. And I liked that, but it was almost episodic at times and that kind of felt abruptly shifting the story. One such scene lead from one thing pretty much directly to the ending and it felt so quick. Like there was only so many pages in the computer’s printer and she had to finish the story on them and print it because no more was available to her. The ending was another point of issue. I liked the ambiguity of the ending to a point. But the lead up to it was paved with a series of philosophical questions that are important but just kind of dumped there. And the immediate lead up to the ending was almost like the team saying “yup. Guess we should just debate this.” And then it starts and stops and nothing is resolved yet everything is resolved.
It was an enjoyable novella. Perhaps as a novel it could have been expanded on more. Some of those philosophical questions arose earlier on in the novella, but none are sufficiently explored in my opinion. It’s almost like a character asks the question, a brief discussion is had, and you barely see two sides let alone any other sides to the arguments.
That all being said, I greatly enjoyed reading this. I’m giving it 4 strong stars despite my quibbles.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death
wanderonwards's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
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
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death, Medical content, Confinement, and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Cursing and Sexual content
gamja's review
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Animal death, and Animal cruelty
aandromeda's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death
lily_k8y's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
The arc on Opera had my heart squeezed as all members of the crew had different ways of coping with the harsh environment. Ariadne's reaction squeezed my heart and I loved how important it was for the crew to minimise their footprint to the worlds they visited.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide attempt, Animal death, and Confinement
Minor: Sexual content
troisha's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death and Confinement
Moderate: Grief, Medical content, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt
Minor: Death and Vomit