Reviews with content warning for Body horror - Elder Race

I read this book at the recommendation of my husband as a shorter book to get close to passing my 2023 reading goal. I was skeptical at first but ended up really enjoying myself! I liked the writing style and thought the story was well-suited to a novella. There was a good amount of character development and I found myself caring about our protagonist(s), which is something that's hard for me to do with shorter texts.

Sometimes the pacing felt a little all over the place, and I wish the ending had provided more catharsis than it did. Don't get me wrong, I really liked the ending. I predicted the climax and enjoyed how it played out, and I understand that not every story has to have a happy ending, but I was hoping for a little more relief for our protagonists.

I'm glad I picked this one up and I would be interested in reading more from Tchaikovsky in the future.

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porcinitortellini's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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surdiablo's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

It's a solid, entertaining novella with the right amount of everything, which you might appreciate more if you go in completely blind ( So don't click my spoiler tags unless you are absolutely sure ). Tchaikovsky

blends fantasy and sci-fi

in such a clever, humorous way, and I really liked how seamless the POV switch was. It never felt jarring at any point, which could easily happen in a book trying to execute an idea like this. The realistic portrayal of

mental anguish

of the characters, alongside the constant

miscommunication due to language or cultural barriers

was quite interesting to read. Overall it was quite fun, can't think of any major flaws whatsoever.

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lbelow's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious medium-paced

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

3.75

There are things I really enjoyed about this and things I did not. The negatives are almost entirely in the "style" column. Mixed third person and first person point of view only works if there's a good reason for it and in this, there was not. So the style was jarring.

As for the things I did enjoy: the depiction of depression and how it isn't automatically cured by advanced technology, the alienness of the villainous alien, the intricacies of culture and language that even an anthropologist can't bypass.

Overall, this novella was fascinating but a bit shallow. I understand why it's gotten so many accolades, but I don't think it hit home for me in the same way it did for many others.

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leguinstan's review against another edition

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adventurous reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

Checked out this novella because it was nominated for the Ursula K. Le Guin Award in 2022 and it did not disappoint! The cultural and linguistic misunderstandings between the two main characters made both of their POVs really engaging to read. Everytime something of significance happened in one chapter I was excited to read the other character's perspective in the next chapter. I particularly appreciate how the two POVs are used to explore some ethical questions regarding the field of cultural anthropology. The story is funny and thoughful.

The progression of Nyr's character arc, as his priorities shift and his relationship with the inhabitants of the planet evolves, is incredibly compelling. While Lynesse is also an interesting character, it's a bit of a shame that she is not as complex as Nyr and unlike him she barely has any character development. Regardless, I do like her as a character and I genuinely think the lack of her POV would've resulted in a much weaker novella overall.

In all honesty, I was a tad sad when I finished Elder Race because I wanted to spend more time in the setting. Throughout the novella Tchaikovsky would drop these interesting world-building tidbits that made the setting feel believably complex without ruining the story's tight pacing. As much as I like to nitpick, I want to emphasize the fact that the novella's ending did not disappoint me in the least. I feel the story ended in a very satisfying manner and I do not feel there were any annoying loose ends. It felt very complete and my statements about wanting to spend more time in the world are to be taken as a compliment. I think Tchaikovsky handled Elder Race's short page count really well!

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deetabz's review against another edition

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adventurous funny sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

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seually's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

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

4.5

I heard a lot of good stuff about Adrian Tchaikovsky's works, and so happened that this writing appeared on my TBR. I'm so overwhelmed with emotions. And my next read going to be Shadows of the Apt. I liked Adrian Tchaikovsky's writing style and vivid descriptions~~
I find the ending very sad. And the theme through the book was depressive. I was immersed in the writing and felt connected and sympathetic to the characters.

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