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caitlinjadams's review
- 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
4.5
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Violence, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Blood, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Bullying, Gun violence, Drug use, Death of parent, Child abuse, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Xenophobia, Stalking, Murder, Medical trauma, and War
Minor: Cancer
lilifane's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Anyway, the second issue was the many, many backstories we got. They were necessary for the main plot, but at the same time distracted from it. I loved all the connections, though.
Also loved the characters, the humor, the diversity, the many creative and unique alien species and technology, all the pop culture references that I understood because they were clearly added specifically for me, loved the twists. I even guessed some of them... by accident, I definitely didn't pay attention to the correct clues. I loved the different and complicated family and friendship dynamics.
I don't think this book is for everyone because it really is chaotic, confusing and over the top, but it was definitely for me and I can't wait to continue the series.
Graphic: Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Grief, Cancer, Child abuse, Medical content, and Murder
Minor: Domestic abuse, Death of parent, Gun violence, and Stalking
bookshelf_al's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail
schnaucl's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
I really hope there are more books in this series
Moderate: Gore, Blood, Violence, Xenophobia, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Cancer, Drug use, Medical content, Death of parent, Physical abuse, and Death
quiet_reader's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Graphic: Alcohol, Death, Death of parent, Dementia, Drug use, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, and Blood
Moderate: Murder and Transphobia
local_hat's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Violence, and Body horror
Moderate: Racism, Death, Drug use, Drug abuse, Death of parent, Alcohol, Gun violence, Gaslighting, Xenophobia, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Colonisation, Murder, and Medical content
pvbobrien's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Blood
Moderate: Death, Murder, Violence, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Domestic abuse, Medical content, Child abuse, and Racial slurs
Minor: Alcohol, Death of parent, Gore, and Car accident
huntress's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Graphic: Cancer, Child abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Drug use, Domestic abuse, Death of parent, Grief, Car accident, Fatphobia, Death, Medical content, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, War, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Alcohol, Racism, War, and Gun violence
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders and Medical content
tangleroot_eli's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Graphic: Murder and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Confinement, Drug use, and Medical content
readundancies's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Because I really enjoyed this sci-fi mystery moment.
The highlight for me was the worldbuilding. The worldbuilding was so well developed and while it did make the pacing a little inconsistent (the beginning felt rather slow in comparison to the action-packed and wildly quick pace of the latter half), I was so thoroughly hooked by the worldbuilding. The Gneiss and Gurudev and Phantasmagore and Sundry and Silence, and the sentient space station/ships of Eternity and Infinity - so imaginative, so gripping, so interesting. I’ve never come across a series of alien species interacting with humans on an isolated sentient space station in the manner that they’re depicted in this story and I think the mystery aspect was the perfect framework to implement it all.
The characters paled in comparison to the world-building but that’s more because this is definitely a plot-driven story. But I still really liked all of the characters. There were quite a few to finagle, and I don’t think that helped matters when it came to character development, but the limited glimpses we got of the characters were pretty great. I think I would’ve liked this even more if there was a romantic element incorporated with our two lead characters, Xan and Mallory, which is sort of implied and could be cultivated as the series progresses. But the diversity with respect to race, sexual orientation, age, etc. of the cast of characters was so seamlessly integrated without feeling forced and there were some great personalities to explore, with Mrs. Brown and Calliope being a couple of my favourites.
And the way that the mystery and plot kind of converged at the end worked really well with the incredibly fast pace as we got to the conclusion. It wasn’t about any plot twists that stood out for me, it was how it all came together at the end, because the number of connections between Xan and Mallory and the shuttle of human passengers that end up boarding Eternity was a lot.
I will definitely be continuing on with this series just so I can immerse myself in this world again, and definitely encourage anyone who’s a fan of fast paced sci-fi mysteries with aliens and military involvement to try this one.
Moderate: Terminal illness, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Violence, Physical abuse, Death of parent, Death, and Blood