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theliteraryhooker's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
A locked door mystery set on a spaceship? Sign me up! I loved the idea of this book, but something about it just didn't fully land for me. I struggled to feel invested in the characters and I found the dialogue really stilted in places. The backstories were interesting and it was fun seeing how all the characters were connected, but the solution to the mystery felt too quick and convenient without all the pieces feeling like they really mattered. Still a decent read with an original idea though!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Vomit, Murder, Suicide, Confinement, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Blood
dogearedbooks's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
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? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Medical content, Blood, and Murder
Moderate: Vomit
schnaucl's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
It's a little unclear how cloning works. The expectation seems to be that clones will all have access to wealth, although I don't think it's ever said explicitly that only the very wealthy can afford it. Sometimes there seems to be an assumption by writers that anyone who lives long enough must eventually amass a fortune (contrary to how the real world seems to work).
Unfortunately, the main premise doesn't really hold up that well. Some of the six don't seem to have done anything worse to their patron than just telling her no, which doesn't seem like it should be enough to get on some kind of hated enemies list. And if these six are the only ones who are awake, it would seem like they should be the worst of the lot in terms of the wrongs they'd done her. Maybe you can make a case for Wolfgang or Joanna, but not the others.
And if the point is to give her enemies hope and then take it away they would need to be awake for that. Most of them would seem to go into cryosleep and then just wake up on earth (if everything had gone wrong and IAN returned them, as intended). They'd be disappointed after, and down some cash, but it wouldn't be ongoing suffering.
Maybe the idea is supposed to be that these six has the worst combination of personalities to fly the ship together? But again, I fail to see how some of them "deserved" to be on that ship in the first place.
And if the point is to give her enemies hope and then take it away they would need to be awake for that. Most of them would seem to go into cryosleep and then just wake up on earth (if everything had gone wrong and IAN returned them, as intended). They'd be disappointed after, and down some cash, but it wouldn't be ongoing suffering.
Maybe the idea is supposed to be that these six has the worst combination of personalities to fly the ship together? But again, I fail to see how some of them "deserved" to be on that ship in the first place.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Death, and Gore
Moderate: Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, and Medical content
Minor: Suicide
lilifane's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Amazing! Fantastic! Fast-paced, character driven, murder mystery in space. SO much fun. But specifically fun I enjoy. It has clones, witty banter, characters with secrets in their past, surprisingly deep ethical discussions. It is a little chaotic and the mystery quickly fades into the background while the characters and their stories become the focus of the book. I wish we had more interactions between the characters themselves, but for me, it was enough to care for them by the end. Even though they do a lot of questionable things. XD It's probably the most problematic and violent found family I've encountered, but what can I do, I still adore this trope.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide, Blood, Medical content, Medical trauma, Violence, Murder, Religious bigotry, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Confinement, Gore, and Hate crime
rhall19's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
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? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood and Murder
Moderate: Torture and Kidnapping
j_squaredd's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Vomit, Murder, Blood, Gun violence, Kidnapping, and Violence
Moderate: Torture
Minor: Ableism
caterina_1212's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Really slow, more flashbacks than current story. Ending was unsatisfying.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence and Blood
kell_xavi's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
4.0
Lafferty introduces exciting and unique science fiction concepts to a future Earth and space mission, building tension right from the start with a thriller mystery plot. A skeleton crew with no memories, hidden crimes (even from themselves!), surrounded by blood, bodies, malfunctioning technology, and no way out. It gets somewhat dark in there even before the inevitable lights out scene, but the plot is tight and intricate, creating intrigue even where I had some hint of how things would play out. I was bothered by some scenes where the dialogue came across as contrived, and a couple of continuity errors—a character stands to make breakfast and a moment later stands to make dessert, for example, or where the action begins and ends in different rooms without transition. There were also a few loose ends that didn’t seem intentional, these nagging oversights less forgivable in a mystery plot where it’s not clear until later whether they’re flaws or clues. That said, I like the writing style, plot, pacing, layered histories, and enough of the character development (given that many are assholes).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Murder, Blood, and Suicide
Moderate: Torture, Vomit, Slavery, and Religious bigotry
Minor: Ableism
pathyatt's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Self harm, Alcohol, Violence, War, Vomit, Blood, Death, Genocide, Suicide, Torture, Kidnapping, Medical content, and Murder
fraise's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Blood, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Medical content, Suicide, Mental illness, Self harm, Dysphoria, and Hate crime
while prejudice and bigotry is a major theme in the book, the majority is against a fictional group (clones)