Reviews with content warning for Gore - The Stars Are Legion

It’s hard for me to really rate this book, because I’m not sure how I feel about it.

It’s visceral. Uncomfortably so, at times. Often, really. These are worlds of blood, bone, and flesh, populated by people who do what they need to to survive, and the prose often reflects that.

I saw one reviewer say this is a story about bad people doing bad things to each other—and that’s… not UNtrue. But it’s a little more complicated than that, too. It’s about falling into cycles. Ruts. Making the same or similar bad decisions over and over again, because it’s what you think you have to do. And it’s also about learning you can choose something else. To move forward, instead of backward, time and time again.

I did see some of the… twists? coming early. (I had figured out a large piece of Zan’s past by around 15-20% of the way through) This didn’t detract from the experience at all, though. If anything, it made me want to find out if I was right.

The characters themselves… They fascinated me. I didn’t hate them, but it took me a long time to decide whether I liked, loved, or felt neutral towards them. I WAS, however, very interested in seeing the fallout of their actions; where their stories would lead.

The worlds were FASCINATING. Uncomfortably visceral, gory, & gross at times (a LOT of the time, though I’m also a very squeamish person) but also. Pretty unique, & I wanted to know so much more about them. Why they had come to be the way they were & how they worked before they were so cancerous & rotted. I would have LOVED to learn more about / from the witches. But what we did learn was fascinating & intriguing.

Having taken the time to put these thoughts down & sit with them, I think I’m going to give this a 4 stars. I enjoyed it a lot, & I found a LOT of quotes to highlight. I don’t think I’ll ever reread it, but I’m glad I bought it.

Content Warnings

jurizprudence's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging 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? Yes

3.5

most bizarre and gross book i've read since the locked tomb—that says something. so much body horror that sometimes it's hard to focus on the plot. with the advertisement lines "all-women space opera" and "biopunk horror lesbians", it was promising. i should've loved it, because the concept of this book is really up my alley. however, it fell flat in the middle and i do think that i was kept in the dark for a longer time than necessary before the final reveal and/or plot twist. i also didn't really feel that much connection with the characters (i liked zan a bit, i wasn't impressed with jayd, rasida was underwhelming, the three friends zan made along the way were fun, i guess) and the world-building confused me all the while.

anyways, this is just about women being awful and doing horrible things to each other for the greater good.

Content Warnings

eegah's review

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challenging dark mysterious slow-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

3.75

I would like to say that the ending makes up for the slow start. Pretty great concept and execution, with the all-female space opera and fantastic hidden world-building.

However, I just couldn't find myself enjoying as much I imagined. I would still recommend for those looking for offbeat sci-fi. Perhaps it was the fact that

the main character was confused for most of the book, so I was as well.

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andrew_matteson's review

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challenging dark emotional slow-paced

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

1.5

The book is basically trauma porn. Every trauma you could think of happens to the main characters, but they're so flat that the events don't have emotional impact.

Content Warnings

lcgordon's review

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

It's like if Gideon the Ninth books were all women and also 200% more disgusting in terms of death/rot/gore

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cmdrburton's review

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challenging dark mysterious

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

3.75

Enjoyable but gruesome!

Content Warnings

mellamoger's review

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adventurous dark reflective medium-paced

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

4.5

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natcat's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

This is truly imaginative, truly weird science fiction. I like the way it unfolds; we start thoroughly confused by everything, and slowly learn and experience along with one of the viewpoint characters. I love how inventive and bizarre the whole setting is, and how the author doesn’t infodump but lets us experience that weirdness as we go along. This isn’t really like anything I’ve read before, and I really enjoyed it. There is a lot of really gross descriptions and body horror though, as a warning.

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