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bbbarttt's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
tense
medium-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? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: War and Violence
Minor: Sexual assault
ofbooksandechos's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Death, and War
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Sexual assault, and Rape
Minor: Torture and Suicide
eegah's review against another edition
challenging
dark
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
Quite challenging to get through - took a while for me to get oriented and by the end of the book I still didn't fully grasp the concepts this world is built on.
However, worth it for the little vignettes of war seen from different points of view, and the discussions on the brutal maths of conflict. The ending was also really rewarding.
However, worth it for the little vignettes of war seen from different points of view, and the discussions on the brutal maths of conflict. The ending was also really rewarding.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and War
Minor: Sexual assault
natcat's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
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? Yes
4.75
This book absolutely blew me away, wow, what a ride! I couldn’t remember why I’d put this on hold at the library so went into it without any expectations and, wow, I loved it! I loved the ride it took me on, and the inventiveness of the worldbuilding is amazing and the way that world building unfolds is incredibly compelling - I thought all of that was just super well done.
This is a pretty grim book, in a lot of ways - the universe it takes place in is a dark one, in which lives are incredibly disposable, and a lot of people die in this book, many of them from the actions of our main characters - and it doesn’t shy away from that, but it’s not depressing, either. The characters might exist in a universe where lines of morality are drawn differently, but their emotions and motivations are not alien and are very compelling and are very much looking at those moral lines.
The way the story unfolds is fascinating, and I was very impressed with how the author started weaving in short segments from a wide variety of characters in the second half of the book - some of them were very short, but each character felt different and fully realized. I really liked our main perspective character, Kel Cheris, and her relationship - the central relationship of the book - with Shuos Jedao is fascinating, and I think would be very rewarding on a reread.
I also really liked the casual way sexuality and gender and queerness worked in this book - several of the characters have same-sex relationships, and the way this is portrayed feels very convincingly like all the people involved haven’t grown up in our societies, with our hang ups and perceptions of ‘normal’, all of which was really lovely to read.
Inventive, emotionally compelling, and entirely engrossing - I highly recommend this book!
This is a pretty grim book, in a lot of ways - the universe it takes place in is a dark one, in which lives are incredibly disposable, and a lot of people die in this book, many of them from the actions of our main characters - and it doesn’t shy away from that, but it’s not depressing, either. The characters might exist in a universe where lines of morality are drawn differently, but their emotions and motivations are not alien and are very compelling and are very much looking at those moral lines.
The way the story unfolds is fascinating, and I was very impressed with how the author started weaving in short segments from a wide variety of characters in the second half of the book - some of them were very short, but each character felt different and fully realized. I really liked our main perspective character, Kel Cheris, and her relationship - the central relationship of the book - with Shuos Jedao is fascinating, and I think would be very rewarding on a reread.
I also really liked the casual way sexuality and gender and queerness worked in this book - several of the characters have same-sex relationships, and the way this is portrayed feels very convincingly like all the people involved haven’t grown up in our societies, with our hang ups and perceptions of ‘normal’, all of which was really lovely to read.
Inventive, emotionally compelling, and entirely engrossing - I highly recommend this book!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, War, and Violence
nico_asteri's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
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
4.5
I don't read a lot of sci-fi these days, so this book was a little out of my comfort zone. At first, I was really not sure about it. It had a lot of the things I find off-putting about sci-fi, namely it's a dystopia future riddled with war, death, and corruption. I don't hold that against the book, by the way, it's just something that I don't tend to seek out.
However, I enjoyed this book much more than I thought I was going to, especially the last third or so.
Even though I really hated all the death, and I reached the end of the book still not really understanding how the formations or the calendar works, I really liked Cheris and Jedao. I feel like it's not really that important to understand the calendar and the formations completely. It's more about seeing how Cheris starts to break out of that instinct and understanding that perhaps Jedao isn't the madman it seems like he is. I think Cheris' pivot is really well done. She doesn't just immediately turn coat upon seeing the first sign of corruption. It takes a lot of time. I'm anxious to know what happened to Jedao and if he still somehow survived. Or if he and Cheris are just one being now? Either way, I'm really looking forward to the next book!
However, I enjoyed this book much more than I thought I was going to, especially the last third or so.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and War
Moderate: Sexual assault
lucystolethesky's review against another edition
challenging
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Murder, Religious bigotry, Genocide, Sexual assault, and War
Moderate: Gun violence, Drug use, Forced institutionalization, Mental illness, Suicide, Sexual assault, and Sexual content
confusedmuse's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, War, Blood, Death, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, and Suicide
Moderate: Body horror, Dysphoria, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
Minor: Confinement, Colonisation, Grief, Murder, Self harm, and Torture
annakait's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
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? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: War and Violence
Moderate: Body horror
Minor: Suicidal thoughts
mdpenguin's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
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? It's complicated
3.75
I'm not that into straight up war stories, but this was very clever. I enjoyed the notion of complex mathematical models of calendars and holidays creating exotic physical effects that can be harnessed as tools and weaponry. A lot of the story, though, felt choppy. There were parts that the author really wrote well but there were good chunks here and there that felt a little underdeveloped. As much as I enjoyed it, I wasn't going to read the rest of the series until I got to the end, which unexpectedly drew me in despite the fact that I was expecting the ending. It was the way that it happened that made me really want to see where it's going to go.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Violence, War, and Gore
Minor: Rape and Emotional abuse
cerilouisereads's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
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? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, Genocide, Violence, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Mental illness and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Body horror and Dysphoria