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cb1984's review
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
I found this quite hard going. I enjoy being dumped in to the world and figuring things out to a degree, but there's just absolutely no explanation of mechanics of the whole calendrical structures which are seemingly super important to everything in the galaxy - both in terms of plot and action. And that meant it felt like I was missing or not understanding quite a lot of important stuff.
The same extended to the societal stuff, albeit to a lesser degree. There I felt like I was missing nuance which would have added a lot of depth (and helped build to the finale), rather than missing crucial detail.
Its a shame, because the plot was good, the characters were good (if generally unsympathetic), the world was clearly well-imagined. But I just felt like I never really got into it. I feel like it could have done with another 50-100 pages of exposition?
The same extended to the societal stuff, albeit to a lesser degree. There I felt like I was missing nuance which would have added a lot of depth (and helped build to the finale), rather than missing crucial detail.
Its a shame, because the plot was good, the characters were good (if generally unsympathetic), the world was clearly well-imagined. But I just felt like I never really got into it. I feel like it could have done with another 50-100 pages of exposition?
katdawg7's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
fast-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? No
4.5
immila's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
pedanther's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, War, Violence, Suicide attempt, and Rape
Moderate: Body horror, Colonisation, Blood, Confinement, Grief, Mental illness, Sexual content, Torture, and Xenophobia
Minor: Ableism, Drug use, Gun violence, Slavery, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Alcohol, Bullying, Child death, Classism, and Cursing
riccii's review
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
jmonster's review
4.0
Author takes a "just trust me bro" approach on core concepts. Honestly thought i was reading the series out of order because nothing is explained. Really fun read though, 4 swords powered by math out of 5.
maggie6832's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I really enjoyed the worldbuilding, character development, relationship between Cheris and Jedao, and the slow uncovering of a secret plot. This definitely isn’t a book that holds your hand - the math and logistics of the hexarchate and formations do take awhile to figure out. It’s also very much a military space opera book, and while I appreciate the acknowledgement of the brutal reality of war and terrible calculations that the hexarchate must make to maintain itself, the graphic depictions of violence and mass casualties are rough.