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jefffrane's review against another edition
5.0
Very solid and entertaining space opera, filled with AI, aliens, and the vast scope of the galaxy. Elizabeth Bear applies her customary humor and amazing creativity.
I noticed some comments from people abandoning the book because they found the start too slow. I'd encourage them to give it another shot, because once things start rolling it's a heck of a fun ride.
I noticed some comments from people abandoning the book because they found the start too slow. I'd encourage them to give it another shot, because once things start rolling it's a heck of a fun ride.
chickadee2's review against another edition
3.0
Story about a woman working on a tug boat in space. On a job they discover a ship that was killing and harvesting a sentient space dwelling alien. While investigating the derelict ship she is infected with some kind of alien tech infesting the space dwelling alien. They are then chased by pirates all the way to the inner core, where they recover a ship created by the same aliens that created the infection. The ship is highly advanced and able to manipulate gravity. They take the ship to a star surrounded by something like a Dyson sphere chased by the aliens. At the Dyson sphere a large group of space dwelling aliens appear and save her at the last moment.
I was kind of bored with the story. It had moments of fun and action, but there was a lot of world building that just didn't seem to have any point or purpose to it. I don't think I'll continue with the series.
I was kind of bored with the story. It had moments of fun and action, but there was a lot of world building that just didn't seem to have any point or purpose to it. I don't think I'll continue with the series.
altlovesbooks's review against another edition
3.0
I went into this looking for a fun sci-fi romp, and instead got some philosophical navel gazing on the nature of intelligent life, one woman working through her cult upbringing baggage, and a general feeling like this book was written with a purpose in mind and directed at somebody specific, rather than to tell a story to a general audience.
Haimey Dz is a salvage mechanic, part of a crew of two (plus an AI, plus two cats) who plumb the depths of white space looking for derelict ships to recover and sell off. One of their salvage trips goes awry, however, when Haimey inadvertently takes on an alien symbiote that ends up augmenting her sense of space around her. Despite wanting nothing to do with this alien taking up residence under her skin, Haimey finds herself pursued by people intent on taking it from her. Things happen, and she finds allies in entirely unexpected places to get her out of the mess she's fallen into.
The writeup makes it sound interesting, and it was for about the first half of the book. Then we get a large center chunk dedicated to Haimey discovering that her childhood upbringing in a cult was somewhat of a lie, and her coming to terms with what this means. We also get quite a bit of discussion about what it means to be free in a society governed by sci-fi dictators, and a brief romance fling awkwardly shoehorned in to round things out. Haimey's inner monologue does most of the heavy lifting of the story, which gets a little tedious and boring after a while. I also felt like the plot thread didn't go anywhere, nor was anything really resolved at the end to any degree.
It just felt like a disconnected mess to me by the end, which was a huge disappointment to me.
Haimey Dz is a salvage mechanic, part of a crew of two (plus an AI, plus two cats) who plumb the depths of white space looking for derelict ships to recover and sell off. One of their salvage trips goes awry, however, when Haimey inadvertently takes on an alien symbiote that ends up augmenting her sense of space around her. Despite wanting nothing to do with this alien taking up residence under her skin, Haimey finds herself pursued by people intent on taking it from her. Things happen, and she finds allies in entirely unexpected places to get her out of the mess she's fallen into.
The writeup makes it sound interesting, and it was for about the first half of the book. Then we get a large center chunk dedicated to Haimey discovering that her childhood upbringing in a cult was somewhat of a lie, and her coming to terms with what this means. We also get quite a bit of discussion about what it means to be free in a society governed by sci-fi dictators, and a brief romance fling awkwardly shoehorned in to round things out. Haimey's inner monologue does most of the heavy lifting of the story, which gets a little tedious and boring after a while. I also felt like the plot thread didn't go anywhere, nor was anything really resolved at the end to any degree.
It just felt like a disconnected mess to me by the end, which was a huge disappointment to me.
jerseygrrrl's review against another edition
3.0
Thoughtful, expansive science fiction that explores issues of free will, personhood, and choice. Sometimes, the reading is slow as characters discuss philosophy or astrophysics. But the conversations are interesting and impact the plot.
I love that the protagonist's BFF is an AI.
Random note: The word "atavistic" is used more in this book than any other I've read.
I love that the protagonist's BFF is an AI.
Random note: The word "atavistic" is used more in this book than any other I've read.
cawaza's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
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
4.0
squirrelfish's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
reflective
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? No
4.25
mjfmjfmjf's review against another edition
4.0
Wow, that was a lot. And really too much. This could have used some editing on the big and the small. Lots of ideas, too many of them, and just about all of them could have been a book on their own. To some degree this was just a completely different take on Becky Chamber Wayfarer. But with less distinct aliens and harder science fiction. And lots of philosophizing. And space whales. And artificial intelligence. And brain chemistry control. And terrorism. And and and. An uneven and sometimes slow read but should be fun to talk about. I'll probably read the sequel.
verafiedreader's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
occlude's review against another edition
3.0
Some interesting ideas
Interesting ideas, passable characters, interminable plot. The pacing felt all over the place, with plot juddering its way along. Characters take frequent breaks to engage in socratic dialogues about the nature of individual freedom versus the compromises of living in a society. The book proceeds to hit you over the head with this continually. Characters frequently have long, repetitive, expositional conversations. Felt like it could have been at least 100 pages shorter. A slog for me
Interesting ideas, passable characters, interminable plot. The pacing felt all over the place, with plot juddering its way along. Characters take frequent breaks to engage in socratic dialogues about the nature of individual freedom versus the compromises of living in a society. The book proceeds to hit you over the head with this continually. Characters frequently have long, repetitive, expositional conversations. Felt like it could have been at least 100 pages shorter. A slog for me