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ericadawson's review
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
I had high hopes, but overall I was left quite disappointed.
I loved all the characters as individuals, and I liked how distinct they were from one another. I liked their internal conflicts and external conflicts with the Jedi. I liked learning more about the Jedi as a culture and a people. Affie was really the only character I couldn't care about, but everyone else was fine.
I think my issue was the setting. Not only could I not really understand how the Amaxine station worked, which made it difficult to understand where anyone was at any given point, but the Drengir didn't feel menacing to me. There was a lot of build up and a lot of hype for what amounted to Evil Plant People who couldn't really die (unless they're blasted out to space). I feel there could have been better execution for the concept of an abandoned space station, a deep evil that the good guys accidentally set free, and what it must be like to be trapped on said space station with something that is nearly impossible to kill.
Besides that, I think my second-biggest gripe is with Affie. I often found her annoying, though not for any deep reasons. I think she was just boring. Her conflict with Scover and her foster mother essentially being the reason her bio parents are dead could have been given more attention, I think. That's quite heavy, but I feel like it was revealed and resolved too quickly for me.
I loved all the characters as individuals, and I liked how distinct they were from one another. I liked their internal conflicts and external conflicts with the Jedi. I liked learning more about the Jedi as a culture and a people. Affie was really the only character I couldn't care about, but everyone else was fine.
I think my issue was the setting. Not only could I not really understand how the Amaxine station worked, which made it difficult to understand where anyone was at any given point, but the Drengir didn't feel menacing to me. There was a lot of build up and a lot of hype for what amounted to Evil Plant People who couldn't really die (unless they're blasted out to space). I feel there could have been better execution for the concept of an abandoned space station, a deep evil that the good guys accidentally set free, and what it must be like to be trapped on said space station with something that is nearly impossible to kill.
Besides that, I think my second-biggest gripe is with Affie. I often found her annoying, though not for any deep reasons. I think she was just boring. Her conflict with Scover and her foster mother essentially being the reason her bio parents are dead could have been given more attention, I think. That's quite heavy, but I feel like it was revealed and resolved too quickly for me.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence
Minor: Blood
jenny_librarian's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
2.75
I have to say, this is the most disappointing High Republic book I’ve read yet. It’s quite surprising, considering I usually really like Claudia Gray’s take on Star Wars, but this just left me bored.
The characters were all right, but I didn’t latch on any of them. I know most from later books and could place them (Cohmac, Reath, Nan). This book gave some light to their characterization, but that’s about it. And some of them were truly lacking. Leox is a hippie and that has to be his only trait. I swear that’s all there is to him. And Geode… we’ll he’s a rock so hems literally a cardboard cutout of a character. We don’t ever see him moving or doing anything. He’s just… there, and the others humanize him by projecting feelings and thoughts onto him.
As for the group in itself, it took 60-something percent before I understood why they were all together. They never truly feel bound. It’s more like a ragtag group of people stuck together for a trip and we’re along for the ride. I didn’t feel any of the supposed closer relationship or chemistry between Reath and Dez or Cohmac and Orla.
And the plot was just all over the place. So much stuff pushed in there that it’s a little hard to keep track. The Nihil, the Drengir, the Byne Guild… It felt like three separate storylines that never completely meshed together.
Why do we have excerpts from events that I’m pretty sure happened in a previous book? Most of it felt like filling and didn’t really add to the story. I’d rather read one of the books from that HR period than have half the plot stuffed into an already over plotted book.
I’m happy for the aroace rep in Leox, that’s about it.
The characters were all right, but I didn’t latch on any of them. I know most from later books and could place them (Cohmac, Reath, Nan). This book gave some light to their characterization, but that’s about it. And some of them were truly lacking. Leox is a hippie and that has to be his only trait. I swear that’s all there is to him. And Geode… we’ll he’s a rock so hems literally a cardboard cutout of a character. We don’t ever see him moving or doing anything. He’s just… there, and the others humanize him by projecting feelings and thoughts onto him.
As for the group in itself, it took 60-something percent before I understood why they were all together. They never truly feel bound. It’s more like a ragtag group of people stuck together for a trip and we’re along for the ride. I didn’t feel any of the supposed closer relationship or chemistry between Reath and Dez or Cohmac and Orla.
And the plot was just all over the place. So much stuff pushed in there that it’s a little hard to keep track. The Nihil, the Drengir, the Byne Guild… It felt like three separate storylines that never completely meshed together.
Why do we have excerpts from events that I’m pretty sure happened in a previous book? Most of it felt like filling and didn’t really add to the story. I’d rather read one of the books from that HR period than have half the plot stuffed into an already over plotted book.
I’m happy for the aroace rep in Leox, that’s about it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Xenophobia, Murder, Violence, and Blood
Moderate: Confinement, Grief, Torture, Trafficking, War, and Medical content
Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Death of parent, and Drug use
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