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gossamerwingedgazelle's review against another edition
4.0
What an excellent story! Very interesting science, very interesting characters, a little romance, and a good plot. I definitely recommend it. My only complaints were about the writing style, and those were minor. (If I never see "like so many X" again, it will be too soon.)
ianmitchell's review against another edition
4.0
This book, the first of a trilogy, was my introduction to Julie E. Czerneda. It could probably be considered "hard" science fiction in there is science involved; unlike most other books in the genre, however, the science involved is biology, which makes for a refreshing change. Much of this book takes place at a coastal research station, where the main character, a salmon researcher, is a scientist/administrator. She soon gets caught up in extraterrestrial events, however, which her background gives her a unique perspective on.
The strengths of this book include a fairly realistic depiction of biological research and some very interesting (but well thought out) aliens, along with mostly well-rounded characters. Ms. Czerneda's writing is decent, and for the most part keeps the reader interested. As a few other reviewers have noted, the book does end with a bit of a cliff hanger, after a couple of major plot twists.
The strengths of this book include a fairly realistic depiction of biological research and some very interesting (but well thought out) aliens, along with mostly well-rounded characters. Ms. Czerneda's writing is decent, and for the most part keeps the reader interested. As a few other reviewers have noted, the book does end with a bit of a cliff hanger, after a couple of major plot twists.
tani's review against another edition
4.0
This book has been sitting on my bookshelf for years, quite literally, and I now feel quite bad about that because this book was a lot of fun. The beginning was a little slow for me, I have to admit, but once things picked up about 1/3rd of the way through, I was very happy with the result. I loved the way Czerneda built the relationships and the way truth (or at least some version of it) was such a slow reveal. I think that I'll be picking up the second book in this series in the very near future.
elzabetg's review against another edition
5.0
Always a favorite and now it's an Audible book so I'm really happy. The narrator was great as Mac and Brim and her Emily sounded very much as I imagined. Looking forward to the sequel to drop.
rebelbelle13's review against another edition
3.0
This book was intriguing for several reasons. It felt different than other Sci-fi I've encountered, and the attention to detail on the alien species, the Dhryn, was truly wonderful. Czerneda went into detail on several points of the aliens, including their growth and maturity, their biology, their cuisine, their way of life, their planet, their language, and their beliefs. It's not like a Star Trek episode where you get introduced to a new species and they're mostly the same as humans but they just look slightly different. The last third of the book was truly the most interesting and where I had become the most invested- Mac is on the Dhryn homeworld and meets the leaders of the species. Sadly, I feel like a lot of people may not get to that point, because the first third doesn't make much sense, and the second third is just boring and feels dragged out.
Mackenzie is a salmon biologist on future Earth. Why does she get dragged into the events of the Earth and the Dhryn homeworld, and the enemies called the Ro, who eat planets? No one knows- not even her. Even if the author didn't keep pointing out how ludicrous it was, we'd still question it. There were so many other better candidates to be the first human to visit the Dhryn homeworld. I'm still shaking my head trying to figure out why it was Mac. Emily's motives are two-faced and her ultimate goal is unknown. Nik's role in all this is useless except to be the MC's love interest. My favorite character by far was the alien Brymn. He was more relatable than Mac, believe it or not- and more likeable and amenable.
I was not a fan of the last ten or so pages. I was going to read the sequel up until then. I won't reveal here what happens, but let's just say I don't have much interest in what happens going forward.
Mackenzie is a salmon biologist on future Earth. Why does she get dragged into the events of the Earth and the Dhryn homeworld, and the enemies called the Ro, who eat planets? No one knows- not even her. Even if the author didn't keep pointing out how ludicrous it was, we'd still question it. There were so many other better candidates to be the first human to visit the Dhryn homeworld. I'm still shaking my head trying to figure out why it was Mac. Emily's motives are two-faced and her ultimate goal is unknown. Nik's role in all this is useless except to be the MC's love interest. My favorite character by far was the alien Brymn. He was more relatable than Mac, believe it or not- and more likeable and amenable.
I was not a fan of the last ten or so pages. I was going to read the sequel up until then. I won't reveal here what happens, but let's just say I don't have much interest in what happens going forward.
airrhodes's review against another edition
3.0
surprisingly intelligent, intriguing, nice eco- focus, a good example both of don't-judge-a-book-by-its-cover and the benefits of feminist sci-fi.
megatsunami's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars. It took a little while for me to get into this book, but once I got into it, I really enjoyed it. Interesting plot around ecology, biology, inter-species communication, and inter-species war. No spoilers, but I'll just say that the plot twist at the end was pretty awesome. As a side note, I enjoyed that this book included female and male main characters (and focused not only on romantic relationships but also on friendships).
rokinjaguar's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
So close to being five stars, but the romance with Nik felt half-baked. If that had been done well it would be a total five stars. Very clever book, great characters, very affecting. I feel like I should be unsatisfied with the ending, but the writing and development were so good that I accept it. The mystery wasn’t fully solved, but Mac and Brymn’s story was explored and resolved, and at the end of the day that’s what the book was about. I’ll miss him terribly.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Genocide, Body horror, Death, and Grief
Minor: Medical content and Vomit
jzacsh's review against another edition
4.0
Fun read! Listened to the audiobook, and it was fast paced, action packed, and the universe was really interesting.