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mallorypen's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Look, I was not expecting this book to have any redeeming qualities. It was a Booktok recommendation for queer sci-fi, and those tend to be either AMAZING or laughably bad. I judged this book by its cover and was betting on laughably bad but entertaining nonetheless. And though there were things I didn't like - alien rape being high on that list - there were a few elements that were thought-provoking and used the genre well.
First and foremost - the alien technology of the stasis pod. I thought the backup system of syncing the heartbeat to another, similar life form was an interesting failsafe, and it was a great device to kickstart the forced proximity trope in a way that felt critical to the plot. The alien writing on the skin, the membrane, the way the person in the pod reacted to stimuli externally ... it was a cool bit of sci-fi tech. The idea of the aliens being so technologically advanced that humanity is given all the consideration of a pest and/or pet made for an interesting dynamic.
Secondly, Brady. I'm not going to list him as a top favorite character of all time, but his motivations were crystalline the entire book. He was a coward, consistently, and in a way that made me sympathetic towards his character while still getting frustrated with his behavior. Even after he'd fallen in love, his terror of the Faceless was strong and consistent enough that his not-exactly-a-romantic-hero actions on the bridge were completely understandable. He was smarter than he thought - strategizing the best way to keep his head down, get back to his sister, using his connections to Doc to better his experiences while being drafted, etc. - but his brains weren't amazing or Hermione Granger-ish; Brady just had street smarts that were a great reflection of his upbringing. He was also very much so a young man in a deeply stressful situation where he was being forced to confront all the things he didn't like about himself and things he had never been given the tools or emotional room to deal with before.
And that's about where my list of "things I liked" stops. The sexual abuse - ESPECIALLY WHEREIN CAM LIKED IT?!- the weirdly paternal vibes that sometimes came across between Brady and Cam, the clunky dialogue that swung between locker-room talk and poetry ... in some ways, the book seemed to realize that the plot was a vehicle for forced proximity tropey sex and that was it. I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that most of the cool things about the alien worldbuilding might be ruined in book two, since it seems like the author is angling for there to be more rape-fantasy in the plot.
I will not be reading on - I will take my mild surprise at this not being hot garbage through and through and move on with my life.
First and foremost - the alien technology of the stasis pod. I thought the backup system of syncing the heartbeat to another, similar life form was an interesting failsafe, and it was a great device to kickstart the forced proximity trope in a way that felt critical to the plot. The alien writing on the skin, the membrane, the way the person in the pod reacted to stimuli externally ... it was a cool bit of sci-fi tech. The idea of the aliens being so technologically advanced that humanity is given all the consideration of a pest and/or pet made for an interesting dynamic.
Secondly, Brady. I'm not going to list him as a top favorite character of all time, but his motivations were crystalline the entire book. He was a coward, consistently, and in a way that made me sympathetic towards his character while still getting frustrated with his behavior. Even after he'd fallen in love, his terror of the Faceless was strong and consistent enough that his not-exactly-a-romantic-hero actions on the bridge were completely understandable. He was smarter than he thought - strategizing the best way to keep his head down, get back to his sister, using his connections to Doc to better his experiences while being drafted, etc. - but his brains weren't amazing or Hermione Granger-ish; Brady just had street smarts that were a great reflection of his upbringing. He was also very much so a young man in a deeply stressful situation where he was being forced to confront all the things he didn't like about himself and things he had never been given the tools or emotional room to deal with before.
And that's about where my list of "things I liked" stops. The sexual abuse - ESPECIALLY WHEREIN CAM LIKED IT?!- the weirdly paternal vibes that sometimes came across between Brady and Cam, the clunky dialogue that swung between locker-room talk and poetry ... in some ways, the book seemed to realize that the plot was a vehicle for forced proximity tropey sex and that was it. I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that most of the cool things about the alien worldbuilding might be ruined in book two, since it seems like the author is angling for there to be more rape-fantasy in the plot.
I will not be reading on - I will take my mild surprise at this not being hot garbage through and through and move on with my life.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Rape, and Violence
Moderate: Sexual assault, Body horror, and Vomit
xi_mi's review against another edition
4.0
3.5 rounded
Kinks, world building, character development, hot aliens, space, more side characters, more action, more edge more boom baam; This book lacked all that. No wait, 'lacked' isn't the right word, as it would imply it was lacking as a whole. Even though there was so much to be missed here, it didn't prevent me from enjoying this book. It was good and left me thirsty for more.
Why did I like this book? Brady Garrett was real, that's why. Not saying it's the only reason, but rather the one I could put my finger on. I don't care if he was an ink on paper; he sure as heck felt real to me. His fear, his misery, his helplessness.
Diving straight into book two.
Kinks, world building, character development, hot aliens, space, more side characters, more action, more edge more boom baam; This book lacked all that. No wait, 'lacked' isn't the right word, as it would imply it was lacking as a whole. Even though there was so much to be missed here, it didn't prevent me from enjoying this book. It was good and left me thirsty for more.
Why did I like this book? Brady Garrett was real, that's why. Not saying it's the only reason, but rather the one I could put my finger on. I don't care if he was an ink on paper; he sure as heck felt real to me. His fear, his misery, his helplessness.
Diving straight into book two.
naranjadia's review against another edition
5.0
Brady is such a convincing character. This book has no excessive world building, and yet I could imagine each setting and the dynamic of the life on the space station. Some good questions asked throughout by Brady about his unexpected attraction to Cam.
drjagrier's review against another edition
4.0
Very enjoyable read; an excellent example of the genre of M/M sci-fi. Not perfect, but really pretty close. Good pacing, interesting characters, an unusual premise, and solid writing. The story did seem to skimp on world building in ways that lessened the impact of the unfolding plot. Still a good read, and I'll be checking out more by this author.
sasreadsthings's review against another edition
5.0
Holy fucking shit this book
Like
This book
It's got the right mix of hurt and sarcasm and despair and love
Pacing and writing were beautiful
World felt, hm, it felt like the beauty of Pacific Rim, it's that kinda sci-fi, y'know?
The end really caught me off guard and I wish the ending were longer, I guess, that's probably the only pacing issue I had.
But oh my goodness, the characters felt like actual people, the, just, everything. Argh.
Like
This book
It's got the right mix of hurt and sarcasm and despair and love
Pacing and writing were beautiful
World felt, hm, it felt like the beauty of Pacific Rim, it's that kinda sci-fi, y'know?
The end really caught me off guard and I wish the ending were longer, I guess, that's probably the only pacing issue I had.
But oh my goodness, the characters felt like actual people, the, just, everything. Argh.
kp_khera's review against another edition
4.0
3,5 Stars rounded up because this was:
Okay. Wow. That was... different.
Great, but weird.
And I kind of read the summary for the second book - and now I'm even more O.o
I enjoyed reading it - I actually liked Brady as the MC.
Overall what struck me most was Brady's characterisation. I was reading the other reviews before I just went - I'm just going to go for it
Honest, the reviews made me think 'Do I really want to get myself into this?'
Then when I finished I thought it was a pretty good read, and not what I expected.
The sci-fi part of the book - which was pretty huge - I thought was explained pretty decent. The Faceless. The fear they incite most of all. Though it made me curious - how? what? when? huh?
Okay. Wow. That was... different.
Great, but weird.
And I kind of read the summary for the second book - and now I'm even more O.o
I enjoyed reading it - I actually liked Brady as the MC.
Overall what struck me most was Brady's characterisation. I was reading the other reviews before I just went - I'm just going to go for it
Honest, the reviews made me think 'Do I really want to get myself into this?'
Then when I finished I thought it was a pretty good read, and not what I expected.
The sci-fi part of the book - which was pretty huge - I thought was explained pretty decent. The Faceless. The fear they incite most of all. Though it made me curious - how? what? when? huh?
tricia03053's review against another edition
5.0
Awesome, creative, and fascinating world building. Read this straight through and couldn't put it down.
wildfaeriecaps's review against another edition
5.0
I'm not usually a huge scifi fan, but the blurb for this sounded too interesting to pass up. Definitely kept me turning pages though I could have done with less of an emotional roller coaster because now my head hurts from crying so much.. which.. is kind of the mark of good writing. So I guess I'm not really actually complaining.
layla87's review against another edition
4.0
3.5 stars
I enjoyed this! The world building was good, the plot was very interesting and I liked both characters.
I didn't expect the ending tbh. I thought it would go to a totally different route.
The narrator did a good job as well and I enjoyed his performance.
I enjoyed this! The world building was good, the plot was very interesting and I liked both characters.
I didn't expect the ending tbh. I thought it would go to a totally different route.
The narrator did a good job as well and I enjoyed his performance.