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keeper_of_dark_materials's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
I don't know if I like the way that Martine glorifies conquest through Mahit. She describes the Devouring Maw of Teixcalaan as though it's something beautiful and mostly ignores the fact that this is an empire that has brutally colonized large parts of the galaxy.
There's a quick explanation of "well they haven't had a war of conquest in hundreds of years", but that doesn't really matter to me when alien xenophobia is very obviously, deeply entrenched in their society.
Also, sp**k is a real racial slur and either Martine didn't think to check, or knew and used it anyway (like, a disturbing amount of times).
Still, I can appreciate that the main cast we're mostly in agreement that they should open dialogue with the new species before they try and wipe them off the face of the galaxy, and it actually works.
Overall solid read and a good expansion on the first book, but I think the major subjects that it covers were not discussed deeply enough.
There's a quick explanation of "well they haven't had a war of conquest in hundreds of years", but that doesn't really matter to me when alien xenophobia is very obviously, deeply entrenched in their society.
Also, sp**k is a real racial slur and either Martine didn't think to check, or knew and used it anyway (like, a disturbing amount of times).
Still, I can appreciate that the main cast we're mostly in agreement that they should open dialogue with the new species before they try and wipe them off the face of the galaxy, and it actually works.
Overall solid read and a good expansion on the first book, but I think the major subjects that it covers were not discussed deeply enough.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror and Death
Moderate: Racial slurs, Xenophobia, and War
frogcakes's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: War, Violence, and Death
Moderate: Vomit
Minor: Suicide
quarkie's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
As in the first book, a really interesting world and some thought-provoking takes on various concepts, but I was a bit distracted by what I thought to be less-than-stellar writing. I liked this one a bit more than the first one, but I think it was more due to the change in structure rather than a significant change in writing. Rather than the entire book told from a single point of view, this story was told from four distinct viewpoints. This helped avoid repetition of the same topic and thoughts that was present in the previous book, and also allowed readers to better follow the motivations of characters, since they had access to more internal monologues. It also allowed for readers to see characters' thought processes develop over the course of the book.
One thing I really enjoyed was the pacing - while the beginning was s bit slow, the second half had me on the edge of my seat, and made it difficult to put down!
One complaint I have, that is similar to the previous book, is that sometimes plot points "just happened". Meaning that they either seemingly had no lead up to them, or that they happened and didn't actually have an effect on the plot. It left readers hanging in a few cases.
The main topics that I took away from reading this were what the concept of "you" means to various societies, which was explored in the previous book and then expanded even further upon here. It was also an interesting look at how a society that is know for consuming cultures through colonization acts when confronted with a (SPOILER ALERT) society that will much more literally consume them. Finally, this book explored more concretely the ways in which people from these various cultures interact with one another, and how they can be actively doing harm when they are in fact well-intentioned.
One thing I really enjoyed was the pacing - while the beginning was s bit slow, the second half had me on the edge of my seat, and made it difficult to put down!
One complaint I have, that is similar to the previous book, is that sometimes plot points "just happened". Meaning that they either seemingly had no lead up to them, or that they happened and didn't actually have an effect on the plot. It left readers hanging in a few cases.
The main topics that I took away from reading this were what the concept of "you" means to various societies, which was explored in the previous book and then expanded even further upon here. It was also an interesting look at how a society that is know for consuming cultures through colonization acts when confronted with a (SPOILER ALERT) society that will much more literally consume them. Finally, this book explored more concretely the ways in which people from these various cultures interact with one another, and how they can be actively doing harm when they are in fact well-intentioned.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Genocide, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, War, Vomit, Murder, Sexual content, Xenophobia, Death, and Violence
Minor: Grief and Alcohol
michaelcattigan's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
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? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: War, Genocide, Xenophobia, Death, and Blood
Moderate: Gore
deleore's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
What an honor to start 2024 with this book. It is also 03:22 now, so my reviewing abilities are severely impaired.
Beautifully woven, wonderfully sung.
Beautifully woven, wonderfully sung.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and War
peregrinwho's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
reflective
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
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: War and Death
Minor: Xenophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, and Medical content
nixwithapen's review
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Colonisation, War, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Sexual content, Genocide, Gore, and Death
Minor: Suicide and Vomit
iam's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
hopeful
mysterious
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
5.0
I already loved A Memory Called Empire, and I loved A Desolation Called Peace even more. It not only featured the same political intrigue and twisted machinations, but also an alien first contact storyline the likes of which I adore, and two new POV characters whose chapters I greatly enjoyed.
I especially liked Eight Antidote, the 11-year-old clone to the previous emperor. His chapters were a delight, though maybe not entirely realistic to the mind of such a young person. My suspension of disbelieve was however never broken, and his arc was just so much fun to read.
I also really liked Nine Hibiscus, the fleet captain, and Swarm, her second in command, was one of my new favourites.
But Mahit and Three Seagrass, too, had their moments, and I liked how their relationship developed.
The aliens and various technologies were all fascinating, and I really like the worldbuilding of this series.
I greatly enjoyed any direction the plot turned to, and I cannot wait for more of this series.
Content warnings include: sex on-page, death, anaphylaxis, violence, vomiting, trauma, exile, mentions of and plans to commit genocide.
I especially liked Eight Antidote, the 11-year-old clone to the previous emperor. His chapters were a delight, though maybe not entirely realistic to the mind of such a young person. My suspension of disbelieve was however never broken, and his arc was just so much fun to read.
I also really liked Nine Hibiscus, the fleet captain, and Swarm, her second in command, was one of my new favourites.
But Mahit and Three Seagrass, too, had their moments, and I liked how their relationship developed.
The aliens and various technologies were all fascinating, and I really like the worldbuilding of this series.
I greatly enjoyed any direction the plot turned to, and I cannot wait for more of this series.
Content warnings include: sex on-page, death, anaphylaxis, violence, vomiting, trauma, exile, mentions of and plans to commit genocide.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Vomit, Sexual content, and Death
Moderate: Genocide
anaphylaxis, trauma, exilecompassrosa's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
fast-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? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Xenophobia and War
madscientistcat's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Xenophobia, and War
Minor: Genocide