Reviews

It took me so long to go through this book but the ending was quite disappointing. I find the provocations of the book -- how humans should not be defining intelligence on their terms -- but I was unsatisfied with who the Machinehood was (

and how part of its violence was just a simple mistake of an individual

) and

how easy it was to convince Ao Tara to "do the right thing."

The plot line of Nithya's abortion and the image of "birth" in general would've been interesting and feels like a feminist intervention but I wasn't sure if it served any purpose.

monstrouscosmos's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging hopeful fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Characters: 8/10
Relationships: 9/10
Atmosphere/Setting: 8/10
Writing Style: 8/10
Plot/Intrigue: 8/10
Internal Logic: 7/10
Entertainment: 10/10
Overall: 58/70, 4*

I think, like other reviewers, I would have liked to see more concept exploration on the tail end. it definitely wrapped up quickly, and I would have loved to have seen more of life

on the space station

. sometimes text felt repetitive, almost like the same paragraph block went into different chapters. maybe it was on purpose? but I wasn't particularly fond of it. I also would have liked to see more interactions between characters long term, the relationship dynamics were interesting and I just wanted more! it was especially great to see so many different kinds of relationships explored, not just interpersonally but also with and between more abstract concepts like statehood, bodyminds, etc. the directly political concepts seemed very surface level though, and didn't have the level of actual nuance I would have liked. I also think I just fundementally disagreed with some of the conclusions? with regard to gender though there was some of the best pronoun handling I've seen in fiction so far, it flowed pretty seamlessly. this was one of my first attempts at reading long form sci-fi in too long, and I'm so glad I gave it a shot! I'm very excited to read more by the author. my rating is heavily influenced by just how much fun I had listening to the audiobook!

dhlunique's review

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4.0

Clever and philosophical, particularly in today's climate, with AI advancing so rapidly. I was disappointed that Ao Tara capitulated so quickly to Welga's reasoning.

hank's review

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3.0

I enjoyed this but it was kind of generic. There wasn't enough drama to be a thriller, the social commentary was a bit one note (essentially the gig economy being bad) and although the future tech was sort of interesting it wasn't exactly mind blowing.

I did like the characters and the story but it is a book that did lots of things well, just nothing great.

eklipse219's review

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adventurous inspiring mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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