Reviews

Ancestral night by Elizabeth Bear

caterina_1212's review against another edition

Couldn't finish the first chapter. I can't figure out the terminology and the homophone word replacements feel so unnecessary.  Also really dry, and the sentences don't flow together and I can't figure out what I'm supposed to be picturing.

ndmetal's review against another edition

adventurous challenging funny medium-paced

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

2.75

Plot and setting were great but the prose was not for me. The technobabble was not easy to pick up on, and for a standalone scifi novel, I spent too much time looking up words.

zarhara's review against another edition

adventurous informative reflective 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? It's complicated

3.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Genocide, Injury/Injury detail, Emotional abuse, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, Murder, and Suicide

Moderate: Animal death, Gun violence, Addiction, Blood, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Body horror, Slavery, Xenophobia, Gaslighting, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Abandonment, Cannibalism, and Hate crime

nekopersona's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

being_b's review against another edition

mysterious reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

I quit at 30%.  Stream of consciousness character study requires the prose to do a lot of heavy lifting, and I wasn’t feeling it.  The problem with being inside the mind of someone with unresolved trauma, like Haimey, is that thinking is circular and repetitive.  Bear captures that extremely well, but it turns out it’s just as boring to watch as it is to experience.  Add to that Connla and Singer’s flatness, and i just couldn’t go on.  

Loved Machine, the next book in the series.

smallstories's review against another edition

i'm sure this is a lovely book if you aren't a biopsych major but i am and where are you getting the hormones and neurotransmitters, elizabeth? your main character is in a spacesuit on a starvation diet, elizabeth. where are the things to alter neurochemistry coming from.

stellarian's review against another edition

3.0

The most interesting thing about this book was all the psychology discussions. The plot got a little muddled, but I did in general like the protagonist. There were a few too many small winks at classic literature and "quaint" notions of the societies of the past, but I found it an okay social SF book.

chlcrc617's review against another edition

This was honestly just a bore and I didn’t care about the plot. Might try again not via audiobook 

katiemac1's review against another edition

adventurous slow-paced

3.0

samneel's review against another edition

adventurous challenging mysterious reflective slow-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? No

3.5

3.5 solely for the uniqueness of the world and ideas. There were some revolutionary moments however the story itself was honestly pretty dull and repetitive. Pacing was challenging and I think it could’ve used another round of editing.