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thetainaship's review against another edition
I tried my best to read this in good faith, but regardless of authorial intent, I'm just very uncomfortable.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Transphobia
batesbarb's review against another edition
I don’t think I’ve hated a book more than this in a LONG time. Our exclusive point of view character is a racist, misogynistic, homophobic asshole who fancies himself a great philosopher. I don’t like Jordan Peterson in real life, and I sure as hell don’t want to spend my fictional time with his 25th century version either. The world building in this story reads like a collection of Fox News scare stories strung together into a novel. They’ll outlaw religion! They’ll outlaw being cisgender (or even using gendered pronouns)! Globalization has hit a point where nations are basically irrelevant and everyone sorts into philosophical/identity affinity groups (which all just happen to be named in English except one that’s named in Japanese, and is a brand/family name, rather than having any philosophical identity). The world is completely intertwined, except that characters all have racial backgrounds that are perfectly apparent to our narrator in some of the most disgustingly racist and fetishistic descriptions I’ve read in years. Sections of the society are heavily invested in philosophy, yet somehow no philosophical or religious traditions other than “Western Civilization” exist in any relevant way (other than one off handed mention of reincarnation).
It’s such a profoundly shallow and colonialist concept of what the future of earth would look like, I just couldn’t take any more and noped out at 23%.
It’s such a profoundly shallow and colonialist concept of what the future of earth would look like, I just couldn’t take any more and noped out at 23%.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism, Transphobia, Homophobia, Racism, Lesbophobia, and Misogyny
halberdbooks's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
informative
mysterious
tense
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
4.0
It has been so long since I have jumped into a Sci-Fi or Fantasy series truly designed from the beginning to be a full set. Usually, book 1 is a standalone thing, and the rest of the books follow from that. So I was caught off-guard when this book ended, not on a cliffhanger, but on what feels like the actual initiating incident. Naturally, I have to know what happens next. This book is pretty slow, far more interested in explaining other things than explaining itself, caught up significantly more in the geopolitical machinations and philosophies of our past than its future, and very difficult to follow with its enormous cast and propensity for tangents. And yet, it is riveting. I am confused and overwhelmed and enthralled. At one point, the book essentially turned to me and demanded I face the true reality of the only logical endpoint of my own philosophy. I must see where this goes. I could not explain what this book is about. I don't know that I'll ever recommend it. And yet this is a SOLID four stars.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Physical abuse, Trafficking, Sexual content, Cannibalism, Murder, Suicide, Religious bigotry, Rape, Panic attacks/disorders, Medical trauma, Transphobia, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic friendship, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Pedophilia, and Kidnapping
Minor: Incest and War
commander_zander's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This book made me more conservative and more genderqueer. It will either repulse you or change your life. Either way, it won't be boring. Read it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Sexual content, Misogyny, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Rape
Minor: Car accident, Transphobia, and Slavery
Graphic murder. Multiple sinister sadistic characters.zmiya's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
informative
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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Transphobia and Sexism
Moderate: Gore, Murder, and Torture
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