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3.46 AVERAGE
3.46 AVERAGE
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Aetherbound follows Pendt in this slow-burn space opera that gives ownership of one’s body back to women and holds up the ideals that a family is not born of blood but born of love.
Captivating
Broken up into parts, Johnson gives Aetherbound a strong foundation. Opening with the history of the world, Johnson introduced readers into a world of space travel and science mingled with magic. It is fascinating and unique, giving the story a firm footing.
Aetherbound is able o ground the reader in the details, in the coldness of space travel, and the corruption of government for power and space dominance. Different skills make some more or less valuable. For Pendt, being a gene-mage makes her less valuable in the eyes of her family on the ship the Harland.
Admittedly, the pacing part one is a bit slow. However, despite the slow pace, the reader is drawn into the narrative. Through Pendt, the reader is experiencing the coldness of space, how the women on the ship lack ownership of their bodies, how their government enforces the idea that they have to have children to run the ship. It is a cold and heartbreaking view of the world, but realism, the way Johnson tackles the argument of ownership of one’s body, is impactful because it has roots in realism.
It is a scary thought to lose control over one’s body, to be thought of as nothing more than a breeding machine, which forces Pendt to challenge herself and decide to run away.
Aetherbound is able o ground the reader in the details, in the coldness of space travel, and the corruption of government for power and space dominance. Different skills make some more or less valuable. For Pendt, being a gene-mage makes her less valuable in the eyes of her family on the ship the Harland.
Admittedly, the pacing part one is a bit slow. However, despite the slow pace, the reader is drawn into the narrative. Through Pendt, the reader is experiencing the coldness of space, how the women on the ship lack ownership of their bodies, how their government enforces the idea that they have to have children to run the ship. It is a cold and heartbreaking view of the world, but realism, the way Johnson tackles the argument of ownership of one’s body, is impactful because it has roots in realism.
It is a scary thought to lose control over one’s body, to be thought of as nothing more than a breeding machine, which forces Pendt to challenge herself and decide to run away.
Thoughtful
Johnson is very good at storytelling. They draw the reader into the narrative and the world created here, inspiring readers to feel and connect to the narrative and the characters.
Pendt could be read as stiff, but when the reader reflects on her cold upbringing, how she was given just enough calories to survive daily and nothing more, the reader understands her.
And Pendt grows. Once she is on the station and meets the Brannick twins, her life changes, evolving both her and the story. Ned and Fisher are twins who want to help bring about a revolution but in different ways. Moreover, together they grow into this strong family unit. Pendt marries Ned to stay on Brannick station and remove any claim her family would have on her, and soon discovers they a family is more than just blood.
Pendt forms a family with the Brannick twins and the whole station, who come to love her as their own. Pendt discovers that her worth is not based on what she can offer people but what she can offer herself. Being diminished by her family, groomed to think she was worthless, Pendt discovers that she is powerful and learns to love herself.
Pendt could be read as stiff, but when the reader reflects on her cold upbringing, how she was given just enough calories to survive daily and nothing more, the reader understands her.
And Pendt grows. Once she is on the station and meets the Brannick twins, her life changes, evolving both her and the story. Ned and Fisher are twins who want to help bring about a revolution but in different ways. Moreover, together they grow into this strong family unit. Pendt marries Ned to stay on Brannick station and remove any claim her family would have on her, and soon discovers they a family is more than just blood.
Pendt forms a family with the Brannick twins and the whole station, who come to love her as their own. Pendt discovers that her worth is not based on what she can offer people but what she can offer herself. Being diminished by her family, groomed to think she was worthless, Pendt discovers that she is powerful and learns to love herself.
Final Thoughts
Aetherbound is a slow burn novel, but the ideas, the passion, draw in the reader. Coupled with the powerful messages, Aetherbound stands out from the crowd and reminds readers that we all have a right to control our bodies and that our family is not only determined by blood but can be one made of love and acceptance.
adventurous
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
DNFed at 70 percent. I couldnt even stick out an hour & a half to listen to the rest of this story. Every moment was grueling. Not one notable character, plotline, or moment in anything I read.
HUH?!??? FETUS?!???!
rtc maybe
7/14/2021:
This book is the definition of, “Had us in the first half, not gonna life.”
I thought I was going to love Aetherbound. Beautiful cover with a pretty girl? (LMAOOOO THAT ALWAYS PULLS ME IN HFJDKSOS) Spacefaring sci-fi with rigid, though breakable structures? A compelling, complex protagonist (at first)? TRANSGENDER PRIMARY CHARACTER?!?!!? sign me upppppppppp
and everything changed when part two attacked
this book had an excellent start and truly thrilling build-up, but simply forgot to make the story worthwhile. I appreciated certain aspects, such as the ones I listed, but the second half (or even, the last three-fourths) of the story were so underwhelming and rushed that I found myself wishing that my Sora audiobook could exceed 3x in playback speed. the main relationships were rushed — this could have been attributed to how short the book is (5 hours in audiobook form), which I usually appreciate if the book has substance — and each plot point disappointed
I kind of want to lower this to 2 stars but it’s an excellent premise on-paper so it’s a 3
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rtc maybe
7/14/2021:
This book is the definition of, “Had us in the first half, not gonna life.”
I thought I was going to love Aetherbound. Beautiful cover with a pretty girl? (LMAOOOO THAT ALWAYS PULLS ME IN HFJDKSOS) Spacefaring sci-fi with rigid, though breakable structures? A compelling, complex protagonist (at first)? TRANSGENDER PRIMARY CHARACTER?!?!!? sign me upppppppppp
and everything changed when part two attacked
this book had an excellent start and truly thrilling build-up, but simply forgot to make the story worthwhile. I appreciated certain aspects, such as the ones I listed, but the second half (or even, the last three-fourths) of the story were so underwhelming and rushed that I found myself wishing that my Sora audiobook could exceed 3x in playback speed. the main relationships were rushed — this could have been attributed to how short the book is (5 hours in audiobook form), which I usually appreciate if the book has substance — and each plot point disappointed
I kind of want to lower this to 2 stars but it’s an excellent premise on-paper so it’s a 3
twitter ☆ instagram ☆ youtube ☆ tiktok ☆ blog
adventurous
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
4.5. This was an interesting concept and I felt it was executed well, part of it didn’t sit overly well with me but that’s just personal preference when it comes to things like childbearing, procreation etc.
I adored Fisher and loved his characterization. Pendt was an enjoyable main character and it was easy to root for her. I loved the worldbuilding and the sci aspect was well done. I'm a big fan of E.K. Johnston and this was no exception.
I adored Fisher and loved his characterization. Pendt was an enjoyable main character and it was easy to root for her. I loved the worldbuilding and the sci aspect was well done. I'm a big fan of E.K. Johnston and this was no exception.
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
The part of her that wondered about the future and dreamed about flying a ship with her siblings was dying, and the part that was growing in its place was a silent, waiting thing.
This is a book I've been really looking forward to. Now that I've read it, my impressions, I have to admit, are mixed at best.
The first quarter of the story was exactly what the reviews and recs I've seen promised: the quiet horror of being a mostly useless gear in a family machine, told in a way that simultaneously never shied away from how terrible the abuse and dehumanization is and made it mundane, everyday, bearable to read. I loved it. I mean, it was bone-chilling, it made me grit my teeth, it made me hate nearly everyone on the Harland who wasn't Pendt, and I couldn't stop reading because I couldn't wait for Pendt to figure out a way out. To delve into a different world and start figuring out who she was as a person, building herself up from what she endured.
Then she did escape, and something about the story changed that made me feel almost cheated. Two more important characters were introduced: Ned and Fisher. I liked them both, on a surface level. On a deeper level, I feel like I never got to learn enough about them. I just saw snapshots and some condensed histories. Pendt's journey, now that her story was intertwined with Ned's and Fisher's, quickly took the same shapes: snapshots of important moments, sort-of-summaries of what went on in-between. The further into the book I got, the more rushed and jagged the pacing got.
It was a jarring contrast to the slower paced, moderately detailed, consistent unfolding of Pendt's coming of age on board of the Harland generation ship in the first part. Yes, of course, that first part also contained its share of "summaries between snapshots," but it was different. More ordered somehow. Far better flowing.
There's also the fact that the story itself is sort of this small, intimate, slice-of-life-ish tale of several people's daily lives on the fringe of some really big events in a vast spacefaring world. There were enough hints and explanations at this big story, but they were kind of hard for me to pull together into a coherent picture. It's like I lost my grip on them whenever I focused on the small, intimate story like the book supposedly wanted me to. But then certain intricacies of that story relied on understanding the bigger picture. I tried to figure out the details of that bigger picture and keep them in mind. I lost my grip on the characters and their personal arcs. Reading became frustrating. To be honest, outside of the magic system (which, granted, is quite inventive and unique, I feel horribly lost on about every aspect of worldbuilding after finishing the book.
All in all, in spite of the several things I really loved—the first 1/4 of the story, the main characters, the magic, the thoughtful discussion of body autonomy and outdated gender norms and duty vs freedom—I'm sad to say this book was a disappointing experience. As a matter of fact, all the things listed above made it even more disappointing: the beginning of the story held such promise, and then it dissolved into a mess of confusing pacing and such. It felt like there were several potential books crammed into quite a few pages here.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Eating disorder, Medical trauma
Minor: Trafficking
adventurous
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