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martin27's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
fast-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
An insanely fun sci-fi adventure is does exactly what it claims to be: a queer female King Arthur in space. For those familiar with the Arthurian legend, it might fall short for you if you go in expecting a retelling that remains faithful to the themes of the original, but if you take it for what it actually is (a pretty standard YA sci-fi plot that uses the legends as set dressing), it’s extremely entertaining. Once & Future is also, unsurprisingly, based very heavily on T.H. White’s The Once and Future King more so than anything else. If you can’t stand White’s work then some of the choices in this book will be very hit or miss for you.
The characters are lovely, though how much they actually have in common with their medieval counterparts varies a lot. One of the plot twists near the end is simply that Merlin was wrong about which role Jordan fulfills in the legend, and it was in my opinion the weakest plot point. Some of the characters are very strong (Ari and Merlin, for example), but some of them really fall by the wayside at times. I think having even one more good scene with Jordan as the focus would have improved the character significantly.
The relationships are the highlight of the book in my opinion. The friendship between Merlin and Ari is wonderful and such a joy to read, and the fiery romance between Ari and Gwen is captivating. The slow burn romance between Merlin and Val is my favorite part of the book.
The world building isn’t super strong but it is interesting most of the time. The hook for the sequel kind of comes out of nowhere, but it does set up an interesting premise and I definitely will be looking at book two.
The characters are lovely, though how much they actually have in common with their medieval counterparts varies a lot. One of the plot twists near the end is simply that Merlin was wrong about which role
The relationships are the highlight of the book in my opinion. The friendship between Merlin and Ari is wonderful and such a joy to read, and the fiery romance between Ari and Gwen is captivating. The slow burn romance between
The world building isn’t super strong but it is interesting most of the time. The hook for the sequel kind of comes out of nowhere, but it does set up an interesting premise and I definitely will be looking at book two.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Genocide, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Blood, War, Infidelity, Violence, and Death
Minor: Sexism, Homophobia, and Racism
I can’t think of anything that’s just implied or alluded to. Everything I tagged occurs on page, but I don’t want to make it sound like the book is a lot heavier than it is. It’s still overall a very hopeful adventure story, it just also talks about a lot of intense themes.aseel_reads's review
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
4.0
this was actually a lot of fun and quite gripping - a sci-fi retelling of Arthur with super diverse characters?? a FANTASTIC idea. it definitely took some time to get hooked into it but I think it's because I don't vibe much sign sci-fi as a genre, not the hooks fault. was pleasantly surprised by all the books twists and turns - pretty original while staying true to the og story. keen to see what happens in the next book
Content Warnings
Minor: Rape, Racism, Sexism, Torture, Violence, Pregnancy, Grief, Death of parent, and Death
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