Reviews tagging 'Chronic illness'

The Galaxy, and the Ground Within by Becky Chambers

16 reviews

crystalisreading's review

emotional hopeful reflective 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? It's complicated

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol and Medical content

Moderate: Chronic illness, War, Xenophobia, Pregnancy, and Colonisation

Minor: Genocide

_david_'s review against another edition

hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

I have never loved a set of characters more. They feel so real. The book was about a small private dome filled with kindness and people learning about eachother and understanding eachother. There were so many beautiful moments and I couldn't have asked for a better ending to this series.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Colonisation, and War

Moderate: Classism, Cultural appropriation, Medical content, Racism, and Xenophobia

Minor: Infertility, Sexual content, Chronic illness, and Pregnancy

fionamclary's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

A compact conclusion to an expansive series, taking place in a limited area of one small planet over the course of five days and involving only five characters for the vast majority of the book, yet retaining the sense of vastness and diversity of the galaxy built up in previous books and exemplified by the unlikely group we encounter in book 4. I especially enjoyed having an Akarak POV character. This disabled anarchocommunist bird woman has my whole heart. Becky Chambers has created a unique species with a tragic history of colonization and cultural genocide, now living on the fringes in a fascinating social structure. The contrast with having an Aeluon POV character (recurring from book 1!) allowed for especially nuanced cultural and political commentary. And of course, Roveg the Quelin is an icon, the party-hosting, food-offering, considerate exile artist we all wish we had in our lives. I'd like to be his friend please and thank you. As always, Becky Chambers develops complex analyses and critiques of the world she has created that are unique to this scifi universe as well as mapping onto our own world.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Colonisation, Genocide, Xenophobia, Pregnancy, and Medical content

Minor: Ableism, Chronic illness, War, Violence, and Vomit

librarymouse's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny reflective fast-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

I love this universe so much, and I'm heart broken for this to be my last contact with the characters. This series prompts the reader to find the beauty in the commonplace and gives hope for a brighter and kinder future. This series makes me want to roast chickpeas, laugh at the absurdity of how human society functions, and to give as much of myself as I can to making the world into a place I want to be in. Becky Chambers constantly surprises me. My perspective is clouded by my experience as an American, and every time medical care, food, water, and shelter are freely given; every time a child wit a non-binary gender is correctly named and gendered; every time people react with kindness and under the assumption that no harm was meant by a mistake or misspokenn word, I am amazed and jealous. The widely varried lifespans of the different species and their perspectives and frustrations with the GC and related wars add to the richness of this world that I've come to deeply love. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Medical content, Alcohol, Genocide, Grief, Sexual content, and War

kers_tin's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring 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? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation, Pregnancy, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Xenophobia, Genocide, Confinement, and Chronic illness

Moderate: Alcohol and War

Minor: Gun violence and Abortion

cerilouisereads's review

emotional hopeful inspiring medium-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical content and Medical trauma

Minor: Alcohol, Chronic illness, Ableism, War, and Xenophobia

catrionamayj's review against another edition

medium-paced

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

3.75

Not my favourite of the series but enjoyable none the less

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pregnancy, Xenophobia, and Body horror

Moderate: Child death and Chronic illness

kathleencoughlin's review

medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.25

One of the things that I generally like about Becky Chambers is that her books are more character driven and the expansive world-building. In this book though, there were several times where it felt a bit explain-y where the characters were describing their cultures, histories, etc. to each other. I appreciate all of the thought she's put into the different species but it felt a bit like a lecture. Overall, I did still enjoy it but less so than her other works I've read. 

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Content Warnings

Minor: Body shaming, Cursing, Colonisation, War, Pregnancy, Medical content, Chronic illness, and Ableism

purplatypus's review against another edition

emotional hopeful medium-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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical content and Xenophobia

Moderate: Alcohol, Chronic illness, Colonisation, Pregnancy, and War

Minor: Ableism, Sexual content, and Vomit

vanadiumbean's review

emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective sad slow-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Medical content, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Chronic illness and Genocide

Minor: Alcohol, Cursing, Vomit, and War