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amym84's review
4.0
Originally published at Vampire Book Club
Tina has known for years that she’s not just an average teenager, but she’s been waiting (im)patiently for the day when she will be called upon to complete her purpose. Tina holds the embodiment of a highly regarded alien space Captain within herself. She was cloned and sent to Earth for her safety, to be called upon when the time came to finally defeat the one who threatens the universe. When Tina’s day finally arrives, she’s got her best friend Rachael by her side and assembles a team of extraordinary humans. But when her destiny doesn’t run the course she’s set up for herself, Tina begins to question who it is she’s supposed to be, and how she can save anything.
As I’m reveling in the finishing of this book and working on getting my thoughts onto the page, I really have to give it to Charlie Jane Anders for creating such a popping sci-fi adventure. The story starts off with a bang and hooks you right away.
The problem is that eventually things have to slow down and we have to take a little time to breathe. Besides having rollicking action sequences, I understand the importance of slower moments to really take in this new outer space world, but it’s in those moments that I felt things dragged a tad bit and for me that initial momentum was difficult to regain.
Keeping with the story, however, I absolutely loved the commentary on destiny and identity. Tina has been so set on who she believes she’s supposed to be, that she’s never really taken time to figure it out for herself. Despite things not going to plan for Tina, I loved that readers get the opportunity to see her come into her own and have this well of opportunities place before her, on her own terms, not ones preset for her based on her DNA.
What’s more the bond between the “Earthlings,” especially that between Tina and Rachael, is a wonderful thing to behold. Having this group of unknowns from varying backgrounds, band together, work together, and lift each other up successfully was such a bright spot. To that end, however, there were times when I would stop and think about how we still only got a surface level insight into many of these characters. Charlie Jane Anders definitely doesn’t pull punches in going for emotional impact. Unfortunately, the gut-punch feeling didn’t always come through for me and I wanted more of that emotional connection.
I did appreciate that we don’t get a case of “us vs. them” in regards to humans vs. aliens, with aliens being the villains. That villainy of megalomania transcends species and even knowing that this person truly believes that what they want for the universe is right, doesn’t mean they aren’t a villain and sometimes the real test is being able to confront these truths within people that you would otherwise care about.
Charlie Jane Anders definitely leaves things in a position where I’m eager to find out what happens next. While there is a certain amount of resolution, there’s also a can of worms that’s undeniably just been opened as well. Hopefully, we’ll continue to see Tina becoming ever more comfortable in her own skin.
Tina has known for years that she’s not just an average teenager, but she’s been waiting (im)patiently for the day when she will be called upon to complete her purpose. Tina holds the embodiment of a highly regarded alien space Captain within herself. She was cloned and sent to Earth for her safety, to be called upon when the time came to finally defeat the one who threatens the universe. When Tina’s day finally arrives, she’s got her best friend Rachael by her side and assembles a team of extraordinary humans. But when her destiny doesn’t run the course she’s set up for herself, Tina begins to question who it is she’s supposed to be, and how she can save anything.
As I’m reveling in the finishing of this book and working on getting my thoughts onto the page, I really have to give it to Charlie Jane Anders for creating such a popping sci-fi adventure. The story starts off with a bang and hooks you right away.
The problem is that eventually things have to slow down and we have to take a little time to breathe. Besides having rollicking action sequences, I understand the importance of slower moments to really take in this new outer space world, but it’s in those moments that I felt things dragged a tad bit and for me that initial momentum was difficult to regain.
Keeping with the story, however, I absolutely loved the commentary on destiny and identity. Tina has been so set on who she believes she’s supposed to be, that she’s never really taken time to figure it out for herself. Despite things not going to plan for Tina, I loved that readers get the opportunity to see her come into her own and have this well of opportunities place before her, on her own terms, not ones preset for her based on her DNA.
What’s more the bond between the “Earthlings,” especially that between Tina and Rachael, is a wonderful thing to behold. Having this group of unknowns from varying backgrounds, band together, work together, and lift each other up successfully was such a bright spot. To that end, however, there were times when I would stop and think about how we still only got a surface level insight into many of these characters. Charlie Jane Anders definitely doesn’t pull punches in going for emotional impact. Unfortunately, the gut-punch feeling didn’t always come through for me and I wanted more of that emotional connection.
I did appreciate that we don’t get a case of “us vs. them” in regards to humans vs. aliens, with aliens being the villains. That villainy of megalomania transcends species and even knowing that this person truly believes that what they want for the universe is right, doesn’t mean they aren’t a villain and sometimes the real test is being able to confront these truths within people that you would otherwise care about.
Charlie Jane Anders definitely leaves things in a position where I’m eager to find out what happens next. While there is a certain amount of resolution, there’s also a can of worms that’s undeniably just been opened as well. Hopefully, we’ll continue to see Tina becoming ever more comfortable in her own skin.
rikerandom's review against another edition
4.0
Originally published on RikeRandom - find the full review and others there.
Content notes for Victories Greater Than Death by Charlie Jane Anders: references to and descriptions of bullying, fatmisia, child abuse (all in the characters‘ pasts), violence and death, trauma, brain washing/distortion of memories
Detailed content notes:
Spoiler
The main character‘s best friend was bullied out of school and they talk about this several times throughout the novel – she is also self-conscious about being fat and socially anxiousOne of the side-characters makes references to his abusive, narcissistic father
The space people are at war, so there are some armed conflict scenes and a lot of character death, plus genocide is an important topic
One of super-powers of the BBEG is that he taints the memories of those he killed, so there are a few cases where the characters lose someone they were close to only to start thinking of them extremely negatively
Representation: queer main, a lot of queer side characters (main love interest is a bi/pan trans girl, there are gay and non-binary characters, many of the alien societies are queernorm), of the five humans in this two are Black (Black Brazilian & Black British) and two are Asian (Indian & Chinese), one of the characters is fat and has social anxiety or something along those lines
Ages ago I read Charlie Jane Anders‘ first novel and the only thing I remember about it now is that I did not like its prose. Still, when Victories Greater Than Death was recommended to me, I took a look at the reading sample and decided to give the novel a try. And I‘m really glad I did, because I enjoyed this SciFi adventure immensely!
The story is told from the point of view of Tina – the clone of an alien space captain whose heroic death in battle made her somewhat of a legend. Tina, however, got injected with some DNA, so she would pass as human, and dumped on Earth as a baby, so she would be out of harm’s way. She grows up knowing that she has a rescue beacon inside of her and dreams of the day the aliens will come to pick her up, so she can finally go on to fulfill the amazing destiny she was born to. But when the day comes and she – and accidentally also her best friend Rachael plus four other human teens – are whisked away from Earth by the Royal Fleet, it doesn‘t take long for Tina to realize that this whole adventure might not turn out quite as she had thought it would.
[…]
The one thing I really didn‘t like about Victories Greater Than Death? Tina‘s attitude to pretty much anyone. This includes the way the novel dealt with the trauma of anyone who isn‘t Tina. Each of the humans the Royal Fleet more or less abducts from Earth comes with a bunch of trauma – be it Rachael‘s experience with being bullied out of school or Keanzie who gladly fled into the unknown just to get away from his father or really any of them, because they just left behind everything they‘ve ever known and unlike Tina they hadn‘t been looking forward to a space adventure for years. And because the novel is told through Tina‘s POV, the fact that almost no time is spent on resolving or at the very least examining the other characters‘ trauma makes her seem like a very callous and aloof person at times.
However, as Victories Greater Than Death is only the first novel in a series of three (or something like that?), I am very much looking forward to seeing more of the Earthlings and really hope that we will see their relationships develop further. Luckily, Dreams Bigger Than Heartbreak will be out in April next year and seems to be told from the perspectives of not just Tina but also two of her friends – yay!
melonpaper's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
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
twowheelsaway's review
4.0
I loved 'All the Birds in the Sky' and 'The City in the Middle of the Night', and was overjoyed to see that Charlie Jane Anders was taking her first stab at YA. I was even more excited to be able to get it as an ARC! (This honest review is in exchange for the free digital access)
A quick blurb: Tina has known since she was thirteen that she had a higher calling-- literally. Some day, someone would be coming from the stars to whisk her away to resume her post as one of the most celebrated heroes of the Royal Fleet. See, Tina is a clone of the fallen Captain Argentian, who gave her life to save her crew. When the Fleet comes calling, Tina/Argentian is their greatest hope in their fight against the insidious Compassion, but Tina struggles with this expectation. With Tina and a ragtag band of other Earthlings along for the ride, the crew of HMSS Indomitable strike out across the stars to find the means to stop the Compassion's scourge.
This is a fast-moving sci-fi adventure. The pacing is slightly jerky, in my opinion, but it definitely doesn't drag. For reference, it reads a lot like Becky Chambers' "A Long Way to a Small Angry Planet' in terms of the skipping between events (I do kind of wonder if this is actually pretty apt for space travel, with so many long down times). While this was slightly disorienting at times, it kept the book trimmer than sci-fi epics like this usually are, which was nice. The writing was strong, although I do think that (as other reviewers suggested) there is a little bit of dumbing down from Anders' adult narration that didn't need to happen.
Content-wise, there was a lot of awesome stuff here on two fronts. From a sci-fi front, I loved a lot of the questions the book posed about things like humanoid bias and the interactions of cultures. It's definitely not hard sci-fi, but encompasses enough plausible specifics to explore interesting questions. Anders has definitely played Mass Effect :)
From a queer/social justice perspective, this book has a lot to offer. First, the normalization of pronouns other than he/she was great, especially the default inclusion of pronouns in introductions. One great moment was someone says what her pronouns are before threatening to kick someone's ass. Amazing. It seems as if homophobia doesn't exist in the Royal Fleet, and why should it? The characters also, without fail, ask for consent before touching, sexual or platonic. Though this read as awkward to me (because We Live In A Society), the characters didn't treat it as such-- if science fiction can imagine aliens and space travel, why not societies in which people take consent seriously? I think the behavior in the book is an amazing model for teens talking about touching that I wish I had had.
Ultimately this isn't quite a 5/5 for me. The narrative definitely stutters a bit, and like many other first sci-fi novels in a series a little bit too much is packed in. As much as I loved all of the ideas presented, the book felt slightly packed-to-the-seams with exposition. It's a super strong 4/5, though, and in my experience the book being overstuffed likely allows the rest of the series to ease up on the exposition and really blossom. Really really looking forward to the next one, and will definitely be recommending this to kids in search of exciting sci-fi or great queer characters.
A quick blurb: Tina has known since she was thirteen that she had a higher calling-- literally. Some day, someone would be coming from the stars to whisk her away to resume her post as one of the most celebrated heroes of the Royal Fleet. See, Tina is a clone of the fallen Captain Argentian, who gave her life to save her crew. When the Fleet comes calling, Tina/Argentian is their greatest hope in their fight against the insidious Compassion, but Tina struggles with this expectation. With Tina and a ragtag band of other Earthlings along for the ride, the crew of HMSS Indomitable strike out across the stars to find the means to stop the Compassion's scourge.
This is a fast-moving sci-fi adventure. The pacing is slightly jerky, in my opinion, but it definitely doesn't drag. For reference, it reads a lot like Becky Chambers' "A Long Way to a Small Angry Planet' in terms of the skipping between events (I do kind of wonder if this is actually pretty apt for space travel, with so many long down times). While this was slightly disorienting at times, it kept the book trimmer than sci-fi epics like this usually are, which was nice. The writing was strong, although I do think that (as other reviewers suggested) there is a little bit of dumbing down from Anders' adult narration that didn't need to happen.
Content-wise, there was a lot of awesome stuff here on two fronts. From a sci-fi front, I loved a lot of the questions the book posed about things like humanoid bias and the interactions of cultures. It's definitely not hard sci-fi, but encompasses enough plausible specifics to explore interesting questions. Anders has definitely played Mass Effect :)
From a queer/social justice perspective, this book has a lot to offer. First, the normalization of pronouns other than he/she was great, especially the default inclusion of pronouns in introductions. One great moment was someone says what her pronouns are before threatening to kick someone's ass. Amazing. It seems as if homophobia doesn't exist in the Royal Fleet, and why should it? The characters also, without fail, ask for consent before touching, sexual or platonic. Though this read as awkward to me (because We Live In A Society), the characters didn't treat it as such-- if science fiction can imagine aliens and space travel, why not societies in which people take consent seriously? I think the behavior in the book is an amazing model for teens talking about touching that I wish I had had.
Ultimately this isn't quite a 5/5 for me. The narrative definitely stutters a bit, and like many other first sci-fi novels in a series a little bit too much is packed in. As much as I loved all of the ideas presented, the book felt slightly packed-to-the-seams with exposition. It's a super strong 4/5, though, and in my experience the book being overstuffed likely allows the rest of the series to ease up on the exposition and really blossom. Really really looking forward to the next one, and will definitely be recommending this to kids in search of exciting sci-fi or great queer characters.
ameserole's review
5.0
I have received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Wow. I loved absolutely everything about Victories Greater Than Death. I'll even admit that I geeked out once I got the actual book from NetGalley. It also doesn't hurt that each and every character was so god damn lovable either. I mean, even the ones I met for like two seconds some how wormed their way into my heart.
In it you will meet Tina and find out that she's a clone of some amazing Captain that sacrificed herself to save a bunch of people. So just to have that much weight on the top of her shoulders.. well she just doesn't know what to do with her life. Then again, she knew that she was not from Earth and that some day she would have to leave the planet she grew up on.
Other than that, you will meet a bunch of different characters. The diversity was insane and the one thing that made me so damn proud/happy was that they would state their name AND then their pronoun. This just made the book unique in my eyes because we don't always get that and it's kind of like a huge guessing game (that everyone will fail).
After meeting everyone, they were on a wild ass ride/adventure. Honestly, so much happened and it was a lot of fun to read all about it. Besides the adventure, this book dives into so many topics that are real and make you pay attention to every little thing that is happening. Again, I loved it all and I'm so happy that I got the chance to dive into this.
In the end, that cliffhanger just about killed me. Waiting will be the death of me but I seriously need the next book STAT!
Wow. I loved absolutely everything about Victories Greater Than Death. I'll even admit that I geeked out once I got the actual book from NetGalley. It also doesn't hurt that each and every character was so god damn lovable either. I mean, even the ones I met for like two seconds some how wormed their way into my heart.
In it you will meet Tina and find out that she's a clone of some amazing Captain that sacrificed herself to save a bunch of people. So just to have that much weight on the top of her shoulders.. well she just doesn't know what to do with her life. Then again, she knew that she was not from Earth and that some day she would have to leave the planet she grew up on.
Other than that, you will meet a bunch of different characters. The diversity was insane and the one thing that made me so damn proud/happy was that they would state their name AND then their pronoun. This just made the book unique in my eyes because we don't always get that and it's kind of like a huge guessing game (that everyone will fail).
After meeting everyone, they were on a wild ass ride/adventure. Honestly, so much happened and it was a lot of fun to read all about it. Besides the adventure, this book dives into so many topics that are real and make you pay attention to every little thing that is happening. Again, I loved it all and I'm so happy that I got the chance to dive into this.
In the end, that cliffhanger just about killed me. Waiting will be the death of me but I seriously need the next book STAT!
marley's review
4.0
This is really more of a 3.5 star, but I rounded it up. Review will be along soon!
lindsaypopolizio's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
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? No
5.0
pantsreads's review
4.0
3.5/5
Super fun space romp with a great cast of characters and a Douglas Adams-style quirkiness.
Full review to come, but you can check out a mini-review at the Forever Young Adult Instagram.
Super fun space romp with a great cast of characters and a Douglas Adams-style quirkiness.
Full review to come, but you can check out a mini-review at the Forever Young Adult Instagram.
shoosha's review
4.0
A wonderful LGBTQIA+ YA Sci-Fi novel that is warm and funny and smart and action packed. Charlie Jane is one of my favorite humans, I love her podcast, her adult novels are near perfect, and she radiates positive love and unadulterated joy! This YA novel is like a pure essential oil of her essence. The characters vibrate with the energy of youth and a tenacity of spirit, and are a hoot to spend time with.
☄️
☄️
dragongrill101's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
tense
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
4.25