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diane's review against another edition
4.0
Had a hard time getting into this, because the characters were basically unpleasant. Eventually it got going and all the threads came together in a really satisfying way.
guerrichache's review
adventurous
funny
hopeful
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcoholism
wittyandsarcasticbookclub's review
3.0
Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with this book in exchange for my honest opinion. This book is available now.
Oh dear. I wanted to like this book, I really did. I’m a big fan of smuggling in stories in general, and especially in space (blame the incredible show Firefly). Unfortunately, this book was a giant resounding “meh” from me.
I can’t pinpoint anything really wrong with the book, it just didn’t keep my attention. The characters weren’t all that engaging, and Scorpia annoyed me. She was immature to the point of obnoxiousness. Corvus was okay, but not all that fantastic a character either.
If I don’t enjoy the characters in a book, the writing itself needs to be incredible to keep me invested. The writing was fine, but nothing to write home about. This is my first book by this author and, honestly, I can’t say I’m going to go out of my way to read any others she’s written.
I’ll say that this is just a case of the book not fitting the reader. It happens. I hope other readers find it more interesting than I did. I gave up 60% in.
Oh dear. I wanted to like this book, I really did. I’m a big fan of smuggling in stories in general, and especially in space (blame the incredible show Firefly). Unfortunately, this book was a giant resounding “meh” from me.
I can’t pinpoint anything really wrong with the book, it just didn’t keep my attention. The characters weren’t all that engaging, and Scorpia annoyed me. She was immature to the point of obnoxiousness. Corvus was okay, but not all that fantastic a character either.
If I don’t enjoy the characters in a book, the writing itself needs to be incredible to keep me invested. The writing was fine, but nothing to write home about. This is my first book by this author and, honestly, I can’t say I’m going to go out of my way to read any others she’s written.
I’ll say that this is just a case of the book not fitting the reader. It happens. I hope other readers find it more interesting than I did. I gave up 60% in.
wittyandsarcasticbookclub's review against another edition
2.0
https://wittyandsarcasticbookclub.home.blog/2019/12/03/fortuna-by-kristyn-merbeth-arc-review/
Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with this book in exchange for my honest opinion. This book is available now.
Oh dear. I wanted to like this book, I really did. I’m a big fan of smuggling in stories in general, and especially in space (blame the incredible show Firefly). Unfortunately, this book was a giant resounding “meh” from me.
I can’t pinpoint anything really wrong with the book, it just didn’t keep my attention. The characters weren’t all that engaging, and Scorpia annoyed me. She was immature to the point of obnoxiousness. Corvus was okay, but not all that fantastic a character either.
If I don’t enjoy the characters in a book, the writing itself needs to be incredible to keep me invested. The writing was fine, but nothing to write home about. This is my first book by this author and, honestly, I can’t say I’m going to go out of my way to read any others she’s written.
I’ll say that this is just a case of the book not fitting the reader. It happens. I hope other readers find it more interesting than I did. I gave up 60% in.
Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with this book in exchange for my honest opinion. This book is available now.
Oh dear. I wanted to like this book, I really did. I’m a big fan of smuggling in stories in general, and especially in space (blame the incredible show Firefly). Unfortunately, this book was a giant resounding “meh” from me.
I can’t pinpoint anything really wrong with the book, it just didn’t keep my attention. The characters weren’t all that engaging, and Scorpia annoyed me. She was immature to the point of obnoxiousness. Corvus was okay, but not all that fantastic a character either.
If I don’t enjoy the characters in a book, the writing itself needs to be incredible to keep me invested. The writing was fine, but nothing to write home about. This is my first book by this author and, honestly, I can’t say I’m going to go out of my way to read any others she’s written.
I’ll say that this is just a case of the book not fitting the reader. It happens. I hope other readers find it more interesting than I did. I gave up 60% in.
difelicj's review
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-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
aechpea's review
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Emotional abuse and Alcoholism
Minor: Suicidal thoughts and Physical abuse
lpcoolgirl's review
5.0
Such a great read, I loved the world and these characters, and going on this journey with them was so fantastic! Plus the cover is stunning!
colossal's review
4.0
The Fortuna is a small crewed freighter in the Nova Vita system, a rarity in a time of increasing tension and isolationism in interplanetary politics. The Kaiser family survives through careful planning (each child of the family has a different planetary citizenship) and various legal and illegal jobs. Scorpia Kaiser is the ship's pilot who has lived her life in the shadow of her brother Corvus. Corvus has been off fighting a pointless and brutal war for three years, but he's about to return, and that leaves Scorpia in a horrible position, making her even more reckless than she normally is. When Scorpia's mother get them all involved in interplanetary politics and alien technology, the family is challenged just when its weakest.
The small spaceship with either a found family or, as in this case, a real family, has become a popular trope in recent years. This one takes an interesting approach to that by showing that family as very troubled. The Kaiser matriarch Auriga is abusive and manipulative. Scorpia is a drunk, a criminal and a reckless disaster walking. Corvus is a traumatized veteran, and the other Kaiser siblings have their own issues. All of which makes their striving to step up to prevent an interplanetary war very satisfying.
I'm actually close to giving it 5 stars, but the first half drags, particularly during Scorpia's chapters. Still well worth a read at least for the different take on what's becoming a well worn trope.
The small spaceship with either a found family or, as in this case, a real family, has become a popular trope in recent years. This one takes an interesting approach to that by showing that family as very troubled. The Kaiser matriarch Auriga is abusive and manipulative. Scorpia is a drunk, a criminal and a reckless disaster walking. Corvus is a traumatized veteran, and the other Kaiser siblings have their own issues. All of which makes their striving to step up to prevent an interplanetary war very satisfying.
I'm actually close to giving it 5 stars, but the first half drags, particularly during Scorpia's chapters. Still well worth a read at least for the different take on what's becoming a well worn trope.
tome15's review
3.0
Merbeth, Kristyn. Fortuna. Nova Vita Protocol No. 1. Orbit, 2019.
A dysfunctional family crewing a spaceship involved in an interplanetary smuggling business, doing battle with pirates and warring planetary governments—all this has promise, but there are a lot of dropped stitches. While we expect dysfunctional families to have flaws, there needs to be something savable in one of them, and we badly wish they did not take themselves so boringly seriously. The best character, the my-way-or-the-airlock mom, disappears, leaving a whiny bother and a drunken sister to duke it out. I did not care enough about either of them. The other siblings are left undeveloped. While many gushy reviewers have praised Merbeth’s world-building, there needs to be a lot more back story and some attention to planetary system design. How far apart are the worlds and habitats? Why did we colonize this lot and not some other? How did this smuggling operation get started? How does the spaceship work? Why did they name some planets after objects in our own solar system? Becky Chambers and James S. A. Corey do all this kind of thing much better.
A dysfunctional family crewing a spaceship involved in an interplanetary smuggling business, doing battle with pirates and warring planetary governments—all this has promise, but there are a lot of dropped stitches. While we expect dysfunctional families to have flaws, there needs to be something savable in one of them, and we badly wish they did not take themselves so boringly seriously. The best character, the my-way-or-the-airlock mom, disappears, leaving a whiny bother and a drunken sister to duke it out. I did not care enough about either of them. The other siblings are left undeveloped. While many gushy reviewers have praised Merbeth’s world-building, there needs to be a lot more back story and some attention to planetary system design. How far apart are the worlds and habitats? Why did we colonize this lot and not some other? How did this smuggling operation get started? How does the spaceship work? Why did they name some planets after objects in our own solar system? Becky Chambers and James S. A. Corey do all this kind of thing much better.
zirogods's review against another edition
4.0
Normally i like space operas, and dont get me wrong there was nothing bad about this book! but i personally just couldnt get that into it. Not enough focus on the romance for my personal taste, and the characters were good but i just really didnt find Corvus likeable, which is problematic when half the book is from his perspective. But maybe that was just due to the audiobook preformance. Wish the whole thing was just from Scorpias pov. Probably wont read the next one but we'll see