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Reviews tagging 'Terminal illness'
A longa viagem a um pequeno planeta hostil by Becky Chambers
118 reviews
readsandsuch's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.0
I did have some issues with how race was portrayed among humans. It seems like the author went with the route of humans all being ambiguously brown (though no one is mentioned as being darker than “tan”) thus ending racism among ourselves since we all look the same now. It came off as a pretty lazy writing ploy to me given how much the book pushed embracing differences among species.
And why are we so far into the future and to be fully accepting of neopronouns, but it’s still ”confusing” to use singular they?
Graphic: Terminal illness, Xenophobia, and Police brutality
Moderate: Gun violence, Sexual content, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Ableism and War
rosemarygrace1211's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Moderate: Animal death, Chronic illness, Death, Genocide, Racism, Terminal illness, Violence, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Medical content, Grief, Murder, War, and Classism
temporarilyhuman's review against another edition
- 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? No
3.75
Graphic: Chronic illness, Death, Hate crime, Terminal illness, Torture, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child death and Chronic illness
Minor: Body horror, Confinement, Cursing, Drug use, Genocide, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Sexual content, Slavery, Blood, Medical content, Medical trauma, War, and Classism
bookwisp's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
I wanted to like this one more than I did, but I just didn't connect with it as much as I was hoping to. There's an extremely diverse cast of characters which is delightful to see, but as the cast was so large, none of them got the 'page'-time I quite needed to connect with them. For example, I wanted to be on board with Jenks and Lovey - to be able to confront some of the interesting questions and concepts raised by their relationship - but I felt like I wasn't given the opportunity to pause and reflect on it.
I'll read the others in the series as there's a lot to like about the setting. I enjoyed the wider themes that Chambers was exploring and the prose was, at turns, very beautiful.
Moderate: Death, Terminal illness, and Xenophobia
Minor: Genocide
eleanora's review against another edition
- 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
Moderate: Terminal illness, Xenophobia, Police brutality, and Injury/Injury detail
corriejn's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Moderate: Death, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Xenophobia, and War
Minor: Ableism, Animal death, Child death, Confinement, Drug use, Infidelity, Racism, Violence, Medical content, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
thereadinghammock's review against another edition
- 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
The crew of the Wayfarer was an absolute delight to travel with. I absolutely loved Kizzy and Sissix, Dr. Chef was a genuine delight. And everyone they met along the way just added more color to their adventure.
There were times that I felt the story took a back seat to the interpersonal ship dynamics--like it felt like there should have been more dealings or context with the Toremi Ka, or follow up from that. The story getting to that point was so rich and then the ending almost felt rushed after? I know there are subsequent sequels/follow up books as well, but I kind of wanted more before this one wrapped up. I think I'll enjoy checking back in on the crew of the Wayfarer again, but I'm not running to my library to request the next one, you know?
Graphic: Genocide, Racism, Xenophobia, Grief, and War
Moderate: Drug use, Genocide, Racial slurs, Racism, Terminal illness, Violence, Xenophobia, Medical content, Grief, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Racial slurs, Police brutality, and Religious bigotry
claudiamacpherson's review against another edition
- 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
Moderate: Confinement, Cursing, Genocide, Physical abuse, Terminal illness, Violence, Xenophobia, Grief, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Drug use, Gun violence, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Murder, and Alcohol
booksthatburn's review against another edition
- 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
There are a lot of characters and they generally feel distinct from each other. That means I can't really point to an overall style, other than that once I tracked names enough to tell Jenks and Ashby apart I did all right for the rest of the book (I kept mixing up who was with Pei).
main character - If anyone is the main character it might be Rosemary, she's definitely the reader's way into the narrative as a human who doesn't have any travel experience and is generally unfamiliar with the people and places that they encounter on the way. Because she isn't the only point-of-view character there's a pretty robust diversity not only of perspectives but of angles for explanation.
The ship has a relatively small crew but it's enough to make a character relationship web complicated pretty quickly. Ashby is the captain, which means he doesn't pal around with the crew much but still is close to most of them. I like his relationship with Pei, it's nice to see a long-distance thing portrayed well. Jenks and Kizzy have a friendly working relationship and a great rapport. They get along even when they're getting on each other's nerves, which is good since they're generally working on ship maintenance together. Sissix is my favorite, and I like how she is with Rosemary, especially towards the end. There's even more crew and I'm very bad with names, so that's about my limit of what I can remember and say without spoilers. Generally speaking I like the way that non-human characters have conversations and relationships with each other that don't have anything to do with the human ones. It helps reinforce the feeling of a galaxy that isn't centered on humans, which is definitely a welcome departure from a lot of space sci-fi.
Most of the worldbuilding in terms of physical spaces is focused on the ship, with a few visits to other worlds on the way. Where it shines is in establishing the impression of a full galaxy with complicated dynamics of which we're just getting a tiny slice. I love the descriptions of various aliens, and the way the characters make a specific effort to understand other perspectives and ways of being.
For the first half of the book I was lukewarm, having trouble getting into it but having a good enough time to continue. It more than paid off in the second half, wow. There are a lot of important characters by virtue of paying attention to the entire crew plus a few additional people. Because the big thing that's happening is they're traveling a very long way to a specific destination, plus some stops and occasional complications along the way, most of the plot revolves around developing and continuing relationships between the characters. The main journey is to slowly travel to somewhere very far away for a specific reason, and then because of the tech involved they'll be able to get home very quickly. It makes the ending feel climactic even though technically all they did was go a long way away and then come right back to where they started in a fraction of the time.
The ending is devastating. The emotional culmination of getting to know these characters runs into the dangers of their journey in a way that is sudden, frightening, and grief-stricken. If you like found-family journey stories (especially ones in space), don't miss this one.
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Ableism, Animal death, Confinement, Death, Genocide, Gore, Terminal illness, Torture, Xenophobia, Vomit, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, and Alcohol
Minor: Sexual content
oliverreeds's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Body shaming, Chronic illness, Confinement, Drug use, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Racism, Terminal illness, Torture, Blood, Vomit, Kidnapping, Grief, and War