Reviews tagging 'Death'

A Closed and Common Orbit by Becky Chambers

46 reviews

anni_swanilda'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: Cursing, Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, Child abuse, Confinement, Animal death, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Physical abuse, Death, and Child death

Minor: Abandonment, Alcohol, Vomit, and Blood

bergha1998's review

adventurous emotional funny reflective sad 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

4.0

I loved the duo storyline of this one. Seeing why Pepper is who she is and also Sidra coming into her own were two very special stories. Freaking emotional throughout, though. 

Sci-Fi, Found Family

“All the things made better for some people. Nobody has ever figured out how to make things better for everybody.“

“I love it dearly. But it will never feel the same as it did when I was a kid. I’m different now. And different is good, but it cuts both ways.“

“Every organic sapient I’ve ever talked to, every book I’ve read, every piece of art I’ve studied. You are all desperate for purpose, even though you don’t have one.”

“I haven’t found a purpose like that yet–nothing so overarching and big. But I don’t think purposes have to be immutable.”

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Injury/Injury detail, Xenophobia, Alcohol, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Gaslighting, and Grief

_david_'s review

adventurous hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective medium-paced

• 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? It's complicated

4.0

This story was very different than the first part of the series. There was more focus on two main characters rather than an entire crew. Although the story felt less special/unique than the first book to me, I did enjoy reading it a lot.

I enjoyed the short chapters, it made the book a real page turner. It was a very heartwarming story about purpose and hope with plenty of frustration in between. I liked how the book ended as well. To me the highlight of the book was the chapter when they're in a ship with Tak. It made me "wow" out loud. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Animal death, Death, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Child abuse, Child death, Slavery, and Classism

Moderate: Medical trauma, Violence, Vomit, Xenophobia, and Religious bigotry

Minor: Infertility and Deadnaming

A description of hunger/food discipline/an underweight body is given because of tough survival conditions.

ngrace's review against another edition

adventurous hopeful relaxing medium-paced

• 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? It's complicated

4.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal death, Confinement, and Child abuse

Minor: Injury/Injury detail, Death, Abandonment, and Child death

the_reading_wren's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional sad 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

4.75

Wow, what a story! Far darker than the first book in the series, but with the same themes of found family, healing and growth that made it worthwhile reading for me. This book also focuses on the theme of feeling at home (whether in a space, with others or within your own body). Of course the world building is fantastic too, as I’ve come to expect from Chambers, and the political, social and economic systems are interwoven through the narrative to provide plenty of moments to reflect on our own world. Overall a really satisfying answer to many of the unresolved questions left by book 1. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Child death, Forced institutionalization, and Slavery

Moderate: Alcohol, Animal death, Abandonment, Blood, Panic attacks/disorders, Death, Drug use, Physical abuse, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, and Medical content

Minor: Chronic illness, War, Infertility, Pregnancy, and Violence

withlivjones's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful 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? No

5.0

After the first instalment of the Wayfarers series turned out to be one of my favourite books of 2023, I was somewhat hesitant to read its sequel, and fully expecting to be disappointed that it wouldn’t live up to the very high expectations I had for it. I am extremely pleased to inform you that I was wrong - this book is just as heartwarming and wholesome as the first, this time with added heartbreak! I loved both Lovelace’s and Pepper’s stories, as well as the parallels between them both as they start new lives and everything is completely brand-new to them. I find that Becky Chambers has some of the best-worded takes on the human condition - even though in these books she’s not always talking about just humans! - and it’s so nice to occasionally read a book that gives you hope for society instead of despair. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death, Slavery, Animal death, Death, and Injury/Injury detail

queersicles's review

adventurous dark 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

4.25

The narrative splits between the intense and harrowing journey of a human born to be a child laborer and an AI who has been uploaded into a body kit. The ending was a bit of a letdown, found it resolved in a "shit I have a deadline and want to just trie things up in a bow without actually resolving the main themes and challenges of the book" 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Blood, Child death, Death, Violence, Physical abuse, Child abuse, and Animal death

another_avid_bookreader's review

adventurous emotional funny 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

I really enjoyed this kind-of-sequel. While there are some recurring characters, most are new or only met briefly. While I was a bit disheartened not to see some of the previous crew again, the new characters are interesting, develop well, and well-rounded.

The threads of plot join together well to the conclusion, and the themes were beautifully explored and well built upon from the first.

Oh, and love that the exploration of gender continue in this one.

All around, a very good follow up to the first book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse

Moderate: Child death, Drug use, and Death

Minor: Abandonment

thoseoldcrows23's review against another edition

adventurous 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

4.0

Becky Chamber's books are always so comforting to me. there's something so quite and cozy about them that makes them just feel like a warm hug. I didn't love this one quite as much as the first Wayfarers book, but it still really hit the spot, and I'm very excited to continue the series. Specifically, I  loved how this book grapples with the question of personhood and the difference between what is right and what is allowed. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Panic attacks/disorders, and Violence

Moderate: Medical content, Cursing, Grief, Slavery, Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, Gore, Death, Blood, and Child death

Minor: Xenophobia, Vomit, and Suicidal thoughts

prufrockpreptooth's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful 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? Yes

5.0

I'm crying. Of course I'm crying

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Animal death, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Ableism, Child death, Colonisation, Death, Infertility, Medical content, and Slavery