Reviews tagging 'Violence'

A Closed and Common Orbit by Becky Chambers

31 reviews

_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.

linblythe_pub22's review

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing 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? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Dysphoria, Animal death, Alcohol, Body horror, and Child death

Minor: Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, Violence, Medical content, Medical trauma, Xenophobia, Slavery, Classism, Vomit, Grief, and Ableism

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

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

seedreads's review

challenging emotional funny hopeful sad 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

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

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

moonknitter's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

4.75

Before I read this I was disappointed that the same characters of the first book would not really be in the second one but Becky Chambers has done it again. Even tho I was sad to not hear more about sissix & rosemary and even tho the whole Jenks & Lovelace storyline didn’t really appeal to me in the first book, the way this explored AI rights and genetic modification and both the utopian and dystopian aspects of both was just incredible, wholesome in some ways, and very inspiring! I’ve sometimes really hated books that go back n forth between 2. Characters or time periods but this one did it so incredibly well and I think the book would have not been as good if they’d been separate or only 1 together. When I got tired of sidra complaining about being in a body, the chapter ended and I got a glimpse of Jane working hard to survive. When I got tired of hearing the horrible parts of janes story, the chapter ended and I could learn about sidra experience something new for the first time. I’ve also been really terrified about the future of AI over the next few years just based on our society, and this book gave me a different perspective to all that. The Owl and Jane storyline was a big part of that for me. However, the ending was sort of confusing for me. I didn’t totally understand exactly what happened it was like tech jargon and it went over my head. On a basic level I kind of get it but it wasn’t super clear. I also think one thing this book did similar to the last one was that it was much more character based than plot based. The climax/ ending came fast and in the last 60 pages or so. Which was fine with me because I liked getting to understand these different worlds and seeing things for the first time through an AI perspective as well as Jane’s. Becky chambers also does a really great job of writing different voices. Janes voice as a 10 year old made it very easy to put yourself in her shoes, as did janes narration voice as a teenager (as she learned how to cuss and starts to be annoyed with Owl, as all teens do). This is a small thing but also the voice of Blue with his speech impediment is just a small thing that many authors wouldn’t think to do. Each character truly had a voice through her writing. The other thing I noticed as soon as janes story began is that it is very much Plato’s allegory of a cave and I think that allegory speaks to the parallels between both Sidra and Janes story. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Violence, Physical abuse, Medical trauma, Forced institutionalization, Abandonment, and Confinement

Moderate: Cursing

hanz's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Medical content, Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Violence, and Animal death

effievee's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful lighthearted reflective sad tense 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? It's complicated

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, and Violence

Moderate: Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Animal death, and Slavery

scifi_rat's review against another edition

adventurous sad medium-paced

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

3.25

Plot: 3.5★
Prose: 3 ★
Pace: 4★
Concept/Execution: 4.5★/4★
Characters: 3★
Worldbuilding: 4.5★
Ending: 3.25★

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Abandonment, Animal death, Eating disorder, Violence, Child abuse, Colonisation, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Blood, Grief, Child death, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Panic attacks/disorders, Excrement, Gaslighting, Gore, Infertility, Drug use, Vomit, and Xenophobia