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razzberry_pi's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
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
really great found family story with just enough tension to keep it interesting.
lots of interesting ethics and parallels to the real world in terms of religions, police brutality, xenophobia and more.
some of the ethical problems especially related to medical autonomy of a character are not handled in the best way, but overall pretty good
lots of interesting ethics and parallels to the real world in terms of religions, police brutality, xenophobia and more.
some of the ethical problems especially related to
Content Warnings
Graphic: War
Moderate: Police brutality, Violence, Grief, Gun violence, Medical trauma, Terminal illness, and Xenophobia
Minor: Sexual content
singalana's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
reflective
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? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Hate crime, Medical content, Abandonment, Blood, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Violence, War, Alcohol, and Gun violence
below_average_baker's review against another edition
adventurous
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence
Moderate: Kidnapping
Minor: Sexual content
izzybell's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, War, Injury/Injury detail, Xenophobia, and Gun violence
neni's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
sad
slow-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
This is was not what I was expecting, but that turned out to be a good rhing.
Although it is tecnically scifi set in space (which is still cool on its own), I would describe the plot as relatively slow-paced, and based almost entirely on character studies and character development. Nothing especially adventurous or exciting happens until the end of the book, but each small scene and problem that come up throughout the story serves as a plataform and an opportunity for exploring the characters issues and, most importantly, their relationships with each other.
At first, I wasnt sure how I felt about this model, since I was expecting a fast paced science fiction aventure and thats not at all what this is. However, about half way through I did warm up to it because I started to get attached to the characters themselves and invested in their wellbeing (which is the point I think).
Other positive points I want to mention are:
-the writing style. Its quite simple, nothing extra flowery, but Becky Chambers is quite good at writing dialogue and character interactions in a way that really hits you in the feels
-the world building is fascinating. I found the Aandrisk and Aelon cultures particularly interesting. The exploration of different ways to structure society, families and interpersonal relationships was a joy to read.
That development at the end was so sad, it broke my heart. But it was handled incredibly well.
Also, this is really random, but I cant be the only one that kept picturing Elon Musk everytime Rosemary's shitbag father was mentioned lol
Overall, I enjoyed this and am excited to read the next installments in the series.
Although it is tecnically scifi set in space (which is still cool on its own), I would describe the plot as relatively slow-paced, and based almost entirely on character studies and character development. Nothing especially adventurous or exciting happens until the end of the book, but each small scene and problem that come up throughout the story serves as a plataform and an opportunity for exploring the characters issues and, most importantly, their relationships with each other.
At first, I wasnt sure how I felt about this model, since I was expecting a fast paced science fiction aventure and thats not at all what this is. However, about half way through I did warm up to it because I started to get attached to the characters themselves and invested in their wellbeing (which is the point I think).
Other positive points I want to mention are:
-the writing style. Its quite simple, nothing extra flowery, but Becky Chambers is quite good at writing dialogue and character interactions in a way that really hits you in the feels
-the world building is fascinating. I found the Aandrisk and Aelon cultures particularly interesting. The exploration of different ways to structure society, families and interpersonal relationships was a joy to read.
That development at the end was so sad, it broke my heart. But it was handled incredibly well.
Also, this is really random, but I cant be the only one that kept picturing Elon Musk everytime Rosemary's shitbag father was mentioned lol
Overall, I enjoyed this and am excited to read the next installments in the series.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Medical content, Chronic illness, Terminal illness, Injury/Injury detail, and Gun violence
Moderate: War, Xenophobia, and Violence
Minor: Religious bigotry and Medical content
cookiecat73's review against another edition
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Gun violence, Torture, Chronic illness, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Terminal illness, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Alcohol, Blood, Confinement, Grief, Medical content, Violence, Acephobia/Arophobia, Death, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Child abuse, Child death, Colonisation, Emotional abuse, Incest, Classism, Drug use, Religious bigotry, Self harm, Vomit, and War
sacredgayometry's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
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? It's complicated
5.0
This is one of my favorite books I have ever read, and one of the best sci-fi novels of all time in my opinion. The story is compelling but the found family relationships are the real draw of the book. You will become attached to characters you didn’t expect to, and feel like part of the family yourself as the reader. The world building is fantastic and I felt like a tourist learning about strange and beautiful new places at times. I love this book.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Classism, Gun violence, Ableism, Animal death, Death, and Kidnapping
Minor: Xenophobia, Grief, Misogyny, Racism, Sexual content, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Ableism, Bullying, Alcohol, Animal death, Terminal illness, Cursing, Murder, and War
There are some challenging themes especially near the end of the book surrounding war, conflict, colonialism and xenophobia. There is challenging content surrounding death and grief as well as memory loss. Cultural misunderstandings and cultural differences are central to the book, and I felt were generally approached very respectfully. Otherwise a lighthearted read.maeverose's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- 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? No
3.0
TL;DR: It was okay. Most of the focus is on the characters and worldbuilding, which I liked, but I still wished there was more plot.
Tropes/Themes:
-ragtag group of friends
-space adventures
-found family
-alien cultures/worldbuilding
Things I liked:
-The characters and their group dynamic/friendships. It took me a while to get attached to them, but by the end I felt really connected to their friendship with each other. (Kind of a guardians of the galaxy dynamic)
-I did actually enjoy the worldbuilding. I found it really interesting to learn about the different alien cultures, histories and locations they visited.
Things I didn't like:
-sounds like a silly complaint, but there's a brief moment in the beginning where Corbin's clammy hands are essentially described as gross, and as someone with hyperhidrosis it doesn't feel good reading that. Especially when I was hoping this would be another comfort read, coming from ‘a psalm for the wild built’. It just kinda put a bad taste in my mouth for the rest of the book. I wish authors would stop describing a character’s physical traits as something that adds to their bad attitude or whatever. It’s offensive and often ableist.
-I wish there'd have been a little more focus on the story. I kept getting confused about how much time had passed and how far along they were on their journey, because each chapter felt like a side quest or filler episode of a tv show or something. Which I didn't totally mind, but as I said a little confusing as to where they were on their journey. It felt a little disjointed. I also felt like some of the times they got into trouble during the trip they moved on from it really quickly. Like the tone was a bit all over the place, going from tense and kinda dark to happy fun times with friends a bit suddenly.
-In this book they/them pronouns are treated exclusively as plural pronouns. I know this was written a few years ago now and in ‘a psalm for the wild-built’ Dex uses they/them pronouns, and even in this book neopronouns are used here and there, so I know the author understands that they/them isn't only plural and understands non binary identities, but just a heads up that that’s in this book. There also aren't any actual non binary characters in this book, only alien species that change sexes throughout their life as part of their biology. But that isn’t trans rep. Sex does not equal gender, and this series doesn’t seem to get that.
-I didn’t really buy the romance between Rosemary and Sissix. They didn’t feel like they had any romantic chemistry up until right before Rosemary made her move, and even then Sissix didn’t seem to have any feelings for Rosemary. Even after that scene their relationship wasn’t really explored or shown hardly at all.
-
-Lastly, even though he's an ass, I wish we got more of Corbin's perspective throughout the book. I felt like he was a bit neglected until the very end, whereas every other character had a lot more focus. Except Ohan, I guess, but they still had more than Corbin.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence
Moderate: War, Gore, Terminal illness, Torture, and Violence
Minor: Xenophobia, Ableism, Cursing, Death, and Sexual content
naomi_k's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
reflective
slow-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
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content and Cursing
Minor: Terminal illness, Medical content, Alcohol, War, Transphobia, Torture, Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, Genocide, and Colonisation
jkpiowa's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Less plot - mostly vibes, but absolutely magical. Heartwarming and fun and very "day in the life". If you want Legends and Lattes, but sci-fi, this is for you!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Gun violence, Xenophobia, Torture, and Terminal illness
Minor: Vomit and War