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qjbrown96's review against another edition
1.0
DNF 194
The only good thing I can say about this book is the cover is gorgeous.
This book is slower paced than The Talisman by Stephen King and I loatheeee that book. Absolutely nothing happened after almost 200 pages. Nothing about the politics or culture was very interesting either. Idk how the rating is above 4 stars when most of the people I follow gave it 1-3 stars. I’ve noticed that I’m not a fan of most Hugo award winning books so I might just stay away from those from now on.
Read this at your own risk
The only good thing I can say about this book is the cover is gorgeous.
This book is slower paced than The Talisman by Stephen King and I loatheeee that book. Absolutely nothing happened after almost 200 pages. Nothing about the politics or culture was very interesting either. Idk how the rating is above 4 stars when most of the people I follow gave it 1-3 stars. I’ve noticed that I’m not a fan of most Hugo award winning books so I might just stay away from those from now on.
Read this at your own risk
laurenoh's review against another edition
4.0
I'm enjoying it but when I say it's a political thriller don't take it lightly - with names like 19 Ads and 15 FireTruck you gotta be paying attention or you'll quickly lose the plot
givemacasnack's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
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? It's complicated
5.0
bnashley's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
hopeful
mysterious
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? No
4.75
katieinca's review against another edition
4.0
In some ways very much my thing - awesome worldbuilding, some distinct and interesting characters, lots of action, a little bit of banter, and a sensibility that appeals to my own. But not so much my thing in the way of political sci fi that had me working through this pretty slowly because there was just so much of the maneuvering and undertones and secrets and theorizing and such. I'm not sure whether to be excited or worried that the next one looks to move away from the political and towards the military.
walking_library's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
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? Yes
5.0
jonahbf's review against another edition
4.0
450 pages of pure palace intrigue. Lovely and engaging, though I think Martine tries to stuff a little bit too much into the book. It can be hard to keep up with the deluge of character names, and the plot sometimes gets too fast and complicated for its own good. However, these are small faults in a book filled with top notch world building and endlessly witty characters. Very much looking forward to the next installment
mrbear's review against another edition
4.0
This feels like a pretty clear cut 4-star. The book (audiobook for me) had a lot of issues which bothered me a bit while reading:
1. The narrator said “lag range point” instead of “lagrange point”. Alright, this is petty, but it was jarring every time.
2. The characters were a bit.. simple? I felt like I knew who most of them were at the very beginning, and no one ever surprised much. Most of the “villains” were non-PoV characters, making it relatively clear who was intentionally being kept shady. Somehow, everything seems to revolve oddly around the POV characters as well, despite their relative unimportance amidst the vast scope of the story.
3. The internal dialogues you spend most of your time listening to are pretty basic.
4. The previous two things made the book feel very YA. Maybe it is, and I’m just over YA SF.
5. Apparently neurosurgery with totally unknown technology just works?
6. Nothing really concluded at the end.
Beyond that, some new interesting ideas, good names and terms (ezuazacat was a favorite of mine), and an interesting enough story. Probably more like a 3.5, but it accompanied me on enough runs so I feel a bit generous.
1. The narrator said “lag range point” instead of “lagrange point”. Alright, this is petty, but it was jarring every time.
2. The characters were a bit.. simple? I felt like I knew who most of them were at the very beginning, and no one ever surprised much. Most of the “villains” were non-PoV characters, making it relatively clear who was intentionally being kept shady. Somehow, everything seems to revolve oddly around the POV characters as well, despite their relative unimportance amidst the vast scope of the story.
3. The internal dialogues you spend most of your time listening to are pretty basic.
4. The previous two things made the book feel very YA. Maybe it is, and I’m just over YA SF.
5. Apparently neurosurgery with totally unknown technology just works?
6. Nothing really concluded at the end.
Beyond that, some new interesting ideas, good names and terms (ezuazacat was a favorite of mine), and an interesting enough story. Probably more like a 3.5, but it accompanied me on enough runs so I feel a bit generous.
cain29's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
funny
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-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
3.75
crimsoncor's review against another edition
5.0
Well damn. The Collapsing Empire by way of Embassytown, or something like that. But an incredible novel with a delightful slow (though always interesting) burn before finally going guns (or knives?) out at the end. However, .