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proserpina6's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars. The entire premise of the book really intrigued me and I was really excited for this book but I just felt the plot moved too slowly and Solomon left a lot of questions unanswered. There were a lot of details in the book that were never fully explored. But I loved the characters in this book. The author is nonbinary and their characters are also nonbinary, gender queer, or gender nonconforming (and possibly even intersex). The main character Aster is also written as autistic, although she is never explicitly described as such. I would still be interested to see a sequel to find out what happens next, because I loved the characters and the world Solomon created, even though the plot wasn't entirely satisfying.
czgathers's review against another edition
challenging
dark
slow-paced
1.0
Choppy, doesn’t make sense, difficult to understand without a glossary.
haleyy's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
katerintree's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
4.0
jaynamihalick's review against another edition
4.0
Holy! This book definitely surprised me in that I didn’t know what to expect from it, but it ended up being great. Such a chaotic premise that totally took me to another world. However, there was so many childhood sexual assault references, which were important to understanding the true injustices on the ship, but also took me by surprise.
Overall, a great read!
Overall, a great read!
crystalstarrlight's review against another edition
Pre-Review:
"An Unkindness of Ghosts will appeal to a broad audience, including fans of books such as The Magicians by Lev Grossman, The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern, Cold Magic by Kate Elliott, The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman, The Intuitionist by Colson Whitehead, and Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel."
I find it HILARIOUS how many of those books I've read and how out of 4 books I have read, the average rating is about 2.5 stars. I've only just past the halfway mark, but I'm fairly confident this will end up being either a 2 or 3 star book as well.
"An Unkindness of Ghosts will appeal to a broad audience, including fans of books such as The Magicians by Lev Grossman, The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern, Cold Magic by Kate Elliott, The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman, The Intuitionist by Colson Whitehead, and Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel."
I find it HILARIOUS how many of those books I've read and how out of 4 books I have read, the average rating is about 2.5 stars. I've only just past the halfway mark, but I'm fairly confident this will end up being either a 2 or 3 star book as well.
crystalstarrlight's review against another edition
3.0
Bullet Review:
A gritty, at times unpleasant book that I contemplated quitting but just at the tipping point, I was invested enough to complete - and then Real Life prevented me from finishing sooner.
This is Antebellum South in Space. This book challenges the definitions of man, woman, in between. Is Aster female? Is she trans? Is Theo trans? Ultimately, it doesn’t matter.
This book also gives voice to the neurodivergent, the ones who puzzle over social cues and read too much into everything - or read too little into everything.
At the end of the day, this was a bit more serious, dark and broody than I like in my sci-fi. That said Rivers Solomon is a fantastic author, adept with the word and willing to push into territories untouched in sci-fi.
A gritty, at times unpleasant book that I contemplated quitting but just at the tipping point, I was invested enough to complete - and then Real Life prevented me from finishing sooner.
This is Antebellum South in Space. This book challenges the definitions of man, woman, in between. Is Aster female? Is she trans? Is Theo trans? Ultimately, it doesn’t matter.
This book also gives voice to the neurodivergent, the ones who puzzle over social cues and read too much into everything - or read too little into everything.
At the end of the day, this was a bit more serious, dark and broody than I like in my sci-fi. That said Rivers Solomon is a fantastic author, adept with the word and willing to push into territories untouched in sci-fi.
holli_g_reads's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
4.25
bucketsjen's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
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? Yes
4.0
Antebellum South, but on a spaceship in the distant future. The story centers around a autistic black woman named Aster, who struggles to deal with the unfair and nonsensical way society operates - and the secrets that she learns about the ship only amplify that until events reach a boiling point. It's not a subtle comparison to real history and real life. It's heavy, although it's managed deftly. There's a blend of things working in old ways and in futuristic ways which is very well done.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Racism, Physical abuse, and Torture
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Mental illness, Homophobia, and Violence
malmeis98's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0