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3.75 AVERAGE
3.75 AVERAGE
adventurous
lighthearted
fast-paced
adventurous
challenging
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
mysterious
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
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I've had Escaping Exodus on my 'to read' list for quite a while, so I was thrilled when it was chosen for the #Blackathon2022 readathon's Team SFF group book!
The story follows two alternating POV characters: Seske, who is of the most privileged social class and next in line to inherit the throne, and Adalla, her friend and romantic interest who is a member of the lower beast-worker class (a skilled manual labourer). Their society has caught yet another of the space-dwelling creatures who they've learned to live inside of, and are in the process of extensively altering the insides of the creature and setting up their home (which they must do every so many years because, unsurprisingly, these animals don't live forever when they have thousands of humans inside). Of course, many things go wrong. The story is, at its heart, an exploration of rigidly unequal power relationships (of class as well as gender), extreme reproductive inequalities and restrictions (articulating important critiques of so-called 'population control'), and the possibilities of building meaningful relationships across difference. While I was several times very frustrated while reading by what to me was almost totally unbelievable naïveté on Seska's part -- like, how is it that you're just learning very basic information about how your society functions? -- I also feel like this is a valuable reflection of how privilege makes so many realities of a society harder to see + one must do the work of (un)learning to understand the injustices that one benefits from that are naturalized within a society. I'm looking forward to reading more from Nicky Drayden, including the sequel!
The story follows two alternating POV characters: Seske, who is of the most privileged social class and next in line to inherit the throne, and Adalla, her friend and romantic interest who is a member of the lower beast-worker class (a skilled manual labourer). Their society has caught yet another of the space-dwelling creatures who they've learned to live inside of, and are in the process of extensively altering the insides of the creature and setting up their home (which they must do every so many years because, unsurprisingly, these animals don't live forever when they have thousands of humans inside). Of course, many things go wrong. The story is, at its heart, an exploration of rigidly unequal power relationships (of class as well as gender), extreme reproductive inequalities and restrictions (articulating important critiques of so-called 'population control'), and the possibilities of building meaningful relationships across difference. While I was several times very frustrated while reading by what to me was almost totally unbelievable naïveté on Seska's part -- like, how is it that you're just learning very basic information about how your society functions? -- I also feel like this is a valuable reflection of how privilege makes so many realities of a society harder to see + one must do the work of (un)learning to understand the injustices that one benefits from that are naturalized within a society. I'm looking forward to reading more from Nicky Drayden, including the sequel!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Drug abuse, Gore, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Murder, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Sexism
Minor: Racism
adventurous
dark
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Right off the bat, the world building in this novel is so WIDLY INVENTIVE. I love afro-futurist novels for the way they take our typical themes and weave them into something so new and fantastical. Maybe the pieces themselves aren't totally new, but the way the story is written and the way the world is built up as the characters progress is done so well. I was 100% in this world from the first pages.
What I also found great was the character work, but that is a double-edged sword for me. On the plus side, Seske and Adalla felt like fully realized characters with well written narrative voices that sound distinct from each other. On the negative side - and there's unfortunately more negative than positive - I was right in it with them when they kept making infuriating choices and essentially acting like they were both protagonists in a YA novel. Seske's essential character doesn't change, but Adalla does.
Also, I couldn't really believe that these two were anything like the star crossed lovers this book tried to convice me they were. Seske treated everyone around her like absolute shit, taking everyone for granted - basically acting like the heir to the throne she was. While Seske stayed up at the top of the social hierarchy, Adallalost everything and everyone she loved and went down...and down...and DOWN, coming out on the other side a scarred woman who needed lots of mental health help . Normally, opposite storylines showing both ends of the spectrum of their society would work for me, but only if anything actually happened to truly change Seske as a person too. I never believed she changed in any way. Sure, she finally made a few good decisions in the end, but they were overshadowed by the time jumps and pacing.
And oh BOY, the pacing. The pacing was WEIRD. At times it felt like we were ambling along at a good pace, learning the world as Seske and Adalla started out, but then the story would suddenly jump ahead weeks or months. It was especially egregious in the last 20% of the book, where most of the big climactic scenes take place. Then the end of the book just kind of...happens.
Ending this on a positive note (because the more I think about Seske, the more I hate her), A LOT OF THE IDEAS IN HERE WERE RAD. The world of the Beast, learning more about the Beast's species, the matriarchal society, the down and dirty business of cuts and acid and shit and piss and goop and gore and TENTACLES (!!!!!!!!! THOSE SCENES???), there are so many weird, wacky, fun sci-fi ideas in here that I really enjoyed as part of the world.
What I also found great was the character work, but that is a double-edged sword for me. On the plus side, Seske and Adalla felt like fully realized characters with well written narrative voices that sound distinct from each other. On the negative side - and there's unfortunately more negative than positive - I was right in it with them when they kept making infuriating choices and essentially acting like they were both protagonists in a YA novel. Seske's essential character doesn't change, but Adalla does.
Also, I couldn't really believe that these two were anything like the star crossed lovers this book tried to convice me they were. Seske treated everyone around her like absolute shit, taking everyone for granted - basically acting like the heir to the throne she was. While Seske stayed up at the top of the social hierarchy, Adalla
And oh BOY, the pacing. The pacing was WEIRD. At times it felt like we were ambling along at a good pace, learning the world as Seske and Adalla started out, but then the story would suddenly jump ahead weeks or months. It was especially egregious in the last 20% of the book, where most of the big climactic scenes take place. Then the end of the book just kind of...happens.
Ending this on a positive note (because the more I think about Seske, the more I hate her), A LOT OF THE IDEAS IN HERE WERE RAD. The world of the Beast, learning more about the Beast's species, the matriarchal society, the down and dirty business of cuts and acid and shit and piss and goop and gore and TENTACLES (!!!!!!!!! THOSE SCENES???), there are so many weird, wacky, fun sci-fi ideas in here that I really enjoyed as part of the world.
adventurous
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Nonsensical nonsense. The characters would just react to plot things happening and in the stupidest way changing their minds every other page and their final solution??? Oh just empregnate the beast and that solves everything. What the absolute fuck. So stupid!!!!!
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
🌞1st book for Blackathon 2022🌞
fulfilling prompt: Group Book
wow what a weird super interesting book
i don’t know who i would recommend this to but I had a good time
fulfilling prompt: Group Book
wow what a weird super interesting book
i don’t know who i would recommend this to but I had a good time