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3.75 AVERAGE
3.75 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
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
This was a weird, weird book. I keep saying I don't enjoy biopunk books, that I'm too squeamish to deal with all the squishy body horror stuff, but I certainly keep reading them. This certainly wasn't as harrowing to read as, say, The Stars Are Legion, though. And what a gorgeous cover.
There's some fascinating worldbuilding here, and some interesting and diverse characters, but the plot was where it lost me, and I'll usually put up with a lot for good worldbuilding and characters. There are some story threads that were really interesting that just... go away and never get resolved, and sometimes the characters make pretty baffling choices at times, imo.
There's some fascinating worldbuilding here, and some interesting and diverse characters, but the plot was where it lost me, and I'll usually put up with a lot for good worldbuilding and characters. There are some story threads that were really interesting that just... go away and never get resolved, and sometimes the characters make pretty baffling choices at times, imo.
3.5/5 stars.
If you like weird and sci-fi, this is the book for you. The world was intriguing! The matriarchal society mirroring the patriarchal didn’t convince me, though. Still think this is worth the read for the world and social commentary on classism and human survival in a world/time when Earth is no longer habitable.
Thank you to Harper Voyager US for the gifted copy.
If you like weird and sci-fi, this is the book for you. The world was intriguing! The matriarchal society mirroring the patriarchal didn’t convince me, though. Still think this is worth the read for the world and social commentary on classism and human survival in a world/time when Earth is no longer habitable.
Thank you to Harper Voyager US for the gifted copy.
This was reminiscent of Rivers Solomon's An Unkindness of Ghosts, with a dose of Lois Lowry's The Giver. It was very original with an interesting premise and it pulled in important themes from the real world, such as societal expectations, class hierarchy, slave labor, and environmental degradation. All of these real-life parallels were fascinating. Seske feels crushed by the demands of her family and society -- "It isn't fair. Nothing is fair. My people's future is dependent upon me being miserable, forced into a life I don't want and never asked for."
The most striking part to me were the grisettes,
It's an interesting twist to have the society run by women, with men looked at as little more than pretty decorations with no thoughts in their heads, no involvement in politics, useful for little more than procreating and child-rearing. Men even have a separate inferior entrance into businesses. Some of the ridiculous policies excluding men from politics and certain aspects of everyday life were so ridiculous that it defied reason, but I suppose that is the point, since so much of real-life misogyny is similarly pointless.
For me overall the reading experience wasn't enjoyable. I got really confused between all of the different types of mother and father figures. I wished the revolution plot I also wish Sisterkin/Khasina's relationship with Seske had been more fleshed out, perhaps with flashbacks from their childhood, and that the fallout from the
The most striking part to me were the grisettes,
Spoiler
brought to life for a specific purpose, and culled when their usefulness had waned. Not really even viewed as people, but instead an inferior form of life kept at an arm's length from everyone else via their lack of names, as well as their living situation, literally in the bowels of the beast.It's an interesting twist to have the society run by women, with men looked at as little more than pretty decorations with no thoughts in their heads, no involvement in politics, useful for little more than procreating and child-rearing. Men even have a separate inferior entrance into businesses. Some of the ridiculous policies excluding men from politics and certain aspects of everyday life were so ridiculous that it defied reason, but I suppose that is the point, since so much of real-life misogyny is similarly pointless.
For me overall the reading experience wasn't enjoyable. I got really confused between all of the different types of mother and father figures. I wished the revolution plot
Spoiler
had gone somewhere instead of so quickly fizzling out.Spoiler
coup attempt had more consequences for Sisterkin.
adventurous
challenging
dark
hopeful
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
There’s definitely a lot to enjoy in this one, but I felt like it was at least three books smooshed into one- the difference in tone between the opening hundred pages, and the last hundred was a bit jarring. It also meant the ending felt really rushed. Still, if you’re a big sci-fi fan, and/or you’re looking for something a bit different, it would be worth checking out!
adventurous
dark
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I don't often write reviews, but this book was really really good.
The character building is really well done, which I don't usually care that much about, but I just really enjoyed the characters. Not a lot of books get this right.
The world building was just ridiculously good. I feel like there could be quite a few more books just exploring this world.
I felt like the pace jumped up a notch towards the end which might have come off as rushed in other books but here it didn't.
The character building is really well done, which I don't usually care that much about, but I just really enjoyed the characters. Not a lot of books get this right.
The world building was just ridiculously good. I feel like there could be quite a few more books just exploring this world.
I felt like the pace jumped up a notch towards the end which might have come off as rushed in other books but here it didn't.
a wonderfully weird story
i wouldn’t have minded the ending being extended a bit further. things felt very rushed following a major twist toward the end of the book. I think it definitely could have been fleshed out a bit more and I wish it had been. I didn’t even realize it was ending until I turned the page and found myself looking at the “acknowledgments”.
i wouldn’t have minded the ending being extended a bit further. things felt very rushed following a major twist toward the end of the book. I think it definitely could have been fleshed out a bit more and I wish it had been. I didn’t even realize it was ending until I turned the page and found myself looking at the “acknowledgments”.