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3.75 AVERAGE
3.75 AVERAGE
I...do not know how to describe my feelings about this book. It is so gross- it is set inside of an animal and it never ever lets you forget it. It is weird- there is tentacle sex and oviposition (I think that's the right term, I'm not googling it). It is annoying- the culture is matriarchal and men are second class citizens, which is not a thing I enjoy. It is confusing- the timeline and pacing make no sense and I don't know how old anyone is. It is incomplete- there are LARGE plot threads that are just literally forgotten. (Like, there's a coup happening that is just not talked about again or resolved.)
But it is an interesting premise and it's pretty cool and the gross stuff gets to you less as you go.
Did I like it? No. Did I dislike it? Also no. Can I recommend it? No. Would I read another book in the universe? Yes.
But it is an interesting premise and it's pretty cool and the gross stuff gets to you less as you go.
Did I like it? No. Did I dislike it? Also no. Can I recommend it? No. Would I read another book in the universe? Yes.
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
The gist 📚: Surviving inside of space beasts is not easy, especially when you're a member of the working class and risk your life every day to make life on the beast possible in the first place. Seske is the heir to the noble bloodline that rules her people. She has to play her cards carefully if she wants to take over in a few years. When she discovers a fatal secret within the beast, everything changes.
For readers looking for 💕: Vivid sci-fi worlds, complex friendships, assassination and espionage, creative survivalist societies, something a bit dark, bipoc characters, powerful women, and LGBTQ characters.
My thoughts ðŸ’: I enjoyed seeing the contrast between the lives of royal Seske and her best friend (and crush) Nyla. The world building in this book is incredibly vivid as well. Maybe not the best read for fairly squeamish people.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Chronic illness, Death, Violence, Blood, Abortion, Murder, Pregnancy
Moderate: Child abuse, Misogyny, Gaslighting
Death of a sibling
adventurous
emotional
sad
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
adventurous
funny
reflective
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
"All throughout our history, we sing of two kinds of women... those born into power and those who disrupt power. I intend on being the latter."
Even more than the space-faring beasts that the people live inside in this science fiction, I was intrigued by the society in this book. They live in ten-person family structures with polyamorous groups of 3 (two women and a man) combined with two other triads and one child shared amongst them all. It's a matriarchal society, and men face similar sexist experiences to the women of our world. But that doesn't mean I wasn't amazed/shook/occasionally grossed out by the living ship as the characters navigate through organs, build homes from organic matter harvested from the beast, and even crawl through sphincters (seems inadvisable but).
The plot centers on a youthful revolution, bringing to mind many issues in our world, but especially environmental concerns regarding how we can preserve/stop destroying our planet for future generations. And that requires a social, economic overhaul because these are the systems that drive us towards a dying home. Our protagonists are Seske, heir to the matriarch of the clan, and Adalla, a lower class but specialized worker in the beast's heart, one of the most important jobs for everyone's survival. They're star-crossed lovers who thrive on curiosity, trouble, and overall pluck. Both have different pieces of the puzzle regarding how their society is collapsing. They will grow in leaps and bounds and separately work at bringing the whole thing down. I flipped back to the beginning to check a few things once I had a real grasp on the society, and I realized that both girls were even more ignorant and at times cruel in the beginning than I first registered. It makes their development that much more impressive.
As a brief but imperative aside, there's a "what does the fox say?" reference buried in a masquerade ball, which A) made me laugh out loud at the delightful absurdity and B) I challenge you NOT to have it stuck in your head somehow again after all these years. In general, the humor here is weird, silly, and greatly appreciated by this reader.
I look forward to reading more about this world, even when there are specific images brought to mind that I wish I could mentally unsee. This story is over-the-top yet relevant, and I recommend this as an underhyped science fiction with all kinds of strange and majestic on offer.
Content Warnings
Minor: Abortion, Death of parent, Pregnancy
adventurous
challenging
emotional
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
I think this is the first time I'm saying this this year - since I normally use CAWPILE to decide my ratings for books, but there is one rating (for characters) that I'm not sure if its a 9 or an 8 and this is apparently the difference between a 4 or 5 star rating, so I guess this is my first 4.5 star read of the year?
Anyway....This book is unlike anything I've read before. Mind you I'm not a huge SF reader so I don't have a lot of things to compare it too, and I didn't really have any expectations going in other than that I hoped this books insides were are pretty as its outsides and that it would provide for an interesting diverse read. It pretty much delivered on all of this and more. Everything about the world Drayden created felt so unique and foreign to me, I loved it. I loved the society that she created and the way these were used to make some very interesting, although maybe slightly on the nose, points about class and socio-economic issues. To be honest I kind of liked the "on the nose" ness of these things - sometimes I just need to be told the point in order to truly understand the perspective of people who are very much unlike me. I do think maybe the story ended a bit to quickly, I could've used one or two extra chapters just to wrap up what happens in the last chapter a bit more? Maybe this will all be covered in the next book (which I will gladly pick up as soon as I can) but reading the synopsis I think that's set a few years after this book so maybe none of that will be relevant. I think this book might be a new favorite and Nicky Drayden is for sure an author I'm going to be keeping my eyes on and most likely devouring whatever she publishes.
Anyway....This book is unlike anything I've read before. Mind you I'm not a huge SF reader so I don't have a lot of things to compare it too, and I didn't really have any expectations going in other than that I hoped this books insides were are pretty as its outsides and that it would provide for an interesting diverse read. It pretty much delivered on all of this and more. Everything about the world Drayden created felt so unique and foreign to me, I loved it. I loved the society that she created and the way these were used to make some very interesting, although maybe slightly on the nose, points about class and socio-economic issues. To be honest I kind of liked the "on the nose" ness of these things - sometimes I just need to be told the point in order to truly understand the perspective of people who are very much unlike me. I do think maybe the story ended a bit to quickly, I could've used one or two extra chapters just to wrap up what happens in the last chapter a bit more? Maybe this will all be covered in the next book (which I will gladly pick up as soon as I can) but reading the synopsis I think that's set a few years after this book so maybe none of that will be relevant. I think this book might be a new favorite and Nicky Drayden is for sure an author I'm going to be keeping my eyes on and most likely devouring whatever she publishes.
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
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:
No
adventurous
medium-paced
adventurous
inspiring
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:
Yes
Series Review: https://youtu.be/iLswE3eJpyQ
I knew the minute I started this book during online reading sprints that it would be another Nicky Drayden that I would love it, and I was right. I was prepared for the cool world building based on reviews but I was not ready to be so invested in the plights of the main characters and the mysteries they would uncover. Throw in some forbidden love tropes and even more cool world building and it was a fantastic time. My only complaint is I think the ending wrapped up a bit too quickly, I would have been happy stretching that out a bit but otherwise I loved the themes, the story ad characters which is really all I ever want from a reading experience!
I knew the minute I started this book during online reading sprints that it would be another Nicky Drayden that I would love it, and I was right. I was prepared for the cool world building based on reviews but I was not ready to be so invested in the plights of the main characters and the mysteries they would uncover. Throw in some forbidden love tropes and even more cool world building and it was a fantastic time. My only complaint is I think the ending wrapped up a bit too quickly, I would have been happy stretching that out a bit but otherwise I loved the themes, the story ad characters which is really all I ever want from a reading experience!