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rosinecarail's review against another edition
4.0
I loved the series. It was full of adventure and was quite captivating. I really enjoyed Noemi and Abel's relationship and the lengths they go to in order to save each other. The whole series gave me Mass Effect vibes which is never a bad thing. I liked the 1st best, the 3rd second and the second book last (because it felt a little less eventful)
kaycie51782's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
dani_bugz's review against another edition
3.0
Unfortunately, Defy the Fates was the weakest of the trilogy.
That's not to say it wasn't still good and enjoyable (it was), it just didn't have the same tension, character development, and worldbuilding. It was cool and all, but nothing was really new, and the conflicts were resolved too easily. I didn't feel like I was really rooting for anything, I was just waiting to get to the conclusion and see what happened. I feel like this would have worked MUCH better as a duology, strengthening the great book 2 and good book 3 into something amazing enough to be compared to the fabulousness that was Defy the Stars.
The coolest thing about this book though was the continued delving into ethical and philosophocal questions of what is life and what is humanity. If you are born human, and raised human, but nearly die and are given mech parts, do you become a machine? I'm fully in the 'of course you remain human, you silly muppets!' camp. And then the opposite question, of whether a machine that gains thoughts, feelings, emotions, and individual behaviours is human. Again, still in the 'of course you become human, you silly muppets!' camp!
Now hear me out here. The study of psychology is the study of thoughts, feelings and behaviours. We can even see that some animals have more advanced sentience, to the point where we can study their potential emotions and behaviours (not quite thoughts though, unless we suddenly learn how to speak dog). I think I've lost track of where I'm going now, but the point I was trying to make it the study of complex, rational, thoughts, feelings and behaviours are generally just applied to humans.
So Abel has complex, rational, incredibly human thoughts, feelings and behaviours - but the key point that in my mind humanises him, is that they are unique to him. The other mechs have complex and rational thoughts and behaviours, but they are missing the emotional side, and they are also missing individuality. If you are unable to feel things, and reason based off your current knowledge, emotions, and experiences, then we get into grey territory. Abel, in my mind at least, fall well within black and white parameters, and I say he would classify as human.
So, wow, this review has become an essay on my beliefs of what makes someone human, rather than a review about the actual book in question, so I'll leave it at this: READ THIS SERIES! And then ask yourself these questions and we can totally discuss it =)
Recommend: This series is seriously the bomb, despite a bit of a limp at the finish line.
Age: 14+ but aimed at teens and adults with high adult cross over
Warning: Again mentions prostitution, and brings up the aforementioned philosophical questions.
That's not to say it wasn't still good and enjoyable (it was), it just didn't have the same tension, character development, and worldbuilding. It was cool and all, but nothing was really new, and the conflicts were resolved too easily. I didn't feel like I was really rooting for anything, I was just waiting to get to the conclusion and see what happened. I feel like this would have worked MUCH better as a duology, strengthening the great book 2 and good book 3 into something amazing enough to be compared to the fabulousness that was Defy the Stars.
The coolest thing about this book though was the continued delving into ethical and philosophocal questions of what is life and what is humanity. If you are born human, and raised human, but nearly die and are given mech parts, do you become a machine? I'm fully in the 'of course you remain human, you silly muppets!' camp. And then the opposite question, of whether a machine that gains thoughts, feelings, emotions, and individual behaviours is human. Again, still in the 'of course you become human, you silly muppets!' camp!
Now hear me out here. The study of psychology is the study of thoughts, feelings and behaviours. We can even see that some animals have more advanced sentience, to the point where we can study their potential emotions and behaviours (not quite thoughts though, unless we suddenly learn how to speak dog). I think I've lost track of where I'm going now, but the point I was trying to make it the study of complex, rational, thoughts, feelings and behaviours are generally just applied to humans.
So Abel has complex, rational, incredibly human thoughts, feelings and behaviours - but the key point that in my mind humanises him, is that they are unique to him. The other mechs have complex and rational thoughts and behaviours, but they are missing the emotional side, and they are also missing individuality. If you are unable to feel things, and reason based off your current knowledge, emotions, and experiences, then we get into grey territory. Abel, in my mind at least, fall well within black and white parameters, and I say he would classify as human.
So, wow, this review has become an essay on my beliefs of what makes someone human, rather than a review about the actual book in question, so I'll leave it at this: READ THIS SERIES! And then ask yourself these questions and we can totally discuss it =)
Recommend: This series is seriously the bomb, despite a bit of a limp at the finish line.
Age: 14+ but aimed at teens and adults with high adult cross over
Warning: Again mentions prostitution, and brings up the aforementioned philosophical questions.
willgilmore_87's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
sad
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
4.5
that1creativelady's review against another edition
4.0
Alot of time spent explaining processes and procedures. Very drawn out but still entertaining for the most part.
thatokiebird's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Reading the conclusion to a trilogy five years after reading the first two books is always a gamble, but I chose not to reread the first two before starting this one. For the most part I was taken right back into the story and the characters, and the book itself brought up earlier memories from the first two books, so I don't think I forgot a dangerous amount in the five year time lapse.
Everything wrapped up nicely in this conclusion, as young adult novels are generally trusted to do. The twists and the turns were interesting, although there was much repetition that seemed as if it were there to simply fill up space. And I thought Noemi and Abel didn't spend quite as much time together in this book as I would've liked, but that's the pure romantic in me.
A well-written and exciting space opera trilogy, with questions of identity, loyalty and concepts of love and found family explored in depth.
Everything wrapped up nicely in this conclusion, as young adult novels are generally trusted to do. The twists and the turns were interesting, although there was much repetition that seemed as if it were there to simply fill up space. And I thought Noemi and Abel didn't spend quite as much time together in this book as I would've liked, but that's the pure romantic in me.
A well-written and exciting space opera trilogy, with questions of identity, loyalty and concepts of love and found family explored in depth.
nataliem22's review against another edition
4.0
The finale of the Constellation series wrapped up everything it needed to: the conflict on Genesis, the conflict in space, the conflict on Haven—basically, all the conflict was resolved, in a satisfying way. Noemi and Abel are predictably torn apart only to reunite again, and while the plot of this one somewhat resembled the plots of the previous two, it in no way hindered my enjoyment of the novel. I read the British edition, so for me I tripped over the subtle way the writing felt different than the previous two. It's difficult to explain, but this novel definitely felt different than the previous two, and I do believe it's just because it was the British edition. Alas! The conclusion is satisfying, action-packed, and full of twists and turns, and because of that I'd highly recommend the entire trilogy to anyone looking for a fun, refreshing read.
blanchedoesthings's review against another edition
3.5
Felt a bit lacking and kinda repetitive but it was still enjoyable, though I preferred the previous books, especially the first one. Would still recommend the series.