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nonesensed's review
adventurous
hopeful
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
5.0
Ziaparr is a city under occupation. Not that anyone really wants to admit that out loud. The Alliance soldiers are clearly here only to keep the peace while the country gets back on its feet! There will be local elections any day now! At least Wenthi, an officer of the law who has family in high places, has convinced himself of this. To him the rationing of resources and "paying back" makes sense, to a certain extent, and he's convinced people who break the law make life worse for everyone. Nália is far more skeptical. As a member of a much lower caste than Wenthi, she daily sees evidence of how broken and cruel the system is. Naturally, she wishes to rebel. This rebellion, led by a mysterious voice on the radio, leads to Nália and Wenthi being confronted with each other. Not a great match. Or?
I really enjoyed this fast-paced story about revolution, colonization and its consequences! It's both a character-focused story, as we follow how our main character(s)' beliefs about the world are challenged, over and over, and a plot-focused story, as we try to figure out who is leading the rebels and what the true purpose of the brewing revolution is. It's a story that grabs you by the shoulder, throws you on a motorbike (so many cool bike races in here!) and screams "LET'S GOOOOO!!!"
The worldbuilding is also excellent! We get a second world fantasy country where the norm is open relationships with people of all genders, magical mushrooms that let you share other people's minds (and possibly bodies) Sense8-style, and a lot of history that explains why the current situation in the book is as it is, sprinkled throughout without interrupting the plot. An interesting and engaging world that left me wanting more! Also, every time the book starts talking about the tacos sold in Ziaparr, I start craving tacos. Seriously, they sound delicious!
The story does deal with several heavy themes. The violence I'd describe as regular action movie level and the tone is generally more "gotta solve this mystery, gotta make the world better!" than "humans can do horrible things to each other", but there sure <em>are</em> many moments of those darker things; plenty of police brutality, racism/caste systems, slavery through a terrible prison system, cultural erasure and medical experiments. Keep that in mind when reading - but do read this book if it seems like something you'd enjoy!
I really enjoyed this fast-paced story about revolution, colonization and its consequences! It's both a character-focused story, as we follow how our main character(s)' beliefs about the world are challenged, over and over, and a plot-focused story, as we try to figure out who is leading the rebels and what the true purpose of the brewing revolution is. It's a story that grabs you by the shoulder, throws you on a motorbike (so many cool bike races in here!) and screams "LET'S GOOOOO!!!"
The worldbuilding is also excellent! We get a second world fantasy country where the norm is open relationships with people of all genders, magical mushrooms that let you share other people's minds (and possibly bodies) Sense8-style, and a lot of history that explains why the current situation in the book is as it is, sprinkled throughout without interrupting the plot. An interesting and engaging world that left me wanting more! Also, every time the book starts talking about the tacos sold in Ziaparr, I start craving tacos. Seriously, they sound delicious!
The story does deal with several heavy themes. The violence I'd describe as regular action movie level and the tone is generally more "gotta solve this mystery, gotta make the world better!" than "humans can do horrible things to each other", but there sure <em>are</em> many moments of those darker things; plenty of police brutality, racism/caste systems, slavery through a terrible prison system, cultural erasure and medical experiments. Keep that in mind when reading - but do read this book if it seems like something you'd enjoy!
polychromatic_hedgehog_parable'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? Yes
3.75
ugh, I was extremely excited about this book, but
it took a bit of a turn in the last few chapters, and it kind of undermined what I liked about it
going to try not to go into a rant about Red Rising by Pierce Brown. going to go on a very short rant about Red Rising
1. If we know a priori that this is a story about infiltration mediated by expensive medical procedures, who was the money to do that? CIA/FBI/COINTELPRO/cops/etc do. The revolution will not be funded, folks.
2. Community organizing is relationship building.
Brown either disagrees on these points or hasn't been exposed to them, which made Red Rising seem contrived and (with the addition of the sexism) hard to read. However it seems like Maresca gets it, and The Velocity of Revolution was a much more believable and exciting image of revolution.
At the center of Revolution is mushroom magic whose literal function is deeper connections with one's peers, outlawed by the government due to the revolutionary potential of empathy and realizing your collective power. So literal. I love it.
ugh, it was going so great, but two things towards the end of the book kind of spoiled it for me.
1. I really liked the reveal that Varazina was just a llipe playing with chaos. Renzi's point earlier in the book was really on point. Strict hierarchical structures can be important for secrecy/operation success, but social justice movements should probably be at least somewhat democratic/anarchist/etc (at the very least leadership should be accessible/accountable) if they're going to be equitable? It really seemed that at this point the group might use the structure of the old revolutionary group to push their own values and politics. This would have further validated the importance of collective imagining and collective action as a tool for liberation. Then the reveal was removed again, when it turned out that Varazina had lied about her motives in the former reveal. Then the end of the book was about her + Renzi's sacrifices, shifting the narrative importance from collective action back to individual sacrifice. It sucks that the climax of the book was an individual action, not a collective one. Why didn't the mass riot have any narrative implications? Not where I thought the book was going to go. :'(
2. Towards the end of the book there was some important discussion about what decolonization would look like. I thought it was reasonable and characterful that some of the marginalized people supported retributive justice, but that Renzi did not. However, when Varazina's great plan was revealed, and she said she "needed" Renzi to soothe Nália's temper, that conversation took a different light, for me. Marginalized people don't "need" privileged people to soothe their/our tempers??? idk, I guess anger like that does exist and you could argue that it needs to be soothed, but I don't think that knowledge is endemic to privileged people arguing "we're innocent" lol. Marginalized people can soothe their/our own anger + teach eachother empathy + imagine just futures on our own? more thoughts on this but I'm cutting them out and doing something better with my life than writing this review lol.
other thoughts:
1. the imperialist propaganda could have been written better
2. really appreciated the asexual character existing in this society <3
3. there was a _lot_ going on in this book
4. I need more polyam books in my life.
1. If we know a priori that this is a story about infiltration mediated by expensive medical procedures, who was the money to do that? CIA/FBI/COINTELPRO/cops/etc do. The revolution will not be funded, folks.
2. Community organizing is relationship building.
Brown either disagrees on these points or hasn't been exposed to them, which made Red Rising seem contrived and (with the addition of the sexism) hard to read. However it seems like Maresca gets it, and The Velocity of Revolution was a much more believable and exciting image of revolution.
At the center of Revolution is mushroom magic whose literal function is deeper connections with one's peers, outlawed by the government due to the revolutionary potential of empathy and realizing your collective power. So literal. I love it.
ugh, it was going so great, but two things towards the end of the book kind of spoiled it for me.
1. I really liked the reveal that Varazina was just a llipe playing with chaos. Renzi's point earlier in the book was really on point. Strict hierarchical structures can be important for secrecy/operation success, but social justice movements should probably be at least somewhat democratic/anarchist/etc (at the very least leadership should be accessible/accountable) if they're going to be equitable? It really seemed that at this point the group might use the structure of the old revolutionary group to push their own values and politics. This would have further validated the importance of collective imagining and collective action as a tool for liberation. Then the reveal was removed again, when it turned out that Varazina had lied about her motives in the former reveal. Then the end of the book was about her + Renzi's sacrifices, shifting the narrative importance from collective action back to individual sacrifice. It sucks that the climax of the book was an individual action, not a collective one. Why didn't the mass riot have any narrative implications? Not where I thought the book was going to go. :'(
2. Towards the end of the book there was some important discussion about what decolonization would look like. I thought it was reasonable and characterful that some of the marginalized people supported retributive justice, but that Renzi did not. However, when Varazina's great plan was revealed, and she said she "needed" Renzi to soothe Nália's temper, that conversation took a different light, for me. Marginalized people don't "need" privileged people to soothe their/our tempers??? idk, I guess anger like that does exist and you could argue that it needs to be soothed, but I don't think that knowledge is endemic to privileged people arguing "we're innocent" lol. Marginalized people can soothe their/our own anger + teach eachother empathy + imagine just futures on our own? more thoughts on this but I'm cutting them out and doing something better with my life than writing this review lol.
other thoughts:
1. the imperialist propaganda could have been written better
2. really appreciated the asexual character existing in this society <3
3. there was a _lot_ going on in this book
4. I need more polyam books in my life.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Drug use, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Murder, Police brutality, Racism, Sexual assault, Slavery, and Suicide
Minor: Confinement, Infertility, and Rape
the sex culture got a bit rapey at times, but was mostly good?irish's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
roguebelle's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
tense
fast-paced
5.0
Absolutely rollicking, thoroughly unique dieselpunk fantasy! Maresca has crafted an intricate world with deep roots and populated it with amazing characters, each sympathetic and understandable even as their life experiences often place them at seemingly-irreconcilable odds with each other. The political and social nuance in the book is both enthralling and exciting, a web that will ensnare the curious and reward those willing to join Maresca on a high-octane ride.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug use
Moderate: Police brutality and Racism
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