Reviews with content warning for Genocide - Some Desperate Glory

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Some Desperate Glory by Emily Tesh

87 reviews

brekaboujie's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

This book was SO GOOD. Another point to add to my mental list of "why do I bother reading sci fi by men, women do it so much better". This is a great combination of flawed and interesting characters, extreme high stakes, wonderful twists and turns, great pacing, and a really clear idea from the author of what they wanted to get out of this story. The whole premise of Gaea and our introduction to a terribly biased narrator was brilliant. I had such a sinking feeling through the beginning of the book and going on that journey of discovery with the main character was GREAT, it was so tense and emotional and interesting.

It was also super immersive - I was completely sucked into this world and every scene and section felt necessary and useful to the plot (seems a low bar but honestly such a relief after my recent reads which were not like that at all), and I loved how everything kept falling into place perfectly set up from the previous scenes and knowledge I'd been given.

Also the end !!!!!!!!!! Heck yeah. Solid ending. Love a good ending.

Final point - it's quite an intense book, and the version I read had content warnings at the beginning which was cool. I will say that everything was done really sensitively and well - very little explicit showing of the nasty content warnings, much more themed and just general knowledge of things Just Being Like That. It did remind me a bit of The Handmaid's Tale thematically, but imagine that's a side plot and it's not quite as bad and also they're in space and have guns. So nothing like it really. But regardless, there was a point towards the end of this bookwhere in my mind I literally went WOMEN YES WOMEN THE CONNECTION OF UNIVERSAL SUFFERING !!!!! So enjoy that moment if you read this. Great book.

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hanz's review against another edition

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adventurous dark tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No

3.0

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lcgordon's review against another edition

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3.0

Cool premise, bad pacing.

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bex_knighthunterbooks's review against another edition

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adventurous dark tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

A sci-fi adventure, potentially with good YA/Adult crossover appeal or as an entry to sci-fi, but it is quite dark (check triggers, but the assault side it is generally threats or off-screen). Set on a space station, a small group of humans have formed a militaristic dystopian society after Earth was destroyed by aliens.

The main character is completely indoctrinated, and so is pretty infuriating to follow, but this does give big scope for character development as she gets her eyes opened. The other main character (arguably - though there is only one POV) is also a douche with questionable morals, and then the other side characters are more one dimensional, which means I found it hard to get invested from a character perspective in this book.

I think the plot was quite clever, with a few twists or reveals that I really didn't see coming and I thought added an interesting element to the story. The setting does have a few interesting elements (e.g. the agoge/wisdom, the planet crysalthamus - excuse the spelling, I listened to this on audio), but the ones that intrigued me weren't very deeply explored (the impact of the wisdom on society would be huge and fascinating!), and instead most of the focus was on the space station, which felt like your standard space fascism with elements of handmaid's tale.

There are lots of themes, which I did find interesting: bodily autonomy, fascism, cycles of revenge driving war, are humans inherently dangerous, impact of propaganda and indoctrination, being queer in a heteronormative world - but I don't think these were any of them explored in much depth, and were dealt with in quite a heavy-handed way. On this aspect, I think this fits better with YA where I wouldn't expect as much nuance. I'd say this book is more focussed on the plot and action, over the world or themes, which will work well for some, but didn't especially for me.

A fun fast-paced romp, with a lot of ambitious interesting elements I'd have liked to see explored more.

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harperphillips96's review against another edition

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adventurous hopeful tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I have this tendency to feel a sense of smug superiority when reading YA I don’t like… which sometimes means my guard is down when the author decides to wreck my judgmental little heart.

(ETA: apparently this isn’t marketed as YA. Please go into it assuming this is YA and you will have a better time.)

Surprised to see so many negative reviews because this really did wreck me a little. Maybe it’s because the main themes perfectly call out what I know to be my own biggest flaws, so even a simplistic story around those themes cuts me deeply.

This is a book about radicalization, bigotry, what it means to be redeemed, what atonement and forgiveness could look like, whether those are worthy goals or if they’re beside the point. I had very strong opinions about these Bad People and was called out hard towards the end. I think I will be thinking about this book for a while.

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I wish they had let Kyr and Yiso die together at the end. The last minute rescue took me from silently weeping to “Oh. Is that all?” and was tonally quite jarring. I think Kyr was meant to make that sacrifice, and it felt like the author didn’t have quiiiiiite the guts to make the ending as hard as it should have been.

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exaal's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring reflective tense fast-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

4.0

"Some Desperate Glory" is an exciting tale with many twists and turns. Taking a page out of Ender's Game, this book explores the morality behind warfare, the conscription of child soldiers, xenophobia, and the fate of the human race. With LGBTQ+ undertones, the main character, Kyr, goes through drastic changes in character in this story that spans time and space.

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thecriticalreader's review against another edition

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adventurous dark inspiring slow-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

3.75

Context:

I borrowed Some Desperate Glory by Emily Tesh from my library through the Libby App.

Review:

Just to get it out of the way: Some Desperate Glory is billed as a “queer space opera,” but that’s not really what this book is. So, if that’s why you picked up the book, you might want to adjust your expectations. In fact, I would recommend letting go of a lot of expectations even as you start the book because the plot takes a giant left turn at around the 30% mark.

That being said, there is a lot about this book that impressed me. Tesh writes the main character, Kyr, as despicable and deeply unlikable at the beginning, but manages to give her a convincing character arc throughout the story. The side characters, too, are well-written and fascinating. The overall plot hooked me, and I found the ending section to be riveting.

One of the biggest issues I have with Some Desperate Glory is the worldbuilding technological mechanism that allows the plot and character development to occur: it’s baffling—nonsensical, even. The more I try to think about how and why such technology might work, the more my brain hurts. The author even admits that it’s nonsensical in the book’s acknowledgments! Furthermore, Tesh uses this fantastical “technology” to create an unnecessary deus ex machina ending. If I didn’t like the core storyline and the characters so much, this flaw would have ruined the book for me.

In terms of the thematic elements of the book, I liked that the book used its (quite dark and disturbing) dystopian elements to condemn fascism, misogyny, homophobia, etc. There are a few missteps here and there—

for example, I found it impossible to root for a character, who, in a slightly different timeline, casually committed mass genocide of trillions of people

—and some lack of nuance as Tesh focuses on developing the story and characters. However, I couldn’t help but cheer on Kyr as she grows as a person and fights to save the world and the people she cares about.

The Run-Down:

You will probably like Some Desperate Glory if . . .

· You want to read a story with flawed, complex characters

· You like time travel/multiverse fiction

· You want a gripping sci-fi story that keeps you on the edge of your seat

You might not like Some Desperate Glory if . . .

· You are sensitive to the triggers listed at the beginning of the book—seriously, things get dark!

· You don’t want to read from the perspective of someone who is truly a garbage human being (at least to start)

· You want to read about a lesbian romance (there is little to no romance in this book)

· You hate when science fiction worldbuilding makes no sense

A Similar Book:

Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card. Similarities include:

· A young, genetically engineered protagonist who is trained and groomed to fight in a war between humans and aliens

· Discussions surrounding genetic engineering/eugenics, military propaganda, and genocide

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forthe_girlwhowaited's review against another edition

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adventurous dark tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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rowans_revenge's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

Absolutely amazing. Emily Tesh crafts a compelling space opera that serves as an allegory for modern warfare. This is a truly unique and well written book, and though it was a little dense at times, I can’t wait to read it again.

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milliemudd's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional tense medium-paced

3.25

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