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wanderonwards's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Thank you to Macmillan/Tordotcom for sending me an ARC of this title. I received this copy for free and this review contains my honest opinions.
Some Desperate Glory was one of my anticipated releases this year. This was a story I had trouble putting down: every time I thought I knew where the plot was going to go the story would veer off in a completely unexpected direction. While the plot choices were completely unexpected for me, and some of them could have used more development, most of them grew on me and I’m glad the plot followed the path it did. The world outside the society Kyr was brought up in has a lot of potential to be further explored, and my favorite parts of the novel were the ones when she wasn’t on Gaea Station (but, to be fair, I don’t enjoy reading about cults that much).
I was hoping this would be an outstanding read for me, but there were several things that prevented this novel from being 5 stars. First, I was rooting for Kyr’s society to implode from the first chapter and that satisfying payoff I was looking forward to didn’t really start to happen until the final part of the novel. Some readers might enjoy this build up, but for me the delay was disappointing. Without spoiling parts of the plot, I was hoping Kyr’s society would have greater chunks in its foundation chipped away with each of the novel’s parts. Second, Kyr was so unlikable to me for so much of the story. While she did end up growing on me, there was some explicit homophobia, transphobia, and racism expressed through her lens as the main character that I don’t think was ever properly addressed. I think you can share the nastiness of a cult society without the main character explicitly sharing and reinforcing its beliefs throughout the story. Finally, I felt this story didn’t end in quite the place it should have. There was one major part I felt was left unresolved, and even one more page of text could have wrapped things up in a way that was satisfactory for me.
While this novel didn’t quite meet what I hoped it would, I would be interested in trying more from this author in the future. Thank you again to the publisher for sending me a free ARC.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Child abuse, Genocide, Homophobia, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Suicide, Transphobia, Violence, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Pedophilia, Rape, Violence, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, and War
aliteraryescape's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
reflective
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
3.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Homophobia, Xenophobia, Blood, and War
sunbirdbooks's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
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
4.25
A truly excellently crafted novel of truth and consequence that analyzes fascist indoctrination and grey-morality; I would've rated higher but I'm not personally a big fan of unlikeable narrators. However, I think the intimate perspective on a product of this reality is honestly a plus structurally. Softer sci-fi but not too hand-wavey, I suspect I'll enjoy it more on a second read
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Genocide, Homophobia, Transphobia, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Gaslighting, and Colonisation
csevet's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
hopeful
sad
tense
fast-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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide
Moderate: Genocide, Violence, Xenophobia, and Sexual harassment
meganpbell's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
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
5.0
An exhilarating, edge-of-your-seat ride, a tender and triumphantly queer journey, and a groundbreaking masterwork of science fiction about fascism, deradicalization, war and peace…Some Desperate Glory is destined for not only the highest heights of Best Of lists and award nominations (or there is no justice in this reality or any other!), but fierce love from fans and frenzied recommendations from readers like this one. 👽🚀🥹
Content Warnings
Moderate: Ableism, Child abuse, Death, Genocide, Homophobia, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicide, Violence, Xenophobia, Outing, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail
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