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stardust_heidi's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
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
5.0
This book is SO GOOD. It took me a while to read, only because I’m reading a gazillion other things at the same time. But I think reading this in smaller bites was the best way to do it. The themes in this book are so relevant to the current times and political shit show.
Kyr isn’t necessarily the most likable character, a fact she is confronted with many times throughout the book, but I found her character arc super compelling. I think the roller coaster of an arc she experiences is very relatable to someone stepping outside of this regimented, propaganda-filled upbringing; to find that the universe is nothing like she’d been taught it is…it’s a hard pill to swallow. To see her xenophobia morph into acknowledgment of personhood; to see the injustices endured by her fellow women, to learn what it is to love and care about individuals outside her circle — honestly, I found it such a fantastic journey.
It’s not pretty. It’s painful, ugly, and dark along the way to destroying this patriarchal shitshow. But I think the author did a great job and inserting these slivers of optimism and drive in order to make the world better for others.
I was engaged the whole book. It took me on some twists I wasn’t expecting, though I admit I’m usually easy to please lol.
Kyr isn’t necessarily the most likable character, a fact she is confronted with many times throughout the book, but I found her character arc super compelling. I think the roller coaster of an arc she experiences is very relatable to someone stepping outside of this regimented, propaganda-filled upbringing; to find that the universe is nothing like she’d been taught it is…it’s a hard pill to swallow. To see her xenophobia morph into acknowledgment of personhood; to see the injustices endured by her fellow women, to learn what it is to love and care about individuals outside her circle — honestly, I found it such a fantastic journey.
It’s not pretty. It’s painful, ugly, and dark along the way to destroying this patriarchal shitshow. But I think the author did a great job and inserting these slivers of optimism and drive in order to make the world better for others.
I was engaged the whole book. It took me on some twists I wasn’t expecting, though I admit I’m usually easy to please lol.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gaslighting, Homophobia, Misogyny, Suicide, Xenophobia, Death, War, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Racism
Minor: Rape and Adult/minor relationship
lcgordon's review against another edition
3.0
Cool premise, bad pacing.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Xenophobia, Murder, Genocide, Sexual assault, Violence, Rape, War, Sexism, and Physical abuse
charleyyyyy's review against another edition
5.0
🩷💛💜🩵🩷💛💜🩵
💫🌟✨️This book made me forget that I was reading✨️🌟💫
👽This book is soooo good and sooo enjoyable!! I never wanted to put it down and was always excited to pick it back up.
The plot is fast, twisty and action packed. I was on the edge of my seat the entire time. At some points I was even yelling at the book because of all the emotions it made me feel.
🚀The themes were written and explored so well!! Especially those of radicalisation, reproductive rights, colonialism, and queerness. And how the society you are apart of can effect your view on all of the above, and your own place in the world.
🗡And the charicters were incredibly well developed and written!! I love Kyr, she's so flawed and unlikeable and well writen. She is such a great and interesting main charicter. Yiso and Clio are my other favourite charicters, of course. Yiso's friendship with Kyr was so sweet!
🌍The worldbuilding was interesting, I'm new to sci-fi but I didn't struggle at all with it. This world is the perfect setting to explore these themes in.
🪐The writing sometimes got on my nerves, some times there was too much telling instead of showing, such as :"'with the old one gone, that technology is-' he closed his fist, like crushing something out of existence." Or: "'wow, how deep.' Avi said with heavy sarcasm." The telling is unnecessary in these sentences, we can figure it out on our own.
Or sentences like this: "Ursa would have told her to be less judgmental, but Ursa's opinion had stopped mattering when Ursa left." How many times do you need to say Ursa?????
💫But overall, the writing didn't take away too much enjoyment for me. So while this book has flaws, I still gave it 5 stars because of how much it emotionally impacted me, and how good the story telling was.
🌌I would definitely recommend this book if you like action packed sci-fi with a focus on important, heavy themes, and flawed main charicters.
🩷💛💜🩵🩷💛💜🩵
💫🌟✨️This book made me forget that I was reading✨️🌟💫
👽This book is soooo good and sooo enjoyable!! I never wanted to put it down and was always excited to pick it back up.
The plot is fast, twisty and action packed. I was on the edge of my seat the entire time. At some points I was even yelling at the book because of all the emotions it made me feel.
🚀The themes were written and explored so well!! Especially those of radicalisation, reproductive rights, colonialism, and queerness. And how the society you are apart of can effect your view on all of the above, and your own place in the world.
🗡And the charicters were incredibly well developed and written!! I love Kyr, she's so flawed and unlikeable and well writen. She is such a great and interesting main charicter. Yiso and Clio are my other favourite charicters, of course. Yiso's friendship with Kyr was so sweet!
🌍The worldbuilding was interesting, I'm new to sci-fi but I didn't struggle at all with it. This world is the perfect setting to explore these themes in.
🪐The writing sometimes got on my nerves, some times there was too much telling instead of showing, such as :"'with the old one gone, that technology is-' he closed his fist, like crushing something out of existence." Or: "'wow, how deep.' Avi said with heavy sarcasm." The telling is unnecessary in these sentences, we can figure it out on our own.
Or sentences like this: "Ursa would have told her to be less judgmental, but Ursa's opinion had stopped mattering when Ursa left." How many times do you need to say Ursa?????
💫But overall, the writing didn't take away too much enjoyment for me. So while this book has flaws, I still gave it 5 stars because of how much it emotionally impacted me, and how good the story telling was.
🌌I would definitely recommend this book if you like action packed sci-fi with a focus on important, heavy themes, and flawed main charicters.
🩷💛💜🩵🩷💛💜🩵
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Colonisation, Homophobia, Misogyny, Gun violence, Racism, Death, Grief, Sexual assault, Suicide, Transphobia, War, Xenophobia, and Pedophilia
harperphillips96's review against another edition
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.
SPOILERS FROM HERE-
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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.
(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.
SPOILERS FROM HERE-
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: War, Xenophobia, Colonisation, Genocide, Bullying, and Hate crime
exaal's review against another edition
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: War and Xenophobia
Moderate: Suicide, Sexual harassment, Grief, Death of parent, Child death, Misogyny, Gun violence, and Pedophilia
Minor: Murder, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Child abuse, Forced institutionalization, Genocide, Mental illness, Pregnancy, Rape, and Physical abuse
eyesofcrows's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
A pretty good book. I liked a lot of the themes and the slow progression of “frick, I’m the bad guy” that isn’t all together rushed. There were some surprising things and twists that I wasn’t expecting and I actually enjoyed. I wished there was more detail of some of the cultures and surroundings and minute little things, but this is a YA book and I’ll allow it its brevity.
I like how most characters aren’t individual bad or individually good but victims of the cruelty and surroundings they were born with or raised in. That’s vey cool.
I like how most characters aren’t individual bad or individually good but victims of the cruelty and surroundings they were born with or raised in. That’s vey cool.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Xenophobia and Gaslighting
Moderate: Murder, Sexism, Misogyny, Rape, and Sexual harassment
crownoflaurel's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Xenophobia and War
Minor: Pregnancy, Sexual assault, Outing, and Rape
thecriticalreader's review against another edition
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Hate crime, Ableism, War, Sexual assault, Medical trauma, Homophobia, Xenophobia, Genocide, Misogyny, and Suicide
Moderate: Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Animal death, Pregnancy, and Rape
gedsparrowhawk's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Enjoyed overall! Would have been 4 stars except that the ending is a literal deus ex machina .
Content Warnings
Graphic: War, Xenophobia, Sexual assault, and Suicide
milliemudd's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
tense
medium-paced
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Violence, Xenophobia, Gaslighting, Death, Gun violence, Suicide, War, Child abuse, and Genocide
Moderate: Rape, Sexism, Bullying, Racism, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Mental illness, Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Murder, and Outing
Minor: Abortion and Misogyny