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pearlpool's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Slavery, Racism, Police brutality, Physical abuse, Misogyny, Hate crime, Transphobia, Rape, Self harm, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Mental illness, Homophobia, Gun violence, Forced institutionalization, Death of parent, Deadnaming, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Lesbophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Abortion, Vomit, Suicide attempt, Sexism, Religious bigotry, Sexual violence, Violence, Torture, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, and Blood
tigger89's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Anyway. There were a lot of ways this book could have gone wrong. The concept of "antebellum slavery recreated aboard a generation ship in transit" was ambitious, and I can think of few other authors who could have done it justice — N.K. Jemisin, perhaps? Jemisin wouldn't have done the character work in the same way though, so it would have been a very different book. I thought the level of scientific crunch was perfect for the story Solomon was trying to tell. The science seemed mostly sound to my layman's understanding(with the exception of the siluminium), but rather than taking on a starring role it formed the backbone that supported the main point of the story, which was about the society that relied on that science to survive.
My only complaint about this book is that the pacing gets a little weird in the last third. A lot of time passes, but the plot remains urgent, so there's some very weird time skips that leave the narrative feeling disjointed, even rushed at times. But this only brings the overall score down to maybe a 4.75, so I rounded it up. If you're someone who likes your sci-fi with science that at least puts up a pretense of being grounded in fact, but who still prefers a focus on character and society over hard scientific crunch, the style of this book would probably appeal to you. Just be mindful of the content warnings, as there's quite a lot of them and Solomon pulls no punches.
Graphic: Child death, Death, Homophobia, Misogyny, Slavery, Transphobia, Violence, Religious bigotry, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Police brutality, Racism, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Abortion, Blood, Classism, Death of parent, Child abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Medical content, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, and Sexual content
Minor: Suicide, Alcohol, Pedophilia, and Pregnancy
cowboyaj's review against another edition
4.0
However, if you do read this book I would highly encourage reading the content warnings first. It doesn't hold back on harsher topics, though I think that quality makes the book much stronger.
My few disappointments of the book was the (romance?) and the ending. I honestly had such a difficult time discerning if Theo and Aster were romantically involved or not. Their relationship felt like it was fluctuating constantly and it just felt too surface level compared to the other themes of the book. For me, the ending wasn't satisfying. Though I don't always need a happy ending, the ending just didn't give me any relief from all the build up that happened from the beginning of the story.
Graphic: Sexual assault, Slavery, Violence, and Torture
Moderate: Pregnancy, Rape, Suicide, Abortion, Colonisation, Murder, and Child death
Minor: Blood, Gun violence, Vomit, and Transphobia
arguhlincozzi's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Abandonment, Classism, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Police brutality, Self harm, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, War, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Violence, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Abortion, Body shaming, Child death, Confinement, Death, Grief, Homophobia, Mental illness, Blood, Child abuse, Excrement, and Physical abuse
oworthyfool's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Bullying, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Police brutality, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Medical trauma, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Self harm, Sexism, Suicide attempt, Ableism, Xenophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Vomit, Dysphoria, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Violence, Child abuse, Classism, Murder, Religious bigotry, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Colonisation, Confinement, Genocide, Grief, Gun violence, Racism, Sexual harassment, Abandonment, Blood, Body horror, Child death, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, and Hate crime
Moderate: Abortion, Abandonment, Fire/Fire injury, and Excrement
midwichtriffid's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Injury/Injury detail, Lesbophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Racism, Rape, Abortion, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Grief, Bullying, Child abuse, Toxic friendship, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Slavery, Classism, Colonisation, Death, Murder, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Blood, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Hate crime, Medical content, Medical trauma, Panic attacks/disorders, Police brutality, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicide, Torture, and Violence
alexashabit's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Mental illness, Suicide, Toxic friendship, Medical content, Misogyny, Self harm, Sexual assault, Slavery, Transphobia, Racism, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Vomit, Eating disorder, Gore, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Abortion, Body shaming, Blood, Classism, and Murder
terrestrial_river's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Sexual assault, Death, Medical content, Racism, Classism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Grief, Colonisation, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Suicide attempt, Torture, Violence, Slavery, and Suicide
Moderate: Abortion, Blood, and Gun violence
necromandy's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Abortion, Ableism, Death, Homophobia, Toxic friendship, Child death, Death of parent, Grief, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Rape, Self harm, Suicide attempt, Medical content, Mental illness, Racism, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Sexual assault
Moderate: Gun violence, Fire/Fire injury, Dysphoria, Cursing, Confinement, Classism, Blood, Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, and Infertility
orion's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Hate crime, Blood, Child death, Police brutality, Racism, Ableism, Bullying, Lesbophobia, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Sexism, Suicide attempt, Violence, Emotional abuse, Murder, Rape, Self harm, War, Classism, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Slavery, and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Toxic friendship, Transphobia, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Death, Grief, Medical content, Torture, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Death of parent and Cursing