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captain_will's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Slavery, Trafficking, Torture, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Medical trauma and Murder
politizer's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Very interesting take on first contact sci-fi. As the book jumps back and forth between timelines, you start from the very first page knowing that this contact ended in tragedy, but spend the rest of the book trying/waiting to learn the details of what happened.
The beginning is slow going. The first third of the book is just getting to know the characters, and the middle third is getting to the planet, which means that you're 1/3 of the way through the book before you start getting spacey stuff and very far into the book before you're meeting aliens. The actual events around which the whole book hinges aren't made clear until the final few pages. I understand why the long setup was necessary -- you need to love the characters in order to feel something when they all die tragically, and Russell successfully accomplishes that. It just made it hard for me to get into the book early on.
The actual misunderstanding that happens on Rakhat is very unique and well set-up, and telegraphed in a way that doesn't give everything away too early but that allows you to look back later and realize the clues were there. It's excellently done.
---
My main beef with the book is how the mystery plays out. There's very little in-universe reason why the details of the events should be withheld from the reader for the whole book.
To explain this beef better, I need to clarify that there are two mysteries in the novel: the mystery of what everyone thinks happened on Rakhat, and the mystery of what actually happened. At the outset, the reader doesn't know either; we just know that Emilio Sandoz returned to Earth from Rakhat and that there had been a tragedy and that he had done something very bad. About halfway through the book, we finally get an explanation of that mystery; Emilio is brought before a sort of inquest which spells out what the allegations are. But there's no reason why we should have to wait that long; all the characters from whose perspectives these chapters are told are characters who already know all this stuff, so it seems like it was hidden from the reader [even though all the characters know it] just to keep us turning the pages.
That's the first mystery. At the same time this one is wrapped up, the book also reveals that what really happened is more complicated than that. That one isn't resolved until the end of the book, when Emilio finally opens up about what happened. In this case, there is an in-universe reason why this information is being withheld from the reader -- Emilio is the only person who knows it, and he's dealing with multiple kinds of emotional trauma that are preventing him from being ready to speak out about it. But in the end, he does eventually spill his beans, and it didn't really feel earned to me; I can't really identify what the turning point was or what in the story justifies his being ready to talk now when he wasn't earlier. It felt more like it just had to happen because the book was nearing the end.
So the upshot of these two things is that I felt a bit cheated or played with, both when the book withheld information from me and when it gave information to me.
The beginning is slow going. The first third of the book is just getting to know the characters, and the middle third is getting to the planet, which means that you're 1/3 of the way through the book before you start getting spacey stuff and very far into the book before you're meeting aliens. The actual events around which the whole book hinges aren't made clear until the final few pages. I understand why the long setup was necessary -- you need to love the characters in order to feel something when they all die tragically, and Russell successfully accomplishes that. It just made it hard for me to get into the book early on.
The actual misunderstanding that happens on Rakhat is very unique and well set-up, and telegraphed in a way that doesn't give everything away too early but that allows you to look back later and realize the clues were there. It's excellently done.
---
My main beef with the book is how the mystery plays out. There's very little in-universe reason why the details of the events should be withheld from the reader for the whole book.
To explain this beef better, I need to clarify that there are two mysteries in the novel: the mystery of what everyone thinks happened on Rakhat, and the mystery of what actually happened. At the outset, the reader doesn't know either; we just know that Emilio Sandoz returned to Earth from Rakhat and that there had been a tragedy and that he had done something very bad. About halfway through the book, we finally get an explanation of that mystery; Emilio is brought before a sort of inquest which spells out what the allegations are. But there's no reason why we should have to wait that long; all the characters from whose perspectives these chapters are told are characters who already know all this stuff, so it seems like it was hidden from the reader [even though all the characters know it] just to keep us turning the pages.
That's the first mystery. At the same time this one is wrapped up, the book also reveals that what really happened is more complicated than that. That one isn't resolved until the end of the book, when Emilio finally opens up about what happened. In this case, there is an in-universe reason why this information is being withheld from the reader -- Emilio is the only person who knows it, and he's dealing with multiple kinds of emotional trauma that are preventing him from being ready to speak out about it. But in the end, he does eventually spill his beans, and it didn't really feel earned to me; I can't really identify what the turning point was or what in the story justifies his being ready to talk now when he wasn't earlier. It felt more like it just had to happen because the book was nearing the end.
So the upshot of these two things is that I felt a bit cheated or played with, both when the book withheld information from me and when it gave information to me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape and Sexual violence
Moderate: Violence
decapode's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- 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
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Murder, Sexual assault, Genocide, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Sexual violence, Physical abuse, Rape, and Slavery
cattails's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- 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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Rape, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, and Torture
Moderate: Child death, Trafficking, and Sexual violence
feelsattack's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
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? No
4.75
The last chapter was emotionally brutal. Holy crap. Mary Doria Russell slayed, 4.5/5 stars. How is she simultaneously so funny but also manages to hurt me so much.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence
wckedmara's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.5
It has so much imagination and drive but was let down by the narrative frame and the way it wrapped up.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual violence
gracieniems's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
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
probably my favorite book. if we’re talking roman empires then this is mine. this book is love and it is loss. my heart is in it. read it.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Body horror, Death, Child death, Slavery, Medical trauma, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Violence, and Murder
hayoho's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- 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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual violence, Medical trauma, Rape, Suicide, Injury/Injury detail, Genocide, and Trafficking
Moderate: Murder
orpheia's review against another edition
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Rape, Child death, and Sexual violence
brenna_kcw's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
I’m not sure exactly how I feel about this book. I think it is a fascinating reflection on the concept of “first contact” with a new culture or species, and a beautiful reflection on God and faith. However, knowing that the author saw this book in some sense as a way to bring empathy to the colonizers and conquistadors of humanities past, I don’t find it adequately recognizes their abject cruelty towards the people they met. It is possible to have misunderstandings but the enslavement and genocide of many indigenous people’s was intentional by the people who literally stole them away in ships to be sold in Europe. Those actions can not be misconstrued as anything other than unnecessary and unprecedented cruelty, so I’m still unsure what Russell really hoped to achieve.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Trafficking, War, Suicidal thoughts, Rape, Murder, Vomit, Sexual assault, Body horror, Torture, and Sexual violence
Moderate: Vomit, Blood, Death of parent, Confinement, Sexual harassment, Panic attacks/disorders, and Colonisation
The book includes a lot of descriptions of a character with intense and ongoing mental and physical illness including vomiting, body horror/medical consent stuff, which would be more difficult for some audiences. There is a VERY explicit although I wouldn’t say gratuitous description of rape. It centers the fear and horror of rape which is better than the often creepy sexualisation of rape, but it’s really awful to read so pls be aware, it’s within the last 2 chapters that any graphic description is made, the rest is vague.