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storyorc's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
The two lead characters enjoy nuance in their motivations and ethics, though I was a little disappointed how Cheris becomes more a vessel to explore Jedao once he shows up than the quiet, principled captain we met in the first quarter. Luckily, Jedao is compelling. There is little to bite into in the way of secondary cast, however; the Hexarchate - their government - and the factions eating other within is more vibrant than anyone else beyond Cheris and Jedao. Being drip-fed information about them through their manners, meetings, and machines was as good fun as any murder mystery. I would have swapped about 10% of the military talk for another strong character who stuck around - especially an antagonist, as there were a couple intriguing prospects - but the fans of military SF this book targets might disagree.
I imagine my rating would increase upon a re-read since I would understand more of the lingo and implications now I have the basics down*, but there wasn't quite enough to ground me in the setting and character to make me want to rush back in. The ending is bold and implies book #2 will tackle the permeability of one's identity, however, so I can't say I'm not tempted.
*This is a dirty lie; I needed about 10 more IQ points or 10% less abstract language to grasp Jedao's attack on the shields; as it was, it felt a little like a friend describing their dream. Limited to only a very high-level understanding, I don't think I was quite as wowed by his genius as intended.
Graphic: Rape and War
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail
sofipitch'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
4.25
Graphic: Body horror, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Violence, and War
Moderate: Dysphoria
danielles_reads'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
It was important to acknowledge numbers, especially when the dead were dead by your doing.
I am kicking myself for not reading this book sooner!!! This is military epic space opera at its finest: truly alien with immersive world building, complicated and nuanced characters, and a tense story. The scope is so huge and intricate and the writing is so smooth that I can’t believe this was Lee’s debut!!!
Honestly, this is the sci-fi version of what I expected The Traitor Baru Cormorant to be like 😅 It’s also got political intrigue, morally grey characters, and overthrow of a government, but it was sooo much more intriguing with characters that were still sympathetic, even though at times it was just as confusing.
The first two chapters took me a few tries to read and understand. This book really just throws you into the deep end without any info dumping. The info that is directly provided is done seamlessly within the text, and is only what you need. Everything else is mostly implied, but the major concepts started to make more sense to me in chapter 3. I’m still a little confused on the whole calendar as math keeping society together thing lol, but I read an interview of Lee’s where he mentioned past real world civilizations starting wars over changing calendar systems, which helped me appreciate the concept more. I see a lot of reviewers say this book has too much math, but I don’t think that’s accurate. There wasn’t much direct math—it’s just that the world building starts out so confusing and happens to be based on math. This world is also subtly more Eastern-inspired than Western, which is very refreshing in a space opera. It also includes references to assimilation and language / cultural differences between different peoples of the empire. Despite the oppression, the society is queernormative and equal between genders, and both main MCs are queer!
The layers in this though!! I did not expect what ended up happening in the end, and I loved how it was done. Such a novel concept to show
I really liked Cheris as a character, and to see her wrangle with the effects of her commands was so good. Oh yeah, and her caring for the servitors when no one else even noticed them!! I’m a sucker for characters like that. I am really looking forward to learning more about her character separate from Kel Command and even Jedao. Lee also included short POVs of regular soldiers that really made me care for each person so quickly (must be from his practice of writing short stories). It was the same kind of thing Tasha Suri did in The Burning Kingdoms books, but frankly I think Lee did it better, as it flowed in the narrative better and didn’t take up as much space as hers did.
I considered giving this 5 stars, but ultimately it lost some points for essentially being one long battle scene until the last 10% or so. There were a lot of moving pieces, yes, but I think some of the middle portion could have been cut. It wasn’t clear where the book was going until the very end, and the constant battle speak and deaths started to get exhausting (which I think was intentional to prove a point but still). Regardless, I read half of this book while waiting in line for Anime Expo, and it was definitely a great book to keep me company.
I can’t wait to continue on in the series! I am so impressed by Lee already.
~Yours in calendrical heresy~
“Be more assertive. You tend to defer to Nerevor. The problem with authority is that if you leave it lying around, others will take it away from you. You have to act like a general or people won’t respect you as one.”
Graphic: Death, Violence, and War
Moderate: Rape, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide
talonsontypewriters's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Graphic: Death, Gore, Gun violence, Violence, Murder, and War
Moderate: Body horror, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Xenophobia, and Religious bigotry
Minor: Ableism, Child death, Sexual content, Suicide, Torture, Transphobia, and Dysphoria
bbbarttt's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Violence and War
Minor: Sexual assault
ofbooksandechos'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
Graphic: Death, Violence, and War
Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Suicide and Torture
anna_hepworth's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
5.0
In long: I've heard a lot of good things about this series, but none of them prepared me for how much I was going to love this story, how invested I was going to be in how the complex strands of politics and warfare across time and space are woven together.
While the plot is good, and the characterisation is impressive, what held me in this story was the world-building, and the way that the writing slowly exposes it. Yoon Ha Lee has developed a mathematics and a magic that are one and the same, and that influence everything that happens in the story.
Difficult parts of the story: The sheer numbers of sacrificial deaths, and the fact that just to maintain the government system, torture is a necessity. Fortunately the torture is only referenced, but the sheer numbers of senseless deaths do happen as necessary parts of the story.
If you are someone who usually doesn't like complex political shenanigans and the logistics of war, it may still be worth reading this.
Moderate: Body horror, Death, and War
Minor: Torture
Details on the body horror:sandragloz'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? Yes
4.5
Moderate: Confinement, Emotional abuse, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, and War
bluejay21's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, and War
Moderate: Child death, Sexual assault, and Suicidal thoughts
eegah'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
3.75
However, worth it for the little vignettes of war seen from different points of view, and the discussions on the brutal maths of conflict. The ending was also really rewarding.
Graphic: Violence and War
Minor: Sexual assault