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linzvee's review against another edition
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Confinement, Death, Gore, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Grief, Murder, and War
Moderate: Infidelity
dunecello's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5
Excellent writing and exciting plot which I've come to expect from these authors. Fans of Butler's Xenogenesis should definitely check this out.
Dafyd is such an interesting character. Constantly underestimated due to his age and lack of lab experience, operating on a whole different system of thinking than the rest of the characters. I was constantly wondering what he'd do or say next.
Thank goodness he's the main character because the rest of the characters fell pretty flat. The fleshed out characterization I enjoyed in The Expanse is slightly lacking here. None of the characters are likeable per se, which is not in itself an issue, but they need to at least be enjoyable to read about, which was lacking here. Worse, I actively hated Jessyn and could not stand to be in her head. She has a history of depression and constantly feels sorry for herself even before humanity was enslaved. Did I mention she's depressed? We should mention it again just in case the reader forgot. Her development has not saved her in my eyes.After an insanely harrowing experience *for the both of them*, her brother says "I've been worried about you" and she replies "I've been worried about me too" ?? I wish she wasn't one of the survivors, sorry. Even the villains of The Expanse are fun and well thought out so I hope this improves in future books in this series.
Anyways, the reluctant/misunderstood savior trope is one I love, and the misery is cranked up to the max (which i also love). The dynamic left between the characters at the end is deliciously complicated. I'm excited to see where this series goes.
Dafyd is such an interesting character. Constantly underestimated due to his age and lack of lab experience, operating on a whole different system of thinking than the rest of the characters. I was constantly wondering what he'd do or say next.
Thank goodness he's the main character because the rest of the characters fell pretty flat. The fleshed out characterization I enjoyed in The Expanse is slightly lacking here. None of the characters are likeable per se, which is not in itself an issue, but they need to at least be enjoyable to read about, which was lacking here. Worse, I actively hated Jessyn and could not stand to be in her head. She has a history of depression and constantly feels sorry for herself even before humanity was enslaved. Did I mention she's depressed? We should mention it again just in case the reader forgot. Her development has not saved her in my eyes.
Anyways, the reluctant/misunderstood savior trope is one I love, and the misery is cranked up to the max (which i also love). The dynamic left between the characters at the end is deliciously complicated. I'm excited to see where this series goes.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Confinement, Genocide, Mental illness, Violence, Trafficking, and Grief
Moderate: Body horror, Gore, Suicidal thoughts, Murder, and War
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders, Blood, and Vomit
nexusgoblin's review against another edition
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
My first James S.A. Corey book but definitely not my last. This was an incredibly strong start to a series. Considering how many moving parts it has the fact that it managed to have such a clear focus and voice is so impressive.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, and Blood
Moderate: Genocide and Infidelity
bibliosexual's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
Read it in a day - feels like it was inspired by Blindsight, Children of Time, and Le Guin. Very fast. The characters felt a little more shallow than the expanse but it also felt like a brief introduction to a much longer story.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Confinement, Death, Genocide, Gore, Infidelity, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Trafficking, Grief, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Colonisation, and War
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts
nerdbrarian's review against another edition
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- 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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, and Grief
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Vomit
mr255405's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Blood, and Trafficking
halefa's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
slow-paced
- 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
4.0
I enjoyed the narrator and audio quality is the audio book.
In my position now when I finished the book and being able to look back, I rated it higher than I probably would have at times during the reading process.
While quite a lot happens in the plot regarding time and impact of events, but the way it is written it feels rather slow. The plot is described through the eyes of different characters with a lot of focus on their thoughts and feelings and memories which can make the writing style feel slow - this actually reminds me a lot of "Station Eleven" which gave me very similar vibes even though it is a different genre.
Looking back, I am appreciative of this writing style and I think it's the preparation for upcoming books and events.
So far, there is no real hero in the story and they all have questionable character traits. However, I didn't find it very frustrating as they in my eyes aren't very annoying character traits, but felt authentic and like real humans.
Maybe a bit weird, but a big shout-out to describing the disgusting reality of a postapokalyptic life with oily hair, poop mats and menstruation hygiene. XD
In my position now when I finished the book and being able to look back, I rated it higher than I probably would have at times during the reading process.
While quite a lot happens in the plot regarding time and impact of events, but the way it is written it feels rather slow. The plot is described through the eyes of different characters with a lot of focus on their thoughts and feelings and memories which can make the writing style feel slow - this actually reminds me a lot of "Station Eleven" which gave me very similar vibes even though it is a different genre.
Looking back, I am appreciative of this writing style and I think it's the preparation for upcoming books and events.
So far, there is no real hero in the story and they all have questionable character traits. However, I didn't find it very frustrating as they in my eyes aren't very annoying character traits, but felt authentic and like real humans.
Maybe a bit weird, but a big shout-out to describing the disgusting reality of a postapokalyptic life with oily hair, poop mats and menstruation hygiene. XD
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Genocide, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Medical content, and Grief
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Xenophobia
elizas's review against another edition
challenging
dark
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
4.75
This is definitely more reflective and less space opera than The Expanse. This is the first Corey novel I’ve read when the sequels were not yet available. I expect the series will turn out to be a 5 for me, but the ending was certainly not a resolution. And now I suppose I’ll have to wait a year.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Mental illness, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Excrement, and Grief
azrah786's review against another edition
4.25
[This review can also be found on my BLOG]
**I received a proof copy from Orbit Books UK in exchange for an honest review**
CW: violence, blood, injury, body horror, gore, death, murder, death of parent (off page), genocide, colonialism, war, confinement, depression, grief, panic attacks, suicidal ideation, drug use, vomit
--
As a big fan of The Expanse I was of course really excited about a new series from Daniel and Ty and while this first instalment didn’t blow me away in the same way that Leviathan Wakes did, The Mercy of Gods has still set up a super engaging and intriguing new space opera, this time with actual aliens as prominent characters.
The story follows a highly acclaimed biological research group made up of a variety of personalities on a planet called Anjiin that humanity came to long ago, whose time in the limelight is seized when an alien race known as the Carryx invade. The Carryx ship away those who are deemed the best in society and put them to the test against other species on how useful they can be to their new overlords.
The synopsis highlights the character of Dafyd as the MC much in the same way that The Expanse does with Holden however, again this series follows multiple perspectives of key characters both of the human research team and that of the aliens. The latter perspectives are what fold this story that initially starts off as a first contact, post-apocalyptic survival narrative into a wider space opera. Additionally little epitaphs that separate each part of the book denote that we are in fact watching the story of the fall of the Carryx unfold.
If you’ve read anything by Daniel and Ty before then you’ll recognise their compelling narrative style that immediately folds you into the story and packs in the emotion with all the character arcs. This first book of the series definitely seems to be focused on predominantly laying the foundations for the characters, their personal journeys and the part that they will be playing as the series goes on. In this sense Dafyd’s character who I was a little indifferent to at the beginning does really shine through by the end. The other characters that really stood out to me were Jessyn and Campar.
The plot is full of moments of action that are written as well as you’d expect from this duo and whilst the story itself is one about humanity facing colonialism on an extra-terrestrial scale the commentary is still very relevant to the real world.
Whilst the scope of the universe that the story is set in is vast with a wide variety of worlds and different alien cultures, besides physical descriptions of settings that are otherworldly it all mostly keeps to a very familiar and human scale at this stage. However, I am looking forward to seeing more of this universe in the books to come and am super intrigued to see where the story goes next!
Final Rating 4.25/5 Stars
**I received a proof copy from Orbit Books UK in exchange for an honest review**
CW: violence, blood, injury, body horror, gore, death, murder, death of parent (off page), genocide, colonialism, war, confinement, depression, grief, panic attacks, suicidal ideation, drug use, vomit
--
As a big fan of The Expanse I was of course really excited about a new series from Daniel and Ty and while this first instalment didn’t blow me away in the same way that Leviathan Wakes did, The Mercy of Gods has still set up a super engaging and intriguing new space opera, this time with actual aliens as prominent characters.
The story follows a highly acclaimed biological research group made up of a variety of personalities on a planet called Anjiin that humanity came to long ago, whose time in the limelight is seized when an alien race known as the Carryx invade. The Carryx ship away those who are deemed the best in society and put them to the test against other species on how useful they can be to their new overlords.
The synopsis highlights the character of Dafyd as the MC much in the same way that The Expanse does with Holden however, again this series follows multiple perspectives of key characters both of the human research team and that of the aliens. The latter perspectives are what fold this story that initially starts off as a first contact, post-apocalyptic survival narrative into a wider space opera. Additionally little epitaphs that separate each part of the book denote that we are in fact watching the story of the fall of the Carryx unfold.
If you’ve read anything by Daniel and Ty before then you’ll recognise their compelling narrative style that immediately folds you into the story and packs in the emotion with all the character arcs. This first book of the series definitely seems to be focused on predominantly laying the foundations for the characters, their personal journeys and the part that they will be playing as the series goes on. In this sense Dafyd’s character who I was a little indifferent to at the beginning does really shine through by the end. The other characters that really stood out to me were Jessyn and Campar.
The plot is full of moments of action that are written as well as you’d expect from this duo and whilst the story itself is one about humanity facing colonialism on an extra-terrestrial scale the commentary is still very relevant to the real world.
Whilst the scope of the universe that the story is set in is vast with a wide variety of worlds and different alien cultures, besides physical descriptions of settings that are otherworldly it all mostly keeps to a very familiar and human scale at this stage. However, I am looking forward to seeing more of this universe in the books to come and am super intrigued to see where the story goes next!
Final Rating 4.25/5 Stars
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Death, Drug use, Genocide, Gore, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Murder, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Death of parent
lprongs's review against another edition
Loved The Expanse, didn't love this - for a few reasons.
1) this felt much more like the classic "white man's scifi." Just wasn't as interesting and felt like it had a much narrower, mansplainy audience (not that the authors are neckbeards, but that the people who seem to like it are the "well, actually" type).
2) way too dark for my taste. Just so much senseless violence, death, and gore for no other reason than to establish a colonizer. I see way too much of that in real life to enjoy a fictionalized version, and I'm honestly tired of colonizers (or colonizer sympathizers) writing colonial violence as entertainment, even if villainized. It's just trauma porn and contributes to desensitization of seeing it happen to real life people. Reading this book made my mental health plummet (sad result after the jubilation of discovering a new SA Corey series).
3) almost all the characters were insufferable, and they were all extremely privileged. Literally everyone else was murdered. Almost feels like a self-victimizing colonial fantasy.
Maybe the story gets better - it seems like the payoff is still at least a hundred pages away - but the mental health dip and trauma of explicit (fictionalized) colonial violence is stopping me from getting there. Maybe I'll pick it back up later, maybe I won't, but right now I'm gonna read something way less white and depressing.
1) this felt much more like the classic "white man's scifi." Just wasn't as interesting and felt like it had a much narrower, mansplainy audience (not that the authors are neckbeards, but that the people who seem to like it are the "well, actually" type).
2) way too dark for my taste. Just so much senseless violence, death, and gore for no other reason than to establish a colonizer. I see way too much of that in real life to enjoy a fictionalized version, and I'm honestly tired of colonizers (or colonizer sympathizers) writing colonial violence as entertainment, even if villainized. It's just trauma porn and contributes to desensitization of seeing it happen to real life people. Reading this book made my mental health plummet (sad result after the jubilation of discovering a new SA Corey series).
3) almost all the characters were insufferable, and they were all extremely privileged. Literally everyone else was murdered. Almost feels like a self-victimizing colonial fantasy.
Maybe the story gets better - it seems like the payoff is still at least a hundred pages away - but the mental health dip and trauma of explicit (fictionalized) colonial violence is stopping me from getting there. Maybe I'll pick it back up later, maybe I won't, but right now I'm gonna read something way less white and depressing.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Genocide, Gore, Violence, Murder, Colonisation, and War
Moderate: Body horror, Blood, Excrement, and Classism