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whatthesquids's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I found the whole book satisfying to read, but the ENDING! Very cathartic!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror and Dementia
Minor: Adult/minor relationship and Alcoholism
alica2's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
I feel like I always say I'm never into sci-fi novels set in space, but when it's good it's just so chef's kiss. The writing gripped me from the very beginning, and even though it took me a little while to become familiar with the terminology and setting, I never felt confused or frustrated. The universe also felt full in a way that seems difficult for many space-based sci-fis to nail properly, and I particularly enjoyed the culture-building on gravity-heavy Lusus, politics of planets in the Web vs those beyond its control, and of course descriptions of Hyperion itself (especially the grass fields with strands so tall and sharp that they can only be navigated by giant wagon-ships). It was also setting up some interesting dynamics with AI, so I'm looking forward to learning more in the sequels...
One thing that did feel kind of clunky to me was the general structure and pacing, since the story is basically just all of the main characters sharing their backstories while traveling on a (likely doomed) pilgrimage on the planet Hyperion. However, I ended up being so compelled by each character's story that it didn't matter how awkwardly the transition scenes began. All of the stories added some intriguing mystery to the pilgrimage and made the book almost feel like a thriller. Also Sol's story made me cry ;3;
Another drawback is that the story isn't actually complete in book 1, which I guess is acceptable since I knew this was part of a series, but I was still kind of expecting the main plot to have some sort of wrap-up. There were also some slurs that I was not expecting (the main one I can think of right now is the r-slur, and there was also possibly the f-slur). I think there were only a handful of instances of them, but they were still jarring.
One thing that did feel kind of clunky to me was the general structure and pacing, since the story is basically just all of the main characters sharing their backstories while traveling on a (likely doomed) pilgrimage on the planet Hyperion. However, I ended up being so compelled by each character's story that it didn't matter how awkwardly the transition scenes began. All of the stories added some intriguing mystery to the pilgrimage and made the book almost feel like a thriller. Also Sol's story made me cry ;3;
Another drawback is that the story isn't actually complete in book 1, which I guess is acceptable since I knew this was part of a series, but I was still kind of expecting the main plot to have some sort of wrap-up. There were also some slurs that I was not expecting (the main one I can think of right now is the r-slur, and there was also possibly the f-slur). I think there were only a handful of instances of them, but they were still jarring.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content and Dementia
Moderate: Gore
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