Scan barcode
evehowell's review
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
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
4.25
beautiful, mystical and inspiring look into a future that is both dystopian and utopian in different ways. love the worldbuilding, character development and political messages told through narrative moments. asks very interesting questions about the length to which humans should be held accountable for their past, and how we might be better off focusing on the future.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death
benthewriter's review
hopeful
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
10iii_kat's review against another edition
4.0
as a person that doesn't read sci-fi a lot because I can't get into the stories and world settings, I enjoyed "Another Life" by Sarena Ulibarri a lot.
the futuristic yet quite realistic setting was believable and I think that's where the world might be headed which is both horrifying and yet not really??
it's hard to explain it but the world Sarena Ulibarri built was a world I could technically live in and I'm pretty sure I'd be much more happier with my life than I am right now. but of course, it also has a scary picture to it so maybe I'm just crazy to think that living in a world like that wouldn't be so bad.
overall I think this sci-fi novella is a great choice for people that don't like reading sci-fi and it will be easy to get drawn into the story. also, this is one of the best covers I've seen in a while.
───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────
the futuristic yet quite realistic setting was believable and I think that's where the world might be headed which is both horrifying and yet not really??
it's hard to explain it but the world Sarena Ulibarri built was a world I could technically live in and I'm pretty sure I'd be much more happier with my life than I am right now. but of course, it also has a scary picture to it so maybe I'm just crazy to think that living in a world like that wouldn't be so bad.
overall I think this sci-fi novella is a great choice for people that don't like reading sci-fi and it will be easy to get drawn into the story. also, this is one of the best covers I've seen in a while.
───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────
poisoned_icecream's review
challenging
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
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? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Murder and Police brutality
Minor: Terminal illness, Colonisation, Animal death, and Gun violence
thelmanarchy's review against another edition
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
- 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
3.0
ruxandra_grr's review against another edition
3.0
I love the idea of solarpunk as a genre and I always read it in order to gain some hope for the future and also take a look at the possible practical solutions we are working on to like... save the world! I was very excited for this, and on this specific thing - the closer-to-us-than-we-think scifi elements -, it really did not disappoint. We're dealing with a sustainable community with a non-hierarchical structure, cool communal living, satisfyingly explored re: what do we do about labor and the jobs that people are supposedly not willing to do?
The worldbuilding is in that sweet spot of: not too much, not too little. There are tantalizing elements outside of Otra Vida: a civil war in the past, the splitting off of states, California has a Basic Income program (that's apparently not enough), while the cops are a bit scifi and are called Protectors, and the media is very firmly Verified and connected to the state apparatus. All of this is pretty great.
When entering into this, I was wary about the idea of reincarnation in a realistic scifi setting, but I was very pleasantly surprised of the scifi explanation for this - I successfully suspended my disbelief. But I wasn't super happy with how this storyline was followed through the end.
Galacia, our main character, and the moderator of conflicts in Otra Vida, turns out to be the reincarnation of an Elon Musk-like billionaire, who ended up killing a bunch of people when trying to get to Planet B (a fun play on those climate protest signs 'There is no planet B!') with his spaceship. Galacia takes most of the book to process this information and 1. we don't get to see her in action as a fully involved & competent moderator, 2. she gets very distracted by this and ignores a bunch of things happening at the margins and 3.
I think what has left me unsatisfied about most solarpunk writing so far is the overwhelming focus on technology and pragmatic matters and not so much on the people and their relationships. So, are these the people that would live in that community? Because they feel sort of like current day anarchists, maybe even a bit recent past anarchists. I think that people who would live in that community in the future would be a bit different. Around a third of the way through, Galacia is called to moderate a conflict, and it is very summarily described (we don't even know what the conflict is, actually) and waved away and that felt disappointing. I wanted to actually see her in action.
There's also a generational conflict subplot that I thought was well handled, because it turns out that separating the people who live in that community as Founders, Petitioners and Inheritors could create a class structure? Could create biases in moderating conflict!
I wasn't super happy though with the procedure for kicking out someone in the community - it's just a petition, that feels cold. In general, when it came to the people, I got the vibes that they were all doing their own thing and not actively trying to keep creating the best community they could have. But I guess that's very much my own thing and this was a work-in-progress sort of thing. Bottom line: I personally wanted more of the people of Otra Vida and maybe less of the explosive plotline.
Thank you to the publisher for providing me an ARC.
The worldbuilding is in that sweet spot of: not too much, not too little. There are tantalizing elements outside of Otra Vida: a civil war in the past, the splitting off of states, California has a Basic Income program (that's apparently not enough), while the cops are a bit scifi and are called Protectors, and the media is very firmly Verified and connected to the state apparatus. All of this is pretty great.
When entering into this, I was wary about the idea of reincarnation in a realistic scifi setting, but I was very pleasantly surprised of the scifi explanation for this - I successfully suspended my disbelief. But I wasn't super happy with how this storyline was followed through the end.
Galacia, our main character, and the moderator of conflicts in Otra Vida, turns out to be the reincarnation of an Elon Musk-like billionaire, who ended up killing a bunch of people when trying to get to Planet B (a fun play on those climate protest signs 'There is no planet B!') with his spaceship. Galacia takes most of the book to process this information and 1. we don't get to see her in action as a fully involved & competent moderator, 2. she gets very distracted by this and ignores a bunch of things happening at the margins and 3.
Spoiler
in the end I felt very frustrated, because the idea that Thomas Ramsey wanted to do some good by doing a lot of bad really undermines the exploration of genius-entrepreneur-billionaires of today and it becomes a bit toothlessI think what has left me unsatisfied about most solarpunk writing so far is the overwhelming focus on technology and pragmatic matters and not so much on the people and their relationships. So, are these the people that would live in that community? Because they feel sort of like current day anarchists, maybe even a bit recent past anarchists. I think that people who would live in that community in the future would be a bit different. Around a third of the way through, Galacia is called to moderate a conflict, and it is very summarily described (we don't even know what the conflict is, actually) and waved away and that felt disappointing. I wanted to actually see her in action.
There's also a generational conflict subplot that I thought was well handled, because it turns out that separating the people who live in that community as Founders, Petitioners and Inheritors could create a class structure? Could create biases in moderating conflict!
I wasn't super happy though with the procedure for kicking out someone in the community - it's just a petition, that feels cold. In general, when it came to the people, I got the vibes that they were all doing their own thing and not actively trying to keep creating the best community they could have. But I guess that's very much my own thing and this was a work-in-progress sort of thing. Bottom line: I personally wanted more of the people of Otra Vida and maybe less of the explosive plotline.
Thank you to the publisher for providing me an ARC.
cynthiareads's review
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
wordsbecomeworlds's review against another edition
5.0
This was such an enjoyable read! Within the first page I was immersed in a word that felt potentially realistic, if not idealistic and just out of reach. The world and character building kept me engaged and invested in the society built. I loved the journey we got to take with Galacia, a reckoning with the past and how the present is influenced and shaped based on previous actions. I couldn’t put it down.
smmrmmrmmr's review
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
fast-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
4.0
I loved the concept, build up and characters.
It could have done with being longer, and more developed, as the ending felt rushed and somewhat unsatisfying to me.
I will be keeping an eye out for more by Ulibarri though
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily
It could have done with being longer, and more developed, as the ending felt rushed and somewhat unsatisfying to me.
I will be keeping an eye out for more by Ulibarri though
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily
pvp_niki's review
5.0
This was an amazing introduction for me to the solarpunk genre, which I've been so much craving for!
When I saw solarpunk mixed with reincarnation I wanted to read it instantly. Especially since it deals with what happens if you find out that you were a terrible person in your past life, terrible not in the sense as an awkward neighbor but like war-crime levels.
If you expect a diverse read of feasible-looking positive climate fiction with elaboration in the social and moral implications of reincarnation being scientifically proven, go for it right now!
I didn't know what to expect from this book, but I certainly didn't expect the lot of different themes introduced as the implications of a technology that can tell who you were in your past life. I don't like when a scifi takes one extremely groundbreaking technology and only cares about one aspect of its consequences, usually the coolest or most dangerous effects, ignoring all other implications that'd affect the smallest things in everyday life and especially how the society changes.
Another Life shows us this technology at the very beginning, right after discovery when only the members of this solarpunk community are aware it exists and try it. And even now in this early stage of this technology the plot revolves around how it affects people's lives, relationships, social hierarchy and such.
Also, it was intriguing to read about a protagonist who is a mediator of such community and the worldbuilding elements were nicely blended into the plot points originating from her position.
At first I felt sceptic about how reincarnation would be explained in a scifi but it was explained with a really credible mix of genetics and quantum mechanics so I can absolutely recommend this book even if you are afraid of esoteric pseudoscience talk because this story doesn't feel like that.
The cast is diverse in ethnicity, age, disabilities, gender and sexuality.
Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for providing this ARC.
When I saw solarpunk mixed with reincarnation I wanted to read it instantly. Especially since it deals with what happens if you find out that you were a terrible person in your past life, terrible not in the sense as an awkward neighbor but like war-crime levels.
If you expect a diverse read of feasible-looking positive climate fiction with elaboration in the social and moral implications of reincarnation being scientifically proven, go for it right now!
I didn't know what to expect from this book, but I certainly didn't expect the lot of different themes introduced as the implications of a technology that can tell who you were in your past life. I don't like when a scifi takes one extremely groundbreaking technology and only cares about one aspect of its consequences, usually the coolest or most dangerous effects, ignoring all other implications that'd affect the smallest things in everyday life and especially how the society changes.
Another Life shows us this technology at the very beginning, right after discovery when only the members of this solarpunk community are aware it exists and try it. And even now in this early stage of this technology the plot revolves around how it affects people's lives, relationships, social hierarchy and such.
Also, it was intriguing to read about a protagonist who is a mediator of such community and the worldbuilding elements were nicely blended into the plot points originating from her position.
At first I felt sceptic about how reincarnation would be explained in a scifi but it was explained with a really credible mix of genetics and quantum mechanics so I can absolutely recommend this book even if you are afraid of esoteric pseudoscience talk because this story doesn't feel like that.
The cast is diverse in ethnicity, age, disabilities, gender and sexuality.
Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for providing this ARC.