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smitch29's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.5
This was really good. I was pleasantly surprised at how good of a storyteller the author was. The whole thing had a lot of heart to it that really just pulled me in and kept me interested.
Scout is employed to find caches of information left behind on abandoned/destroyed planets. It feels a little adventurous as Scout and crew (brother and a cat) jump between planets racing to get to the next cache before the corporate backed retrieval people can nabbed it with their better technology. While that excitement was fun, it was also a little underwhelming. The dynamics between all the different characters was great and had a lot of depth for such a short novel. Scout spends a chunk of the book listening to a snippet of a diary log from a dying alien recorded on a cache. The emotional connection and intrigue really jump off the page and enthralled me. I wanted to learn more about the alien world and the mystery world destroyer that plagues the universe. I would love to continue on with the characters and find out more.
Scout is employed to find caches of information left behind on abandoned/destroyed planets. It feels a little adventurous as Scout and crew (brother and a cat) jump between planets racing to get to the next cache before the corporate backed retrieval people can nabbed it with their better technology. While that excitement was fun, it was also a little underwhelming. The dynamics between all the different characters was great and had a lot of depth for such a short novel. Scout spends a chunk of the book listening to a snippet of a diary log from a dying alien recorded on a cache. The emotional connection and intrigue really jump off the page and enthralled me. I wanted to learn more about the alien world and the mystery world destroyer that plagues the universe. I would love to continue on with the characters and find out more.
calmtent7983's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? No
2.75
yrc's review against another edition
5.0
Wowzer, what a book!
This one my first foray into indie science fiction as it won the independent competition in 2023 (SPSFC). and I'm very positively surprised. Even just August's ability to pack so much story and emotions in a tad over 200 pages is an achievement in its own.
In this book we follow two siblings and their lovely ginger cat trying to solve a galaxy wide mystery. A foreign entity called enderhi is consuming entire planets and nobody knows how it's managing it or how to stop it. To make matters worse, mercenaries from the capitalist corporate verity co. are doing everything they can to get all the secrets and information behind the paywall iron screen, by all means necessary.
Once in a while, I read a book exactly at the write time. This was definitely an example of that. What I loved about the book is the fact it really explores themes of loss, mourning, failures and depression, without sugarcoating them. At the same time, we get a duo of siblings that care so much for each other through good and bad, as well as an alien couple who are just as wholesome.
I would even say this book gave me Becky Chambers vibes, with a bit more plot, a great cat and a mission across the stars that more often than not, falls through or is just more complex than a big forever win or outmost failure. I highly recommend this book for lovers of softer science fiction and readers who care for well structured characters!
This one my first foray into indie science fiction as it won the independent competition in 2023 (SPSFC). and I'm very positively surprised. Even just August's ability to pack so much story and emotions in a tad over 200 pages is an achievement in its own.
In this book we follow two siblings and their lovely ginger cat trying to solve a galaxy wide mystery. A foreign entity called enderhi is consuming entire planets and nobody knows how it's managing it or how to stop it. To make matters worse, mercenaries from the capitalist corporate verity co. are doing everything they can to get all the secrets and information behind the paywall iron screen, by all means necessary.
Once in a while, I read a book exactly at the write time. This was definitely an example of that. What I loved about the book is the fact it really explores themes of loss, mourning, failures and depression, without sugarcoating them. At the same time, we get a duo of siblings that care so much for each other through good and bad, as well as an alien couple who are just as wholesome.
I would even say this book gave me Becky Chambers vibes, with a bit more plot, a great cat and a mission across the stars that more often than not, falls through or is just more complex than a big forever win or outmost failure. I highly recommend this book for lovers of softer science fiction and readers who care for well structured characters!
hjerteknuser's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
tense
fast-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
4.25
The world building of this is SO gorgeous and the atmosphere of how haunting it is to be on a dead planet without any living thing around was just beautifully conveyed - I just kept wishing there was more of it all, more lore, more character interactions and backstory, more planets to explore. The ending especially just left me wishing this was a sprawling scifi epic with 5 parts because I want to watch someone do archeology and solve tje mystery FOREVER. I did also love the books exploration of grief and hope and healing but even that could've used more room and time to develop (and in a way the world building is so rich and fascinating to me it was almost TOO good and distracted me from that theme?) I very much can't wait to read more from this author though and I'll be holding out hope for more books in this universe forever
thepagelady's review against another edition
4.0
The Last Gifts of the Universe was a fast and enjoyable read! I was sucked in pretty quick. The plot is entertaining and Rory August's writing is wonderful. It felt like I was right beside Scout, their brother Kieran and cat! That's right, a cat and it's a space story so yes it's a cat in a space suit! Pumpkin was fantastic! It's a fun read but it's also about life, death, hope and relationships of many kinds but I liked that the storyline never really loses the humor! It's a great read that ended too soon!
helynalc's review against another edition
emotional
funny
inspiring
sad
fast-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
4.0
joelteon's review against another edition
5.0
A fantastic read!
This book is so easy to review. It was so much fun from beginning to end. I for one, never wanted it to end, 200 pages in this universe was never going to be enough and I don't mean that this story needed any more padding, I mean that there is so much that could still be explored. And second, I wish that I had written this book it is that good it makes me jealous. I hope Rory writes more stories, in this Universe or in any other.
This book is so easy to review. It was so much fun from beginning to end. I for one, never wanted it to end, 200 pages in this universe was never going to be enough and I don't mean that this story needed any more padding, I mean that there is so much that could still be explored. And second, I wish that I had written this book it is that good it makes me jealous. I hope Rory writes more stories, in this Universe or in any other.
jeastaugh's review against another edition
4.25
This book surprised me. The major themes are of grief and death and moving beyond it, which was not what I expected out of what seemed to be a lighthearted space adventure (with cat). It hit me in a good place after my cat passed away.
theshaggyshepherd's review against another edition
5.0
The Last Gifts of the Universe // by Rory August
Update:
I reread this less than 4 months later already! It still is one of my favorite reads of 2022 so far. I decided to finish out the Indie Accords and Ready Player Read Bingo with this one. After a super busy reading month, it was a comfort to come back to it to slow down my mind.
I’m still blown away that August managed to give so much background story to not only the main character but also another character in such a short book. My biggest struggle with novellas is usually that I don’t trust characters enough after such a short time together but that is not an issue here at all. The characters are believable and lovable, especially PUNKIN.
1st Read:
I picked this book up on a whim because I saw the author post about its pub day, I really liked the cover, and it’s short enough to where I could squeeze it in before my next read. And I’m so glad I did. I loved this book and read almost the entire thing in one day. I actually fell asleep reading it because I stayed up so late and didn’t want to stop. That hasn’t happened in a long time.
I love the narrator and how she muses about things in her life, how we get to see her emotional reactions, the way she handles stress, and her passion for what she does. I also absolutely adore Pumpkin. Oh my god. Who would’ve thought that a space-adventuring cat could be so lovable and fascinating to follow? I think that August did a great job at showcasing each character and their reactions in these scenes. Despite the limited amount of time we get to spend with each of them they don’t seem one-dimensional at all.
I don’t know if there will be more books set in this universe but I sure hope so. I know for a fact that I’ll pick up August’s future books without hesitation next time!
I don’t do comparisons like this often but I think if you liked Project Hail Mary, you’ll really like this one as well.
Update:
I reread this less than 4 months later already! It still is one of my favorite reads of 2022 so far. I decided to finish out the Indie Accords and Ready Player Read Bingo with this one. After a super busy reading month, it was a comfort to come back to it to slow down my mind.
I’m still blown away that August managed to give so much background story to not only the main character but also another character in such a short book. My biggest struggle with novellas is usually that I don’t trust characters enough after such a short time together but that is not an issue here at all. The characters are believable and lovable, especially PUNKIN.
1st Read:
I picked this book up on a whim because I saw the author post about its pub day, I really liked the cover, and it’s short enough to where I could squeeze it in before my next read. And I’m so glad I did. I loved this book and read almost the entire thing in one day. I actually fell asleep reading it because I stayed up so late and didn’t want to stop. That hasn’t happened in a long time.
I love the narrator and how she muses about things in her life, how we get to see her emotional reactions, the way she handles stress, and her passion for what she does. I also absolutely adore Pumpkin. Oh my god. Who would’ve thought that a space-adventuring cat could be so lovable and fascinating to follow? I think that August did a great job at showcasing each character and their reactions in these scenes. Despite the limited amount of time we get to spend with each of them they don’t seem one-dimensional at all.
I don’t know if there will be more books set in this universe but I sure hope so. I know for a fact that I’ll pick up August’s future books without hesitation next time!
I don’t do comparisons like this often but I think if you liked Project Hail Mary, you’ll really like this one as well.
ashish_ras's review against another edition
4.0
Sci-fi with a bit of lit fic
A story that dips its toes into Lit fic between bursts of well-written sci-fi action while the MC deals with death, loss, and grief. And the cat is a real-life saver.
A story that dips its toes into Lit fic between bursts of well-written sci-fi action while the MC deals with death, loss, and grief. And the cat is a real-life saver.