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Reviews tagging 'Cultural appropriation'
The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers
4 reviews
_david_'s review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
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? No
5.0
For the first time in a long while I cried while reading. Not only that, but I cried twice withing half an hour. First in a sad way, then in a happy way.
I cannot remember any book who had this many rounded characters written in such an excellent way. The whole crew of the Wayfarer was made up out of characters who each had their own unique stories and personalities. Each character was put in the spotlight multiple times without it feeling jarring.
I cannot remember any book who had this many rounded characters written in such an excellent way. The whole crew of the Wayfarer was made up out of characters who each had their own unique stories and personalities. Each character was put in the spotlight multiple times without it feeling jarring.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Police brutality, Grief, Confinement, and Vomit
Moderate: Alcohol, Colonisation, Chronic illness, Religious bigotry, Violence, and Death
Minor: Cultural appropriation, Incest, War, Xenophobia, Dementia, Drug use, Gun violence, and Medical content
There is a main characters with a big focus on their clan being led by a religion/cult. The present main belief is quite similar to anti-vaccination/medicine mindsets. Character's namethaliareads's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
tense
slow-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
5.0
I really enjoyed this book. I don't remember where I read it, but trying to describe this book to a friend, I ran across a review that said that this is more of a people book than a science fiction book. I adored this book and while it had a cool science fiction setting, it was ultimately about the people on the journey, their interactions with each other, and their interactions with other species and crews.
I can't express enough appreciation for how cool it was just seeing all of the described species and all of their different cultures and the depth to which they are explored. It's absolutely wild.
I can't express enough appreciation for how cool it was just seeing all of the described species and all of their different cultures and the depth to which they are explored. It's absolutely wild.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Violence, Gun violence, and Terminal illness
Moderate: Alcohol and Cultural appropriation
I'm behind on reviews, so it's been a couple moths since I read this, and I wouldn't be surprised if I missed a content warning or two.ekcd_'s review against another edition
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.75
The characters are lovable but only because they designed to be lovable. As a result they come off as unrealistic and one dimensional. Even the cantankerous foil to the other sickly sweet personas on board is given a tragic backstory designed to inspire the reader to love him.
It’s an incredibly slow book, plot wise, and the few plot events we do see dont make sense. The characters have odd reactions - socially and culturally. And god knows Becky Chambers lives to talk about how different all her aliens are. There is a weird fixation on sex and sexual differences in the book which could have been a fun exploration in sexuality if it was done well but instead it felt like she was patting herself on the back for coming up with such sexually diverse races/species. Several times in the book she says outright “yeah XYZ is so different from humans” and like that’s it.
I feel like I read a different book than all the critics (formal and informal) who have such high praise. This read like a YA novel or children’s cartoon that feeds the reader emotions with a spoon. I’m fact, most of the world building in general is fed to the reader with a spoon- it’s explicit and heavy handed OR it’s nonsense words that are never explained or expanded on. It’s clear the author uses letters and characters who are librarians to shoehorn in world building she wasn’t creative enough to build into the narrative. No nuance, no complexity. Just a feel good mill, which I personally do not like. I want moral ambiguity and conflict in my space opera.
It’s an incredibly slow book, plot wise, and the few plot events we do see dont make sense. The characters have odd reactions - socially and culturally. And god knows Becky Chambers lives to talk about how different all her aliens are. There is a weird fixation on sex and sexual differences in the book which could have been a fun exploration in sexuality if it was done well but instead it felt like she was patting herself on the back for coming up with such sexually diverse races/species. Several times in the book she says outright “yeah XYZ is so different from humans” and like that’s it.
I feel like I read a different book than all the critics (formal and informal) who have such high praise. This read like a YA novel or children’s cartoon that feeds the reader emotions with a spoon. I’m fact, most of the world building in general is fed to the reader with a spoon- it’s explicit and heavy handed OR it’s nonsense words that are never explained or expanded on. It’s clear the author uses letters and characters who are librarians to shoehorn in world building she wasn’t creative enough to build into the narrative. No nuance, no complexity. Just a feel good mill, which I personally do not like. I want moral ambiguity and conflict in my space opera.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness, Colonisation, Deadnaming, Police brutality, Drug use, Grief, Sexual content, Xenophobia, Cultural appropriation, Cursing, Toxic friendship, Violence, Alcohol, War, Death, Genocide, and Classism
Moderate: Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, and Blood
mxawprince's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
1.5
I know this book was written in 3014, and that it's a first novel, but (amongst many other similar things) there's an autistic-coded character that in the end gets "cured". Blegh.
I'll probably read something more recent from this author to see if it gets better.
I'll probably read something more recent from this author to see if it gets better.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Colonisation, and Cultural appropriation
Moderate: Gun violence, Xenophobia, Genocide, Racism, and War
Minor: Chronic illness, Religious bigotry, Terminal illness, Antisemitism, Gun violence, and Fatphobia
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