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mallorypen's review against another edition
I wanted to like this book, but my God. The exposition.
Not that I think "Six of Crows" is the perfect book or anything, but I do believe that it does multiple POV storytelling really well. I was able to follow along with all of the characters' narratives, personalities, motivations, etc. while the story moved along, and there wasn't a point where I felt the multiple narrators got in the way of plot advancement. This was not the case for "The Long Way To A Small, Angry Planet."
Did I get a strong sense of the characters identities and relationships right away? Absolutely. Is the motivation behind their crew as an entity and each person as an individual? Surprisingly, yes. Do I understand the worldbuilding? Against my will, almost too well. But has anything ... happened?
Not really.
In the first 30% of the novel, less than a week (a ten-day?) has passed. All that has happened is one character made it to the ship; they did one job; and they're preparing for another job. The individual elements are interesting - there's a human in love with a sentient AI who wants a physical body but that's apparently an illegal thing to want! There's an alien that considers themselves a joint consciousness because of a virus it was willingly infected with as a child! One woman has a shadowy secret past! There's a character that is a blatant and unapologetic copy+paste rip off of Kaylee from Firefly! - but the explanations to get the reader up to speed with everything are exhaustive and boring. What is said with ten words could likely be said in three, and even listening to the audiobook on double speed, I just couldn't stick with it.
Plus, the inner musings of Rosemary around Jenks felt ... kinda gross. I get that people mod themselves in this universe against things that they may perceive as undesirable like being a Little Person, and Jenks' backstory and refusal to mod himself taller are meant to be an inspiring "You're perfect as you are" thing, but it still hit me in a weird spot. For someone who went to school to be socially aware in a society where many species and cultures coexist, Rosemary having ableist opinions about someone felt like the author was trying too hard to make that point and stumbled a little over the line in doing so.
I did have to look up a character list just now to get names right, and the Wikipedia entry kind of made me laugh in agreement - "The novel concerns itself with character development rather than adventure." Yeah, you can say that again.
I could see myself revisiting this one day, but today is not that day. Today we DNF.
Not that I think "Six of Crows" is the perfect book or anything, but I do believe that it does multiple POV storytelling really well. I was able to follow along with all of the characters' narratives, personalities, motivations, etc. while the story moved along, and there wasn't a point where I felt the multiple narrators got in the way of plot advancement. This was not the case for "The Long Way To A Small, Angry Planet."
Did I get a strong sense of the characters identities and relationships right away? Absolutely. Is the motivation behind their crew as an entity and each person as an individual? Surprisingly, yes. Do I understand the worldbuilding? Against my will, almost too well. But has anything ... happened?
Not really.
In the first 30% of the novel, less than a week (a ten-day?) has passed. All that has happened is one character made it to the ship; they did one job; and they're preparing for another job. The individual elements are interesting - there's a human in love with a sentient AI who wants a physical body but that's apparently an illegal thing to want! There's an alien that considers themselves a joint consciousness because of a virus it was willingly infected with as a child! One woman has a shadowy secret past! There's a character that is a blatant and unapologetic copy+paste rip off of Kaylee from Firefly! - but the explanations to get the reader up to speed with everything are exhaustive and boring. What is said with ten words could likely be said in three, and even listening to the audiobook on double speed, I just couldn't stick with it.
Plus, the inner musings of Rosemary around Jenks felt ... kinda gross. I get that people mod themselves in this universe against things that they may perceive as undesirable like being a Little Person, and Jenks' backstory and refusal to mod himself taller are meant to be an inspiring "You're perfect as you are" thing, but it still hit me in a weird spot. For someone who went to school to be socially aware in a society where many species and cultures coexist, Rosemary having ableist opinions about someone felt like the author was trying too hard to make that point and stumbled a little over the line in doing so.
I did have to look up a character list just now to get names right, and the Wikipedia entry kind of made me laugh in agreement - "The novel concerns itself with character development rather than adventure." Yeah, you can say that again.
I could see myself revisiting this one day, but today is not that day. Today we DNF.
Content Warnings
Minor: Body shaming and Xenophobia
bruhbruh's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
reflective
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? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, War, Gun violence, Body shaming, and Chronic illness
Moderate: Sexual content and Child death
oliverreeds's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
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? It's complicated
5.0
fantastic. we love language. we love the gays
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Body shaming, Chronic illness, Confinement, Drug use, Grief, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Physical abuse, Racism, Terminal illness, Torture, Vomit, and War
beautifulpaxielreads's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
slow-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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Medical content, and Mental illness
Moderate: Blood, Confinement, Physical abuse, Terminal illness, Violence, and Torture
Minor: Body shaming, Genocide, and Panic attacks/disorders
whylal's review against another edition
hopeful
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Terminal illness, Violence, Torture, Slavery, Medical content, Grief, Death, and Drug use
Minor: Vomit, Child death, Body shaming, and Ableism
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