Scan barcode
ziggymusic's review against another edition
5.0
‘Space Opera’ is a cosmic-scale Eurovision when that scale is from still-in-a-garage-era White Stripes to every Superbowl halftime show combined plus a supernova light show that disregards spacetime... with Jonathan Rhys Meyers as Bowie and Ewan McGregor as Iggy Pop... plus a flamingo.
Major props to the author for conjuring up aliens who aren’t all some boring, rehashed version of our carbon-based human bodies like most aliens in stories are depicted: with some combination of limbs, head with eyes/nose/mouth features, etc. Some of the alien species in this book aren’t even organic matter. For example, within the span of about 30 pages we meet, among many others throughout the story…
- A “depressive, socialist moonbeam” who’s a fan of Morrissey and fixes toilets.
- The homicidal “five feet of velvety, undulating god lamé gumdrop” who is actually “five generations living in jellied domestic harmony” bringing the universe its brand of hypno-ambient crunk opera.
- Clippy, the always unhelpful 90’s-era MS Office mascot assistant manifesting as a non-threatening cosmic ambassador therapist who quickly loses its cool and delivers one of the book’s most entertaining rants - and the book has many.
The writing is so dense with clever quips and wordplay that I can see how someone else might find it exhausting. Although, chances are, if you’ve decided to read this book, you have some sort of affection for glam rock and its smutastic celebration of excess, and Valente’s writing is a logophile’s heroin, so, through the transitive property, you should enjoy the cheeky self-indulgence of this nearly obscene theater of words.
I’ve heard that the movie rights have been sold for this so I am totally here for that. I’m very curious to see how they execute some elements of the book that seem visually near-impossible even with CGI. In any case, it should be a hilarious acid trip.
Major props to the author for conjuring up aliens who aren’t all some boring, rehashed version of our carbon-based human bodies like most aliens in stories are depicted: with some combination of limbs, head with eyes/nose/mouth features, etc. Some of the alien species in this book aren’t even organic matter. For example, within the span of about 30 pages we meet, among many others throughout the story…
- A “depressive, socialist moonbeam” who’s a fan of Morrissey and fixes toilets.
- The homicidal “five feet of velvety, undulating god lamé gumdrop” who is actually “five generations living in jellied domestic harmony” bringing the universe its brand of hypno-ambient crunk opera.
- Clippy, the always unhelpful 90’s-era MS Office mascot assistant manifesting as a non-threatening cosmic ambassador therapist who quickly loses its cool and delivers one of the book’s most entertaining rants - and the book has many.
The writing is so dense with clever quips and wordplay that I can see how someone else might find it exhausting. Although, chances are, if you’ve decided to read this book, you have some sort of affection for glam rock and its smutastic celebration of excess, and Valente’s writing is a logophile’s heroin, so, through the transitive property, you should enjoy the cheeky self-indulgence of this nearly obscene theater of words.
I’ve heard that the movie rights have been sold for this so I am totally here for that. I’m very curious to see how they execute some elements of the book that seem visually near-impossible even with CGI. In any case, it should be a hilarious acid trip.
agenderfox's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
sad
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5
chasem1294's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.0
turrean's review against another edition
Currently holding at about 30% of the audio. Great delivery but need to take a break from the breakneck speed of the pop culture references and jokes. I might need to read this one in print; I kept missing things.
brisingr's review against another edition
3.0
"Welcome to being a people, kid. It’s just dreadful up here.”
Look, sometimes you just have to wait half a year to get into the proper mood to finish reading a really nice book. And this was everything that my Eurovision-loving heart could hope for: I've been painfully invested in the ranks of various people representing their countries ever since i was four. Getting this, but at an intergalactic scale and at high stakes sounded like a dream come true.
I think one of my favourite things about Valente's prose is exactly how... dense / beautiful / decorated it is. It's something that picks her apart in the list of authors I love, and it's this special trait in her stories that make me always return to her books over and over again. Though, I admit, it takes a particular type of enthusiasm to get you through some of the passages.
But at the end of the day, this is just another story about humanity, and what makes us who we are, even when at our worst, even when at our most desperate. And it's a story that I'll never get tired of, no matter how many variations of it I'll get through.
Look, sometimes you just have to wait half a year to get into the proper mood to finish reading a really nice book. And this was everything that my Eurovision-loving heart could hope for: I've been painfully invested in the ranks of various people representing their countries ever since i was four. Getting this, but at an intergalactic scale and at high stakes sounded like a dream come true.
I think one of my favourite things about Valente's prose is exactly how... dense / beautiful / decorated it is. It's something that picks her apart in the list of authors I love, and it's this special trait in her stories that make me always return to her books over and over again. Though, I admit, it takes a particular type of enthusiasm to get you through some of the passages.
But at the end of the day, this is just another story about humanity, and what makes us who we are, even when at our worst, even when at our most desperate. And it's a story that I'll never get tired of, no matter how many variations of it I'll get through.
hirvimaki's review against another edition
4.0
It sagged in the middle a touch, but overall a great read. Almost more of a tome of pithy sound-bites that picked up a plot on it's shoe on the way through. But I chuckled a lot and found myself nodding in agreement quite a bit.
readmeup's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
fun David Bowie RPF AU fanfic
wathykite's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0