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3.67 AVERAGE
3.67 AVERAGE
Dropnauts is an excellent foray into hard scifi, a bit of cli-fi, and lots of relationships. Although the very beginning starts a little slow, the story soon ramps up and had me finding chances to read. It follows four young people as they discover how Earth has and has not changes since the Collapse a hundred years before, when survivors were forced to live on the moon.
There are some unique storytelling methods here, and although I'm not a great fan of flashbacks, I think they were used will in this story, occasionally dropping into the main story to give us some perspective on why characters are making the choices they do. I love the LGBTQ representation in the book, coming at it from multiple perspectives and ways of thinking.
I also really love the worldbuilding that went into this, and the attention to detail in crafting the AIs that work alongside the humans. We get to see both them and the human characters working through failings to work on the problems that arise on a post-collapse Earth. While this is a good scifi story, it's also a story about challenging yourself and getting past what's stopping you.
There are some unique storytelling methods here, and although I'm not a great fan of flashbacks, I think they were used will in this story, occasionally dropping into the main story to give us some perspective on why characters are making the choices they do. I love the LGBTQ representation in the book, coming at it from multiple perspectives and ways of thinking.
I also really love the worldbuilding that went into this, and the attention to detail in crafting the AIs that work alongside the humans. We get to see both them and the human characters working through failings to work on the problems that arise on a post-collapse Earth. While this is a good scifi story, it's also a story about challenging yourself and getting past what's stopping you.
Tried to like it
Within the first chapter we got a gay guy, a trans woman, a bisexual guy and someone of an unknown sexuality who dates a non-binary person. I'm gay but this was already being on my nerves. These people live on the Moon and believe they're the last of humanity. IIRC, the specific number was 12,000. I have to assume that every citizen would be required to "do their duty" to make sure humanity continues to exist before anything else. Maybe they did prior to the beginning of the book. It's hard to tell because they act like children in a very literal sense. I was surprised when one of them said something about how adulthood sucks. I had assumed they were high school age teenagers based on their behavior.
Turns out there are a handful of people alive on Earth. The ones we meet are Aidan and Ally, siblings, who have twin brothers and a mother to look out for. That's the extent of their knowledge of anyone being alive. They're living under the assumption when they die then humanity will be extinct.
With that setup, the 'loonies' who came to Earth were blown out of the sky by a missile but they managed to parachute away. Rai and Tien are separated from Hera and Ghost. The first two go down in the water in view of Aidan and Ally, who come to their rescue. Good so far. Then we get something about Rai and Aidan locking eyes and something passing between them. This is while they're still trying not to drown. On top of that, given that the only people he knows are his family, I'd have to say he'd at best be confused over anything to do with sexuality outside of what he knows, which is a het family dynamic.
The thing that finally killed it for me? A memory of a mayor where the person was referred to as "Mx. Mayor" (or maybe surname was used, though I don't know how that's decided in a genderless society). I just can't deal with it. Just tell a story and stop trying to jam-pack it with gender politics.
I don’t know who the target audience is but it's not me. Shame, too, since I enjoyed Skythane and gave it four stars. If this is an example of what I can expect from future Coatsworth books then I won't even bother.
Within the first chapter we got a gay guy, a trans woman, a bisexual guy and someone of an unknown sexuality who dates a non-binary person. I'm gay but this was already being on my nerves. These people live on the Moon and believe they're the last of humanity. IIRC, the specific number was 12,000. I have to assume that every citizen would be required to "do their duty" to make sure humanity continues to exist before anything else. Maybe they did prior to the beginning of the book. It's hard to tell because they act like children in a very literal sense. I was surprised when one of them said something about how adulthood sucks. I had assumed they were high school age teenagers based on their behavior.
Turns out there are a handful of people alive on Earth. The ones we meet are Aidan and Ally, siblings, who have twin brothers and a mother to look out for. That's the extent of their knowledge of anyone being alive. They're living under the assumption when they die then humanity will be extinct.
With that setup, the 'loonies' who came to Earth were blown out of the sky by a missile but they managed to parachute away. Rai and Tien are separated from Hera and Ghost. The first two go down in the water in view of Aidan and Ally, who come to their rescue. Good so far. Then we get something about Rai and Aidan locking eyes and something passing between them. This is while they're still trying not to drown. On top of that, given that the only people he knows are his family, I'd have to say he'd at best be confused over anything to do with sexuality outside of what he knows, which is a het family dynamic.
The thing that finally killed it for me? A memory of a mayor where the person was referred to as "Mx. Mayor" (or maybe surname was used, though I don't know how that's decided in a genderless society). I just can't deal with it. Just tell a story and stop trying to jam-pack it with gender politics.
I don’t know who the target audience is but it's not me. Shame, too, since I enjoyed Skythane and gave it four stars. If this is an example of what I can expect from future Coatsworth books then I won't even bother.
adventurous
hopeful
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
What it lacks in nuance it makes up for in the range of queer characters
Lots of interesting concepts and plot points, no character has a unique internal world.
Lots of interesting concepts and plot points, no character has a unique internal world.
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
A fun and good read. Kept me engaged, I was invested in the characters, good plot and character development.
you know what? i like to try be kind to indie authors, especially those writing about marginalised experiences and who are marginalised themselves... but MY GOD this book got on my nerves. and what really got me was that it pitches itself as having a diverse cast, but then undermines basically all of that "representation" except for the cis, able-bodied white people. it repeatedly deadnames its trans female protag, it can't go two mentions of its paraplegic protag without mentioning how ~brave~ she is for being disabled, and even the cis white gays basically turn to the camera and tell us that they are colossal homosexuals. and i stopped reading when one character asked another if she's chinese, just so the author can let the reader know they're basically beyond caring about race now. really cool. really diverse. cis white gays, do better!
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
adventurous
challenging
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
Rarely are post-apocalypse tales so full of hope. This is the book The 100 could have been – and then it all goes a bit Sherri S Tepper.
Rai, Tien, Hera, Ghost, and Sam are part of a mission to reclaim the Earth more than a hundred years after all life there was wiped out. Aidan and Ally live under a mountain with their mother and brothers: the last five people alive – or so they think.
More than 400 pages of found family, hope for the future, and celebration of all types of diversity. It's got everything you could want in a story: compelling characters, intricate world-building, and a story that keeps you turning the pages long after you should have gone back to working on your own novel. Deadlines, schmeadlines.
Trigger warnings: deadnaming, memories of child abuse, death, cruelty to animals (it's a robot dog, but still).
Rai, Tien, Hera, Ghost, and Sam are part of a mission to reclaim the Earth more than a hundred years after all life there was wiped out. Aidan and Ally live under a mountain with their mother and brothers: the last five people alive – or so they think.
More than 400 pages of found family, hope for the future, and celebration of all types of diversity. It's got everything you could want in a story: compelling characters, intricate world-building, and a story that keeps you turning the pages long after you should have gone back to working on your own novel. Deadlines, schmeadlines.
Trigger warnings: deadnaming, memories of child abuse, death, cruelty to animals (it's a robot dog, but still).
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Deadnaming, Death
Minor: Child abuse, Homophobia, Incest