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keeper_of_dark_materials's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
There's a quick explanation of "well they haven't had a war of conquest in hundreds of years", but that doesn't really matter to me when alien xenophobia is very obviously, deeply entrenched in their society.
Also, sp**k is a real racial slur and either Martine didn't think to check, or knew and used it anyway (like, a disturbing amount of times).
Still, I can appreciate that the main cast we're mostly in agreement that they should open dialogue with the new species before they try and wipe them off the face of the galaxy, and it actually works.
Overall solid read and a good expansion on the first book, but I think the major subjects that it covers were not discussed deeply enough.
Graphic: Body horror and Death
Moderate: Racial slurs, Xenophobia, and War
frogcakes's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Graphic: War, Violence, and Death
Moderate: Vomit
Minor: Suicide
quarkie's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
One thing I really enjoyed was the pacing - while the beginning was s bit slow, the second half had me on the edge of my seat, and made it difficult to put down!
One complaint I have, that is similar to the previous book, is that sometimes plot points "just happened". Meaning that they either seemingly had no lead up to them, or that they happened and didn't actually have an effect on the plot. It left readers hanging in a few cases.
The main topics that I took away from reading this were what the concept of "you" means to various societies, which was explored in the previous book and then expanded even further upon here. It was also an interesting look at how a society that is know for consuming cultures through colonization acts when confronted with a (SPOILER ALERT) society that will much more literally consume them. Finally, this book explored more concretely the ways in which people from these various cultures interact with one another, and how they can be actively doing harm when they are in fact well-intentioned.
Moderate: Genocide, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, War, Vomit, Murder, Sexual content, Xenophobia, Death, and Violence
Minor: Grief and Alcohol
michaelcattigan's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: War, Genocide, Xenophobia, Death, and Blood
Moderate: Gore
deleore's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Beautifully woven, wonderfully sung.
Graphic: Death and War
peregrinwho's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: War and Death
Minor: Xenophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, and Medical content
nixwithapen's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Colonisation, War, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Sexual content, Genocide, Gore, and Death
Minor: Suicide and Vomit
iam's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
I especially liked Eight Antidote, the 11-year-old clone to the previous emperor. His chapters were a delight, though maybe not entirely realistic to the mind of such a young person. My suspension of disbelieve was however never broken, and his arc was just so much fun to read.
I also really liked Nine Hibiscus, the fleet captain, and Swarm, her second in command, was one of my new favourites.
But Mahit and Three Seagrass, too, had their moments, and I liked how their relationship developed.
The aliens and various technologies were all fascinating, and I really like the worldbuilding of this series.
I greatly enjoyed any direction the plot turned to, and I cannot wait for more of this series.
Content warnings include: sex on-page, death, anaphylaxis, violence, vomiting, trauma, exile, mentions of and plans to commit genocide.
Graphic: Violence, Vomit, Sexual content, and Death
Moderate: Genocide
anaphylaxis, trauma, exilecompassrosa's review against another edition
- 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? No
5.0
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Xenophobia and War
madscientistcat's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Death, Xenophobia, and War
Minor: Genocide