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alexijai98'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? It's complicated
4.75
Graphic: Xenophobia, Genocide, Medical content, War, Colonisation, Violence, and Vomit
Moderate: Sexual content
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
amberacks12's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
The characters weren’t always lovable. I would love to read more about Mahit and Yskander navigating more of their new identity, I maybe would have liked Mahit to be just a little less helpless and needing Three Seagrass to rescue her from every mess she gets herself in. Eight Antidote was not very believable as an eleven year old, though very entertaining at times. And I wish we could have learned more about Twenty Cicada and his planet and religion. In summary, I would not have minded a third addition to this series.
I don’t feel intelligent enough to review this book in any more depth.
So I’ll just stop there and say that I loved it.
Enjoyment: 4
Educational value: 5 (in the context of the world building)
Emotional impact: 3
Graphic: Sexual content
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, exilemintshoongi's review
- 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
4.0
Moderate: Sexual content
starlitpage'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
5.0
Graphic: War, Death, and Violence
Moderate: Sexual content, Body horror, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, and Alcohol
Minor: Grief, Vomit, Cursing, and Colonisation
yruss972's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Classism, Gore, and Xenophobia
pocket's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: War, Colonisation, Violence, Genocide, and Vomit
Moderate: Sexual content