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anna_fangirling's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Grief, and Death of parent
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Deadnaming
blewballoon's review
adventurous
reflective
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? Yes
5.0
I wonder if this author has played the game Outer Wilds, because this book explores similar existential questions through the same medium of space exploration. I highly recommend both the book and the game. If you don't play video games, I suggest watching a thorough play through for the story. I would also recommend A Psalm for the Wild-Built and The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet as similar books to this one.
It's so much harder for me to talk about books I enjoy or that reach a deeper part of me, because when that happens I don't leave the book with a lot of specifics. I feel like a part of me was seen or shifted, and after I've finished I can't always pinpoint where it was along the journey that it happened. If I can pinpoint or articulate it, I don't want to spoil the discovery for the potential reader. In this case, it's a bit of both. I have an idea of what parts really got me, but I don't want to ruin the impact of those parts for anyone else.
That being said, for those who don't mind a big spoiler and are wondering about the cat on the cover:The cat doesn't die!
It's so much harder for me to talk about books I enjoy or that reach a deeper part of me, because when that happens I don't leave the book with a lot of specifics. I feel like a part of me was seen or shifted, and after I've finished I can't always pinpoint where it was along the journey that it happened. If I can pinpoint or articulate it, I don't want to spoil the discovery for the potential reader. In this case, it's a bit of both. I have an idea of what parts really got me, but I don't want to ruin the impact of those parts for anyone else.
That being said, for those who don't mind a big spoiler and are wondering about the cat on the cover:
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Grief, and Death of parent
Moderate: Terminal illness and Medical content
Minor: Cursing, Deadnaming, and Injury/Injury detail
azrah786's review against another edition
4.0
**I was provided with an ARC through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review**
CW: gun violence, injury, death, parent death, grief, swearing
--
The Last Gifts of the Universe first came to my attention last year as it was the winner of the 2nd SPSFC and now having read it – albeit the traditionally published version – let me tell you, it’s a great read!
It’s cosy in the way of Becky Chambers’ books but has a nice dash of adventure as we follow a sibling duo of space archaeologists – Scout and Kieran - and their cat Pumpkin as they go on a sort of scavenger hunt to track down information caches from dead alien civilisations. An unknown phenomenon has slowly been exterminating worlds and these caches essentially archive their technology and culture. One particular cache that they come upon may hold the key to survival but a corporation looking to monopolize any and all information are working to track down these caches too.
What I expected going in was a story packed with non-stop action and while there were some tense moments of just that it was a nice surprise to find that at its heart this book was less about the chase and more about the characters and their personal, emotional journeys.
Despite being a short book with the plot having a small scope we follow the characters to various planets and the titbits of information about the wider universe and all the intriguing technology fleshed out the worldbuilding nicely. I also liked that there were moments that showed the downtime during space travel too, of Scout, Kieran and Pumpkin just chilling and having a meal together. The mundanity of an every day activity like that is often skipped in sci-fi so it was nice to see here.
The part I loved the most though other than Pumpkin having space adventures – Pumpkin is great and truly stole the show – is how through witnessing and connecting with the final messages of the Stelhari called Blyreena (which in itself is such a moving story), Scout was able to unpack and work through their own grief. How it showed the commonality we all have when it comes to grief and loss regardless of the circumstances. It was beautifully done!
Final Rating - 4/5 Stars
CW: gun violence, injury, death, parent death, grief, swearing
--
The Last Gifts of the Universe first came to my attention last year as it was the winner of the 2nd SPSFC and now having read it – albeit the traditionally published version – let me tell you, it’s a great read!
It’s cosy in the way of Becky Chambers’ books but has a nice dash of adventure as we follow a sibling duo of space archaeologists – Scout and Kieran - and their cat Pumpkin as they go on a sort of scavenger hunt to track down information caches from dead alien civilisations. An unknown phenomenon has slowly been exterminating worlds and these caches essentially archive their technology and culture. One particular cache that they come upon may hold the key to survival but a corporation looking to monopolize any and all information are working to track down these caches too.
What I expected going in was a story packed with non-stop action and while there were some tense moments of just that it was a nice surprise to find that at its heart this book was less about the chase and more about the characters and their personal, emotional journeys.
Despite being a short book with the plot having a small scope we follow the characters to various planets and the titbits of information about the wider universe and all the intriguing technology fleshed out the worldbuilding nicely. I also liked that there were moments that showed the downtime during space travel too, of Scout, Kieran and Pumpkin just chilling and having a meal together. The mundanity of an every day activity like that is often skipped in sci-fi so it was nice to see here.
The part I loved the most though other than Pumpkin having space adventures – Pumpkin is great and truly stole the show – is how through witnessing and connecting with the final messages of the Stelhari called Blyreena (which in itself is such a moving story), Scout was able to unpack and work through their own grief. How it showed the commonality we all have when it comes to grief and loss regardless of the circumstances. It was beautifully done!
Final Rating - 4/5 Stars
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cursing, Death, Gun violence, Grief, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
libraryoflanelle's review against another edition
3.5
I'll admit, I initially requested this ARC based on the cover, but fortunately, I ended up enjoying the book too, though it did leave me wanting more.
‘The Last Gifts of the Universe’ follows Scout as they travel the universe with their brother and their cat, Pumpkin. The siblings traverse the universe in search of lost knowledge and answers to why and how multiple worlds and their civilisations died. Interspersed throughout Scout’s story are excerpts of messages recovered from an alien who may hold the answers they’re seeking.
I’m someone who loves a short book when it’s done well, but I strongly feel this book could have been more engrossing and thematically rich if it had been longer. Riley August manages to fit a lot of important plot points into this brief story, and while nothing was left unresolved, I found myself wanting more! I particularly enjoyed the themes of grief and belonging and would have loved a deeper exploration of these. Additionally, more insight into the alien species we hear from throughout the book would have been so interesting.
Overall, I had a fun time and would recommend it if you find the premise intriguing.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the e-ARC. All opinions are my own.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Grief and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Death of parent
danielles_reads's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
“In those moments of fear of other creatures, it was always important to look for the similarities. Do you know what the greatest thing we have in common with alien flora and fauna is? What the greatest thing you have in common with this bug is?”
...
“Life,” my father said, “is what we have the most in common with every other creature. We all want to live and become scared when living is threatened. All of us just want to survive and be comfortable, be happy.”
I enjoyed this! It's like if you took a Becky Chambers book and made it even more cheesy lol.
I really liked the world building, and the fast pace kept me turning the pages. The plot was pretty straightforward—just two siblings and a cat fighting against a large corporation for data caches from a long-dead civilization—but it kept me on the edge of my seat. Even though they felt a bit long and pointless at first, I really liked the segments from Blyreena, and seeing an alien civilization through the eyes of an archeologist (Her lover telling her "This one is." 🥺!!). I liked the anti-capitalism commentary regarding Verity Co having all the resources and hiding them behind a paywall, though it did make me pretty sad to think that Earth (maybe?) hundreds of years in the future (that seems to be the implied timeline?) is still stuck in late-stage capitalism...
I'm really intrigued by the concept of a society exploring the cosmos only to find every civilization dead from an unknown being, but this book only barely scratched the surface of that, and of course didn't answer the question of what happened.
Oh yeah, the main reason I wanted to read this was the space cat, and Pumpkin definitely delivered. :D
The character work was a bit weak. The author added a backstory with the two siblings' mother recently dying, which did give them poignant emotional depth, but I found the narrator, Scout, to be pretty annoying for most of the book. It was really frustrating to see them repeatedly insist to their brother that they had to keep trying to get the cache, even though there was almost zero chance of success and they kept getting into danger. And they kept saying that because Kieran was being more realistic about their chances, he must not care at all about the caches. Just... no? That's such an immature way of thinking. It was made even worse by the fact that for a while it seemed like there was no real reason Scout was even on the mission in the first place, since Kieran was doing all the important stuff, like piloting the ship, hacking into electronics, and opening and backing up the caches. I did eventually realize that they must be the anthropologist / archeologist of the mission, and just analyzes the data on the caches the two of them find? Still useless most of the time lol.
But I feel like once June started to warm up to Scout, I did too haha. I liked seeing them butt heads and grudgingly save the other. It was a very interesting dynamic.
Like I said, it did remind me of Becky Chambers a lot. Chambers is a master at creating unique aliens and loveable characters. And while her stuff can be really cozy and wholesome, she usually uses the plot events and character choices alone as a means of commenting on society and humanity. In comparison, the aliens didn't feel super alien in this book, and I didn't get super attached to the characters. Plus, the end was basically a lecture telling the reader to live in the moment and accept grief. And yes, it was cute and enjoyable, but it was very cheesy. But this is the debut of a self-published author, so I have high hopes for their future works for sure.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Death of parent
Minor: Deadnaming
loverrbboy's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
i cried:/// also i can’t read and didn’t realise that the protag is nonbinary until halfway through the book. my main reason for no 5 stars is a) how are they petting the cat while meteorside ??? like. surely the cat’s spacesuit covers the whole shit right? and the cat cant feel thru it? it’s a spacesuit?? and b) i have no idea what any of the characters look like besides pumpkin. please. i’m a visual learner, tell me what these siblings look like. need me an Ovlan. oh and not 100% closure here and the science nerd in me is unsatisfied but ITS NICE DO READ IT!! cw suffocation
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Death of parent