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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
meremeth's review against another edition
2.5
Hm. Some powerful moments, and some confusing ones. I expected this to be a cosy low stakes story! No it is not! It's quite stressful at times lol.
The pacing is a little weird, it feels hard to settle into because it goes from zero to a hundred and back to zero repeatedly.
Characters kept pointing out holes in the main characters logic, and the main character agrees.. then ploughs along anyway ?
It's hard not to dislike the main character, they are often mean and headstrong. But it doesn't feel like they go on much of a journey of growth (just acceptance).
Other than that, I did enjoy the world building and the premise. Imagining the little space adventure cat was cute too. There were some really touching moments in there.
The pacing is a little weird, it feels hard to settle into because it goes from zero to a hundred and back to zero repeatedly.
Characters kept pointing out holes in the main characters logic, and the main character agrees.. then ploughs along anyway ?
It's hard not to dislike the main character, they are often mean and headstrong. But it doesn't feel like they go on much of a journey of growth (just acceptance).
Other than that, I did enjoy the world building and the premise. Imagining the little space adventure cat was cute too. There were some really touching moments in there.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Death of parent
Minor: Deadnaming
inamerata's review against another edition
hopeful
reflective
4.0
Gentle, contemplative, and made me tear up toward the end. It can be a little silly, but the sincerity makes it work. It's a nice complement to a low, overwhelmed mood, when you need a little rest and recognition before you can pick yourself up and keep going despite the lack of clear answers.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent
Minor: Deadnaming
withlivjones's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
I’ve only known Pumpkin the cat for two days but if anything happens to him I’ll kill everyone in this room and myself
A small but very mighty book where two space-faring siblings and their cat aid in the fight against a terrifying existential threat - and also the fight against space capitalism. I laughed, I cried, I got incredibly attached to all the characters. I had high expectations for this book as I heard it was perfect for fans of Becky Chambers, and I’m so happy to report that those expectations were met.
A small but very mighty book where two space-faring siblings and their cat aid in the fight against a terrifying existential threat - and also the fight against space capitalism. I laughed, I cried, I got incredibly attached to all the characters. I had high expectations for this book as I heard it was perfect for fans of Becky Chambers, and I’m so happy to report that those expectations were met.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Deadnaming, Death, Genocide, Gun violence, Violence, and Death of parent
silentquercus's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Grief, and Death of parent
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Deadnaming
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