Reviews tagging 'Pregnancy'

Some Desperate Glory by Emily Tesh

71 reviews

exaal's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring reflective tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

"Some Desperate Glory" is an exciting tale with many twists and turns. Taking a page out of Ender's Game, this book explores the morality behind warfare, the conscription of child soldiers, xenophobia, and the fate of the human race. With LGBTQ+ undertones, the main character, Kyr, goes through drastic changes in character in this story that spans time and space.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Xenophobia and War

Moderate: Child death, Gun violence, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Suicide, Grief, Death of parent, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Child abuse, Genocide, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Murder, and Pregnancy

crownoflaurel's review

adventurous challenging fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Xenophobia and War

Minor: Rape, Sexual assault, Pregnancy, and Outing

thecriticalreader's review

adventurous dark inspiring slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

 

Context:

I borrowed Some Desperate Glory by Emily Tesh from my library through the Libby App.

 

Review:

Just to get it out of the way: Some Desperate Glory is billed as a “queer space opera,” but that’s not really what this book is. So, if that’s why you picked up the book, you might want to adjust your expectations. In fact, I would recommend letting go of a lot of expectations even as you start the book because the plot takes a giant left turn at around the 30% mark.

 

That being said, there is a lot about this book that impressed me. Tesh writes the main character, Kyr, as despicable and deeply unlikable at the beginning, but manages to give her a convincing character arc throughout the story. The side characters, too, are well-written and fascinating. The overall plot hooked me, and I found the ending section to be riveting. 

 

One of the biggest issues I have with Some Desperate Glory is the worldbuilding technological mechanism that allows the plot and character development to occur: it’s baffling—nonsensical, even. The more I try to think about how and why such technology might work, the more my brain hurts. The author even admits that it’s nonsensical in the book’s acknowledgments! Furthermore, Tesh uses this fantastical “technology” to create an unnecessary deus ex machina ending. If I didn’t like the core storyline and the characters so much, this flaw would have ruined the book for me.

 

In terms of the thematic elements of the book, I liked that the book used its (quite dark and disturbing) dystopian elements to condemn fascism, misogyny, homophobia, etc. There are a few missteps here and there—

for example, I found it impossible to root for a character, who, in a slightly different timeline, casually committed mass genocide of trillions of people

—and some lack of nuance as Tesh focuses on developing the story and characters. However, I couldn’t help but cheer on Kyr as she grows as a person and fights to save the world and the people she cares about.

 

The Run-Down: 

You will probably like Some Desperate Glory if . . . 

·      You want to read a story with flawed, complex characters

·      You like time travel/multiverse fiction

·      You want a gripping sci-fi story that keeps you on the edge of your seat 

 

You might not like Some Desperate Glory if . . .

·      You are sensitive to the triggers listed at the beginning of the book—seriously, things get dark!

·      You don’t want to read from the perspective of someone who is truly a garbage human being (at least to start)

·      You want to read about a lesbian romance (there is little to no romance in this book)

·      You hate when science fiction worldbuilding makes no sense

 

A Similar Book: 

Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card. Similarities include:

·      A young, genetically engineered protagonist who is trained and groomed to fight in a war between humans and aliens

·      Discussions surrounding genetic engineering/eugenics, military propaganda, and genocide

 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Genocide, Hate crime, Homophobia, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Suicide, Xenophobia, Medical trauma, Murder, and War

Moderate: Animal death, Gun violence, Rape, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail

forthe_girlwhowaited's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Genocide, Homophobia, Suicide, Pregnancy, and War

rowans_revenge's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

• 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? Yes

4.75

Absolutely amazing. Emily Tesh crafts a compelling space opera that serves as an allegory for modern warfare. This is a truly unique and well written book, and though it was a little dense at times, I can’t wait to read it again. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Genocide, Racism, Sexism, Pregnancy, and War

brindlecat's review

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide and Xenophobia

Moderate: Homophobia, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Pregnancy, and War

toopunkrockforshul's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Really loved this, it kept me on my toes the whole way through and the characters were so interesting and compelling. The audiobook was amazing too, the narrator did a great job with all of the voices. Wonderful. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Sexual assault, Suicide, Violence, Xenophobia, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Gaslighting, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Homophobia, Rape, and Pregnancy

Minor: Incest, Racism, Police brutality, Abortion, and Outing

primaius's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Homophobia, Misogyny, Suicide, Xenophobia, and Colonisation

Moderate: Racism, Pregnancy, and Sexual harassment

minervacerridwen's review against another edition

adventurous dark hopeful medium-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? Yes

5.0

I love that this book didn't treat brainwashing as something a character can just as easily shake off. The things Kyr had learned all her life kept returning to haunt her, and I think that's the strength of this book. Action-packed with some shocking turns and interesting worldbuilding, Some Desperate Glory was an impressive rollercoaster.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Ableism, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Homophobia, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

tsubhdearg's review against another edition

Found the first section too triggering to continue 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Pregnancy

Forced pregnancy very triggering