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4.31 AVERAGE
4.31 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
TW: animal death, gore, assault/violence, infanticide
Not a typical alien romance. It was actually pretty refreshing to read a romance with an alien guy who wasn’t all “me big strong male, me growl all the time.” and basically trying to strong-arm the woman into following his orders bc he “knows what’s best for her”. Don’t get me wrong I LOVE alpha males but sometimes you gotta step back.
The woman love interest isn’t Uber smart and Uber sexy and Uber kickass. She’s a regular woman who has been through some shit and tries to make the world better for those in her care. She tried her bamndest and that’s what really counts. I love Sarah and her spunk. We aren’t given the usual super happy and warm ending either. Yes it’s a good one but there is still some residual pain and heartache. That shit doesn’t go away bc the hero & heroine escape and fly off to live happily ever after.
Not a typical alien romance. It was actually pretty refreshing to read a romance with an alien guy who wasn’t all “me big strong male, me growl all the time.” and basically trying to strong-arm the woman into following his orders bc he “knows what’s best for her”. Don’t get me wrong I LOVE alpha males but sometimes you gotta step back.
The woman love interest isn’t Uber smart and Uber sexy and Uber kickass. She’s a regular woman who has been through some shit and tries to make the world better for those in her care. She tried her bamndest and that’s what really counts. I love Sarah and her spunk. We aren’t given the usual super happy and warm ending either. Yes it’s a good one but there is still some residual pain and heartache. That shit doesn’t go away bc the hero & heroine escape and fly off to live happily ever after.
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
sad
slow-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:
No
Still crying
The best last 10% of a book ever. My heart! My brain!!! Everything I read by this author is SO. GOOD.
The best last 10% of a book ever. My heart! My brain!!! Everything I read by this author is SO. GOOD.
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I have read somewhere that R Lee Smith must have a low opinion of humans, based on the awful things that she has them do in her books.
Now that I have completed “the holy trinity of Smith” (The Last Hour of Gann, The Land of the Beautiful Dead, and now this book) I have to say that is…a fair assessment.
Certainly the humans in Cottonwood were either naive, corrupt, spineless, or abhorrent. The “bad guys” were cruel beyond measure. But there were other humans who were awful in different ways. There were the frustrating xenophobes of the general population and the “just following orders” types that ran the labs and acted as the guards in the camps. They all showed the truth of the worst of us.
Ugly, brutal, realistic humanity.
But there is hope here too. Hope that family and love can be found in the darkest places. That nothing is insurmountable. And that good can (eventually, after much much horror) triumph over evil.
So I’ll keep coming back to Smith’s realistic views of dismal humans and the monsters that love them!
And for being the best, hottest, and most persistent arthropodian intergalactic single dad, Sanford is headed straight to the book-husband shelf, lol!
Now that I have completed “the holy trinity of Smith” (The Last Hour of Gann, The Land of the Beautiful Dead, and now this book) I have to say that is…a fair assessment.
Certainly the humans in Cottonwood were either naive, corrupt, spineless, or abhorrent. The “bad guys” were cruel beyond measure. But there were other humans who were awful in different ways. There were the frustrating xenophobes of the general population and the “just following orders” types that ran the labs and acted as the guards in the camps. They all showed the truth of the worst of us.
Ugly, brutal, realistic humanity.
But there is hope here too. Hope that family and love can be found in the darkest places. That nothing is insurmountable. And that good can (eventually, after much much horror) triumph over evil.
So I’ll keep coming back to Smith’s realistic views of dismal humans and the monsters that love them!
And for being the best, hottest, and most persistent arthropodian intergalactic single dad, Sanford is headed straight to the book-husband shelf, lol!
The blurb for Cottonwood is ominous as fuck, but I’ll give you a brief overview:
Aliens came to Earth twenty years ago and the humans (awful ones) who received the aliens used first contact to steal the alien technology off of the ship and capture them.
The aliens were put in what I would venture to call internment camps, a concentration camp for all intents and purposes. The picture of these camps, painted by R Lee Smith is a dismal one, and thorough (I personally imagined some sort of mash up between the favelas in Brazil and the ghettos of Warsaw during WWII).
The aliens are insect-esque. They have hard outer shells, they have antennae, they have papule. They are bugs. However the word “bug” is a slur in this world that Smith created and I’ve come to love the characters so much, I hate to use it as a descriptor.
The main character, Sanford, is one of the aliens who was stranded on earth. On his home planet he was a soldier, with a family, he was important and came from wealth. Sanford was also kind, thoughtful, smart and infinitely patient. He has a son, T’aki. T’aki takes after his father, he is smart and cute and unendingly lovable. He’s never known a life outside of Cottonwood and it’s depressing as all get out.
Sarah, an optimist down to the marrow of her bones takes a job at Cottonwood hoping to make a difference and help the residents at the camp as a social worker. She is thrown to the proverbial sharks on her first day on her job. Her eyes are opened to the infinite horrors of Cottonwood and she ends up befriending and taking solace with Sanford. She pulls a Ghandi and becomes the change she wishes to see in the world.
Cottonwood’s World building was A+, the plot was strong, the characters were well developed and it was a different take on the typical sci-fi novel. I loved the reading the day to day of each character. I enjoyed the different point of views. I LOVED getting a point of view from the villain. I liked that this book made me think about the world around me. I liked that the romance was a kind one- it began as tentative trust that grew to friendship and it was a safe space for the characters. I liked the optimism that was woven through out the novel, even during the worst of situations. The ending of this book is one of the best I’ve read! You will cry. I know I did.
Cottonwood was a very well written book and I will sing It’s praises from the rooftops.
Cottonwood is a didactic novel and is rife with ethical and moral predicaments. On more than one occasion while reading, I pondered how I myself would handle some of the situations that befell the main characters. I’m not sure if the author intended for this book to have such a ethical-political impact on the reader, but it sure as heck made an impression on me.
This book was really and truly excellent.
Not at all what I was expecting, but I thoroughly enjoyed it and I have had the urge to re-read it more than once since finishing.
R. Lee Smith really wrote something special when she wrote Cottonwood and I’m very excited to read some of her backlist now.
Aliens came to Earth twenty years ago and the humans (awful ones) who received the aliens used first contact to steal the alien technology off of the ship and capture them.
The aliens were put in what I would venture to call internment camps, a concentration camp for all intents and purposes. The picture of these camps, painted by R Lee Smith is a dismal one, and thorough (I personally imagined some sort of mash up between the favelas in Brazil and the ghettos of Warsaw during WWII).
The aliens are insect-esque. They have hard outer shells, they have antennae, they have papule. They are bugs. However the word “bug” is a slur in this world that Smith created and I’ve come to love the characters so much, I hate to use it as a descriptor.
The main character, Sanford, is one of the aliens who was stranded on earth. On his home planet he was a soldier, with a family, he was important and came from wealth. Sanford was also kind, thoughtful, smart and infinitely patient. He has a son, T’aki. T’aki takes after his father, he is smart and cute and unendingly lovable. He’s never known a life outside of Cottonwood and it’s depressing as all get out.
Sarah, an optimist down to the marrow of her bones takes a job at Cottonwood hoping to make a difference and help the residents at the camp as a social worker. She is thrown to the proverbial sharks on her first day on her job. Her eyes are opened to the infinite horrors of Cottonwood and she ends up befriending and taking solace with Sanford. She pulls a Ghandi and becomes the change she wishes to see in the world.
Cottonwood’s World building was A+, the plot was strong, the characters were well developed and it was a different take on the typical sci-fi novel. I loved the reading the day to day of each character. I enjoyed the different point of views. I LOVED getting a point of view from the villain. I liked that this book made me think about the world around me. I liked that the romance was a kind one- it began as tentative trust that grew to friendship and it was a safe space for the characters. I liked the optimism that was woven through out the novel, even during the worst of situations. The ending of this book is one of the best I’ve read! You will cry. I know I did.
Cottonwood was a very well written book and I will sing It’s praises from the rooftops.
Cottonwood is a didactic novel and is rife with ethical and moral predicaments. On more than one occasion while reading, I pondered how I myself would handle some of the situations that befell the main characters. I’m not sure if the author intended for this book to have such a ethical-political impact on the reader, but it sure as heck made an impression on me.
This book was really and truly excellent.
Not at all what I was expecting, but I thoroughly enjoyed it and I have had the urge to re-read it more than once since finishing.
R. Lee Smith really wrote something special when she wrote Cottonwood and I’m very excited to read some of her backlist now.
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
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:
No
Smith has a natural gift of writing. I cared about all the characters. The author really created an immersive world.
It doesn't matter that it's similar to "District 9." Different stories can be told with similar backdrops. This does NOT end like D9 at all. This is a more fun version of that story. I won't lie though, they're really sad moments here and when I say 'fun' take it with a grain of salt. It's a dark drama truly with some creature x human sex. Totally worth reading. Glad I did.
It doesn't matter that it's similar to "District 9." Different stories can be told with similar backdrops. This does NOT end like D9 at all. This is a more fun version of that story. I won't lie though, they're really sad moments here and when I say 'fun' take it with a grain of salt. It's a dark drama truly with some creature x human sex. Totally worth reading. Glad I did.