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colossuscrunch's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Moderate: Death, Violence, Grief, and Suicidal thoughts
astrangewind's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
The plot follows a group of scientists as they make their way towards a big ol' hole on an unoccupied planet, and... that's it. The entire book starts from being in orbit, moves to landing, and then to trekking across the inhospitable plains of a foreign planet. Despite that, I found Fractal Noise to be un-put-down-able. The characterization, the interesting parts of the science, Alex's struggle with himself and losing his wife, the underlying philosophical themes, and the mystery of the hole were compelling.
I loved that there was an appendix to define in-universe terms, but there is a major spoiler in there ("The Great Beacon"), which bugs me. At the very beginning of the book, a lot of characters are introduced to the reader with some identifying characteristic or another, but most of these characters are not even remotely relevant for the remainder of the book, and it was a lot to follow. Also, the beginning of the book had some weird fatphobia towards Pushkin. (The protagonist referred to people on his planet as "starving gorillas.") I think the book would've been just as good without it.
Besides those things, which are largely nitpicks, I greatly enjoyed this book and would recommend it to anyone, even people who aren't science fiction fans.
Graphic: Grief and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Gore, Death, Medical content, Violence, and Drug use
Minor: Murder, Colonisation, Fatphobia, and Suicidal thoughts
fathom_mage's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Suicide attempt, Violence, and Murder
marirene's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Violence
Minor: Self harm
boglord's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Violence, Drug use, Gun violence, Murder, Blood, Fatphobia, Medical content, Mental illness, Gore, Suicidal thoughts, Injury/Injury detail, Death, and Grief
Moderate: Bullying, Religious bigotry, Colonisation, Pandemic/Epidemic, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Body shaming, Self harm, Vomit, and Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Excrement, Confinement, and Addiction
eliaa's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Violence, Murder, Gore, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Self harm, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Panic attacks/disorders, Gun violence, and Grief
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Physical abuse, Cursing, Body horror, and Blood
Minor: Domestic abuse and Drug use
amyreh's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Murder, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Violence and Suicidal thoughts
actuallyahorsereads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Panic attacks/disorders, Mental illness, Death, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, Xenophobia, Self harm, Medical trauma, Drug use, Drug abuse, Cursing, Violence, Religious bigotry, Racism, Grief, and Blood
dwarvenwarden's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
3.5
Moderate: Murder, Violence, and Toxic relationship
emakay's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
Graphic: Body horror, Murder, Violence, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Suicidal thoughts, and Blood