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italapas's review
adventurous
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
4.5
This is a nominee for the 2024 Hugo Award and I can see why. It's very engaging and enjoyable to read. The main protagonist's character arc starting in what is basically a cult, coming out of that and learning to be a member of the wider interstellar society is excellent.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse, Misogyny, Sexism, Racism, Xenophobia, War, Emotional abuse, and Homophobia
This does refer to forced pregnancy and implied infanticide. It's not a large part of the book, but is definitely there.elee2013's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
sad
tense
medium-paced
- 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
This was fantastic and Kyr goes on the most dramatic character journey of all time
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Suicide, Sexual assault, and Child abuse
Moderate: Transphobia, Homophobia, and Adult/minor relationship
Phobia towards genderqueer/nongendered peopleemily_mh's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- 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
5.0
I read this book on a friend’s recommendation and honestly bless her, because it was phenomenal. It’s the kind of story where I had no idea what was going to happen next, and I mean that in the best possible way. Every time I would be like “ah, it’s this trope”, and then pages later Tesh would flip everything on its head. I was sooooo invested and truly hooked by this fresh, original approach.
The plot was not the only mind-blowing thing about the book. It was also packed with existentialism, posing questions such as: what choices in the past lead us to our current reality? Are there certain outcomes which are inevitable in every reality? Who gets to decide what is for the “greater good” - who gets to even DEFINE the “greater good”? I love when books pose these ethical and philosophical questions and then the whole narrative is an exploration of them. Some may be answered, some may be left open, ultimately beyond the scope of the story to answer. But in every case the reader is challenged to consider things they may never have before.
Tesh also tackles extremist indoctrination as a main theme, as MC Kyr (along with most of the SCs), experiences this having grown up on Gaea Station, a military post containing the humans who survived the destruction of Earth and seek revenge from the alien perpetrators. This was heavy to read about. Gaea’s society is founded on eugenics (specifically relating to race and ability), as well as misogyny, sexism, queerphobia, and bioessentialism, and the sexual violence these engender. And Kyr, at the beginning of the book, is the poster child for Gaea. Her character arc is inexplicably wrapped up in deprogramming her indoctrination as she is exposed to the world outside Gaea. It is truly astonishing how much Kyr changes over the course of the novel, and how much she discovers about herself when free from oppressive social constructs. Kyr is by no means perfect at the end of the book, but she also isn’t the same person she was in the first chapter. It is important to note that Tesh as the author always presents the above topics (eugenics, sexual violence) as abhorrent. Even when Kyr doesn’t understand their horrors, you as the reader know that Gaea is deeply, deeply wrong, that Kyr is deeply, deeply wrong, and Tesh does too.
I wouldn’t say this is “found family” like the synopsis proclaims. Every relationship in the book is too complicated and messy and often filled with both love AND hate, to fit neatly into a usually wholesome and straightforward trope. And that’s to this book’s credit. The characters all feel real because none of them can be perfectly squared away into an archetype, their understandably complicated reactions to one another birthed out of the complex situations they find themselves in.
I am so glad my friend recommended this to me and that I decided to give it a go. The only criticisms I can think of right now are that I wish the commentary on eugenics and disability had been made more explicit, and that the ending felt a touch deus ex machina (but maybe that was ironically intentional). Regardless, this book deserved its 5 stars.
Rep: queer MC, queer SCs, Afro-Latina SC
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, War, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Suicide, Child abuse, Murder, Violence, Genocide, and Gun violence
Moderate: Ableism, Homophobia, Cursing, Sexual harassment, Body horror, Animal death, Colonisation, Physical abuse, Sexism, Racism, Transphobia, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, and Death of parent
Minor: Vomit, Abortion, Rape, Torture, Blood, Suicide attempt, Fire/Fire injury, Slavery, Sexual content, Alcohol, Suicidal thoughts, Medical content, Self harm, and Drug use
Major: queer used as a slur 6 times, loss of a loved one, bioessentialism, eugenics, misgendering Minor: suicide ideationbrekaboujie's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
This book was SO GOOD. Another point to add to my mental list of "why do I bother reading sci fi by men, women do it so much better". This is a great combination of flawed and interesting characters, extreme high stakes, wonderful twists and turns, great pacing, and a really clear idea from the author of what they wanted to get out of this story. The whole premise of Gaea and our introduction to a terribly biased narrator was brilliant. I had such a sinking feeling through the beginning of the book and going on that journey of discovery with the main character was GREAT, it was so tense and emotional and interesting.
It was also super immersive - I was completely sucked into this world and every scene and section felt necessary and useful to the plot (seems a low bar but honestly such a relief after my recent reads which were not like that at all), and I loved how everything kept falling into place perfectly set up from the previous scenes and knowledge I'd been given.
Also the end !!!!!!!!!! Heck yeah. Solid ending. Love a good ending.
Final point - it's quite an intense book, and the version I read had content warnings at the beginning which was cool. I will say that everything was done really sensitively and well - very little explicit showing of the nasty content warnings, much more themed and just general knowledge of things Just Being Like That. It did remind me a bit of The Handmaid's Tale thematically, but imagine that's a side plot and it's not quite as bad and also they're in space and have guns. So nothing like it really. But regardless, there was a point towards the end of this bookwhere in my mind I literally went WOMEN YES WOMEN THE CONNECTION OF UNIVERSAL SUFFERING !!!!! So enjoy that moment if you read this. Great book.
It was also super immersive - I was completely sucked into this world and every scene and section felt necessary and useful to the plot (seems a low bar but honestly such a relief after my recent reads which were not like that at all), and I loved how everything kept falling into place perfectly set up from the previous scenes and knowledge I'd been given.
Also the end !!!!!!!!!! Heck yeah. Solid ending. Love a good ending.
Final point - it's quite an intense book, and the version I read had content warnings at the beginning which was cool. I will say that everything was done really sensitively and well - very little explicit showing of the nasty content warnings, much more themed and just general knowledge of things Just Being Like That. It did remind me a bit of The Handmaid's Tale thematically, but imagine that's a side plot and it's not quite as bad and also they're in space and have guns. So nothing like it really. But regardless, there was a point towards the end of this bookwhere in my mind I literally went WOMEN YES WOMEN THE CONNECTION OF UNIVERSAL SUFFERING !!!!! So enjoy that moment if you read this. Great book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Xenophobia, Violence, War, and Suicide
Moderate: Homophobia, Rape, and Genocide
Minor: Child abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Pregnancy, Abortion, Racism, Emotional abuse, and Misogyny
A lot of heavy themes but all dealt with sensitively! There is one scene where somonehanz's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism, Transphobia, Genocide, Sexual assault, Child abuse, Racism, Homophobia, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Ableism, and Violence
Moderate: Pregnancy
Minor: Abortion
lelcopter's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault and Racism
Moderate: Sexual harassment, Homophobia, Transphobia, and Child abuse
bex_knighthunterbooks's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
A sci-fi adventure, potentially with good YA/Adult crossover appeal or as an entry to sci-fi, but it is quite dark (check triggers, but the assault side it is generally threats or off-screen). Set on a space station, a small group of humans have formed a militaristic dystopian society after Earth was destroyed by aliens.
The main character is completely indoctrinated, and so is pretty infuriating to follow, but this does give big scope for character development as she gets her eyes opened. The other main character (arguably - though there is only one POV) is also a douche with questionable morals, and then the other side characters are more one dimensional, which means I found it hard to get invested from a character perspective in this book.
I think the plot was quite clever, with a few twists or reveals that I really didn't see coming and I thought added an interesting element to the story. The setting does have a few interesting elements (e.g. the agoge/wisdom, the planet crysalthamus - excuse the spelling, I listened to this on audio), but the ones that intrigued me weren't very deeply explored (the impact of the wisdom on society would be huge and fascinating!), and instead most of the focus was on the space station, which felt like your standard space fascism with elements of handmaid's tale.
There are lots of themes, which I did find interesting: bodily autonomy, fascism, cycles of revenge driving war, are humans inherently dangerous, impact of propaganda and indoctrination, being queer in a heteronormative world - but I don't think these were any of them explored in much depth, and were dealt with in quite a heavy-handed way. On this aspect, I think this fits better with YA where I wouldn't expect as much nuance. I'd say this book is more focussed on the plot and action, over the world or themes, which will work well for some, but didn't especially for me.
A fun fast-paced romp, with a lot of ambitious interesting elements I'd have liked to see explored more.
The main character is completely indoctrinated, and so is pretty infuriating to follow, but this does give big scope for character development as she gets her eyes opened. The other main character (arguably - though there is only one POV) is also a douche with questionable morals, and then the other side characters are more one dimensional, which means I found it hard to get invested from a character perspective in this book.
I think the plot was quite clever, with a few twists or reveals that I really didn't see coming and I thought added an interesting element to the story. The setting does have a few interesting elements (e.g. the agoge/wisdom, the planet crysalthamus - excuse the spelling, I listened to this on audio), but the ones that intrigued me weren't very deeply explored (the impact of the wisdom on society would be huge and fascinating!), and instead most of the focus was on the space station, which felt like your standard space fascism with elements of handmaid's tale.
There are lots of themes, which I did find interesting: bodily autonomy, fascism, cycles of revenge driving war, are humans inherently dangerous, impact of propaganda and indoctrination, being queer in a heteronormative world - but I don't think these were any of them explored in much depth, and were dealt with in quite a heavy-handed way. On this aspect, I think this fits better with YA where I wouldn't expect as much nuance. I'd say this book is more focussed on the plot and action, over the world or themes, which will work well for some, but didn't especially for me.
A fun fast-paced romp, with a lot of ambitious interesting elements I'd have liked to see explored more.
Content Warnings
Graphic: War, Violence, Suicide, Child abuse, and Genocide
Moderate: Sexual assault, Adult/minor relationship, Homophobia, and Incest
Minor: Rape and Transphobia
charleyyyyy's review against another edition
5.0
🩷💛💜🩵🩷💛💜🩵
💫🌟✨️This book made me forget that I was reading✨️🌟💫
👽This book is soooo good and sooo enjoyable!! I never wanted to put it down and was always excited to pick it back up.
The plot is fast, twisty and action packed. I was on the edge of my seat the entire time. At some points I was even yelling at the book because of all the emotions it made me feel.
🚀The themes were written and explored so well!! Especially those of radicalisation, reproductive rights, colonialism, and queerness. And how the society you are apart of can effect your view on all of the above, and your own place in the world.
🗡And the charicters were incredibly well developed and written!! I love Kyr, she's so flawed and unlikeable and well writen. She is such a great and interesting main charicter. Yiso and Clio are my other favourite charicters, of course. Yiso's friendship with Kyr was so sweet!
🌍The worldbuilding was interesting, I'm new to sci-fi but I didn't struggle at all with it. This world is the perfect setting to explore these themes in.
🪐The writing sometimes got on my nerves, some times there was too much telling instead of showing, such as :"'with the old one gone, that technology is-' he closed his fist, like crushing something out of existence." Or: "'wow, how deep.' Avi said with heavy sarcasm." The telling is unnecessary in these sentences, we can figure it out on our own.
Or sentences like this: "Ursa would have told her to be less judgmental, but Ursa's opinion had stopped mattering when Ursa left." How many times do you need to say Ursa?????
💫But overall, the writing didn't take away too much enjoyment for me. So while this book has flaws, I still gave it 5 stars because of how much it emotionally impacted me, and how good the story telling was.
🌌I would definitely recommend this book if you like action packed sci-fi with a focus on important, heavy themes, and flawed main charicters.
🩷💛💜🩵🩷💛💜🩵
💫🌟✨️This book made me forget that I was reading✨️🌟💫
👽This book is soooo good and sooo enjoyable!! I never wanted to put it down and was always excited to pick it back up.
The plot is fast, twisty and action packed. I was on the edge of my seat the entire time. At some points I was even yelling at the book because of all the emotions it made me feel.
🚀The themes were written and explored so well!! Especially those of radicalisation, reproductive rights, colonialism, and queerness. And how the society you are apart of can effect your view on all of the above, and your own place in the world.
🗡And the charicters were incredibly well developed and written!! I love Kyr, she's so flawed and unlikeable and well writen. She is such a great and interesting main charicter. Yiso and Clio are my other favourite charicters, of course. Yiso's friendship with Kyr was so sweet!
🌍The worldbuilding was interesting, I'm new to sci-fi but I didn't struggle at all with it. This world is the perfect setting to explore these themes in.
🪐The writing sometimes got on my nerves, some times there was too much telling instead of showing, such as :"'with the old one gone, that technology is-' he closed his fist, like crushing something out of existence." Or: "'wow, how deep.' Avi said with heavy sarcasm." The telling is unnecessary in these sentences, we can figure it out on our own.
Or sentences like this: "Ursa would have told her to be less judgmental, but Ursa's opinion had stopped mattering when Ursa left." How many times do you need to say Ursa?????
💫But overall, the writing didn't take away too much enjoyment for me. So while this book has flaws, I still gave it 5 stars because of how much it emotionally impacted me, and how good the story telling was.
🌌I would definitely recommend this book if you like action packed sci-fi with a focus on important, heavy themes, and flawed main charicters.
🩷💛💜🩵🩷💛💜🩵
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Colonisation, Homophobia, Misogyny, Gun violence, Racism, Death, Grief, Sexual assault, Suicide, Transphobia, War, Xenophobia, and Pedophilia
exaal's review
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: War and Xenophobia
Moderate: Suicide, Sexual harassment, Grief, Death of parent, Child death, Misogyny, Gun violence, and Pedophilia
Minor: Murder, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Child abuse, Forced institutionalization, Genocide, Mental illness, Pregnancy, Rape, and Physical abuse
milliemudd's review
adventurous
emotional
tense
medium-paced
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Violence, Xenophobia, Gaslighting, Death, Gun violence, Suicide, War, Child abuse, and Genocide
Moderate: Rape, Sexism, Bullying, Racism, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Mental illness, Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Murder, and Outing
Minor: Abortion and Misogyny