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maryellen's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Car accident, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Body horror, Blood, and Alcohol
obliquity's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Really enjoyed this one, as expected. Ideally, I'd have liked a little more explanation as to how the link between worlds came about, but it went right along with the other hand-wave-y stuff. I suppose the writers might have later written and filmed - even if it was not shown - what had happened to them in order to help ensure Matthew's survival . Slower pace on the codas, but that worked for me. It was nice to find out more about the characters they featured, and I found the last of them to be quite sweet. Would have been nice to have a little more diversity in the characters - I don't think there was a single alien working for this supposedly universal organisation, far fewer female characters than male, and I think I recall only one LGBTQIA+ person mentioned in passing toward the end.
Graphic: Death, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Mass/school shootings
pixelateddragon's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
My Dad's been trying to get me to read this for almost a decade and since I tend to prefer high fantasy over sci-fi (when it comes to books) I hadn't picked up until now but damn am I glad I finally took the plunge.
I was a Trekkie growing up, I would watch TOS episodes over and over again, it still holds a place in my heart but a lot of it doesn't feel like it aged with me. This book feels like a grown-up and ironic love letter to Star Trek and other campy sci fi shows, it feels like my childhood nostalgia repackaged and wrapped up in a gritty meta fiction bow, and I loved every second of it.
The book was so much fun to read (it made me cry twice) the plot was amusing and felt properly tense throughout the story and the characters (even the intentionally one-dimensional ones) were fun and interesting to read about. This is one of the best executed 'meta' 4th-wall-breaking media with self aware characters that I've consumed in a long time. And it's one of the best executed ones outside of certain comics.
(Also the CODA sections for the characters left behind that we didn't get to hear much about earlier in the story were soo good.)
On a similar note: I had to sit and stare at the "is this book mainly plot- or character-driven?" section for a bit because it is /technically/ both but a bit more one in canon and more the other in the actual book for reasons I won't spoil but it's interesting ;)
I was a Trekkie growing up, I would watch TOS episodes over and over again, it still holds a place in my heart but a lot of it doesn't feel like it aged with me. This book feels like a grown-up and ironic love letter to Star Trek and other campy sci fi shows, it feels like my childhood nostalgia repackaged and wrapped up in a gritty meta fiction bow, and I loved every second of it.
The book was so much fun to read (it made me cry twice) the plot was amusing and felt properly tense throughout the story and the characters (even the intentionally one-dimensional ones) were fun and interesting to read about. This is one of the best executed 'meta' 4th-wall-breaking media with self aware characters that I've consumed in a long time. And it's one of the best executed ones outside of certain comics.
(Also the CODA sections for the characters left behind that we didn't get to hear much about earlier in the story were soo good.)
On a similar note: I had to sit and stare at the "is this book mainly plot- or character-driven?" section for a bit because it is /technically/ both but a bit more one in canon and more the other in the actual book for reasons I won't spoil but it's interesting ;)
Graphic: Death, Drug use, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Medical content, Car accident, Fire/Fire injury, and War
Minor: Gore, Gun violence, Sexual content, War, and Pandemic/Epidemic
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