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laurareads87's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
This was my first Elizabeth Bear novel, and while it's part of a series it did read well as a standalone. This novel follows Dr. Jens, a rescue specialist, who is sent to investigate when an ancient generation ship is discovering moving quickly and off course with an unresponsive contemporary ship attached to it. The novel explores themes of artificial intelligence, medical ethics, free will, and class inequality.
What worked for me: I loved the diverse cast of characters, including many profoundly non-humanoid aliens. I appreciated Dr. Jens as a queer disabled protagonist, and her experiences of chronic pain & pain management felt very relatable and believable to me as someone who's lived with long term injuries. Dr. Jens was a multi-faceted character who is both complex and easy to root for. I liked that the novel's handling of its themes felt deliberate and thoughtful, but not preachy, and I really liked the descriptions of the aliens and the space hospital. The plot moved quickly and kept me engaged, and there were one or two plot developments I did not see coming.
What didn't work so well: The novel was a bit slow to grab my attention -- by around 20% in I was hooked, but before then I was not particularly interested. Some of the action scenes were a bit hard to follow by virtue of the very alien technology involved.
Overall, I'd absolutely read more from Elizabeth Bear based on this novel, which I enjoyed & recommend.
Content warnings: chronic illness, medical content, medical trauma, violence, a few minor instances of homophobic and/or sexist comments
What worked for me: I loved the diverse cast of characters, including many profoundly non-humanoid aliens. I appreciated Dr. Jens as a queer disabled protagonist, and her experiences of chronic pain & pain management felt very relatable and believable to me as someone who's lived with long term injuries. Dr. Jens was a multi-faceted character who is both complex and easy to root for. I liked that the novel's handling of its themes felt deliberate and thoughtful, but not preachy, and I really liked the descriptions of the aliens and the space hospital. The plot moved quickly and kept me engaged, and there were one or two plot developments I did not see coming.
What didn't work so well: The novel was a bit slow to grab my attention -- by around 20% in I was hooked, but before then I was not particularly interested. Some of the action scenes were a bit hard to follow by virtue of the very alien technology involved.
Overall, I'd absolutely read more from Elizabeth Bear based on this novel, which I enjoyed & recommend.
Content warnings: chronic illness, medical content, medical trauma, violence, a few minor instances of homophobic and/or sexist comments
Content Warnings
Graphic: Medical trauma, Medical content, and Chronic illness
Moderate: Violence
Minor: Homophobia and Sexism
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