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3.19 AVERAGE
3.19 AVERAGE
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
English is not my native language so, please, excuse any errors that may have escaped my proofreading.
I received this as an advance reader copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All opinions my own.
This book sums up quite a lot of my interests at the moment: space pirates, sapphic protagonists, Asia diaspora authors and comfort reads.
I absolutely adored the opening chapters where we are completely thrown into action and, little by little, we are putting the pieces together until the whole scene blooms before the readers eyes. Following the beginning, they rhythm became a little bit irregular at times, mostly towards the middle of the book, but I was so interested in the story, and the developments between the main characters, that I did not feel it dragging.
If a book is about space pirates, with a sentient spaceship, you bet there is going to have some challenging descriptions to bring that to life, and for my liking Aliette excels at it. The way words were used to put galaxies and stars together are just breath taking. But also, they way the characters bloom from a convenience arranged marriage and very dispar interests to actual deep care and ever loving sacrifice is pure bliss to read. Rice Fish’s character development is just *chef’s kiss*. As I was nearing the end I was realising how deeply involved I was on their dynamic and to be fair, I would absolutely love another book about them.
In this same line, I would have adored to know more about the world. I felt this one slightly short, as if the reader was only on “need to know basis”. It is probably because I am way too spoiled with 600 page trilogies that I felt the need to know more about everything, even though it was not strictly necessary for this story. If Aliette had wanted to give us more about the Banners and the Empire I would have been cheering from my sofa. But then again, I feel like it would have taken the book to another vibe, broader, more intergalactic space opera than actually cozy engineering logic driven family grieving spaceship and passionate, familial driven and emotional warm hearted Xích Si.
The only detail that make me a bit startled was the honorific titles. I don’t know if it is because I am now very used to their use, but it read slightly forced when I came across with translated terms as “little sister” and “child” when referencing her wife. I know it’s entirely up to preferences but I would have felt more natural to me to leave them in their original form. After all, I was reading the accent in Xích Si as a tonal marker, even though it may not have been.
An absolute compelling story that will leave you wanting more, both if you are already familiar with Aliette’s prose, or this was your first taste of her imagination.
I received this as an advance reader copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All opinions my own.
This book sums up quite a lot of my interests at the moment: space pirates, sapphic protagonists, Asia diaspora authors and comfort reads.
I absolutely adored the opening chapters where we are completely thrown into action and, little by little, we are putting the pieces together until the whole scene blooms before the readers eyes. Following the beginning, they rhythm became a little bit irregular at times, mostly towards the middle of the book, but I was so interested in the story, and the developments between the main characters, that I did not feel it dragging.
If a book is about space pirates, with a sentient spaceship, you bet there is going to have some challenging descriptions to bring that to life, and for my liking Aliette excels at it. The way words were used to put galaxies and stars together are just breath taking. But also, they way the characters bloom from a convenience arranged marriage and very dispar interests to actual deep care and ever loving sacrifice is pure bliss to read. Rice Fish’s character development is just *chef’s kiss*. As I was nearing the end I was realising how deeply involved I was on their dynamic and to be fair, I would absolutely love another book about them.
In this same line, I would have adored to know more about the world. I felt this one slightly short, as if the reader was only on “need to know basis”. It is probably because I am way too spoiled with 600 page trilogies that I felt the need to know more about everything, even though it was not strictly necessary for this story. If Aliette had wanted to give us more about the Banners and the Empire I would have been cheering from my sofa. But then again, I feel like it would have taken the book to another vibe, broader, more intergalactic space opera than actually cozy engineering logic driven family grieving spaceship and passionate, familial driven and emotional warm hearted Xích Si.
The only detail that make me a bit startled was the honorific titles. I don’t know if it is because I am now very used to their use, but it read slightly forced when I came across with translated terms as “little sister” and “child” when referencing her wife. I know it’s entirely up to preferences but I would have felt more natural to me to leave them in their original form. After all, I was reading the accent in Xích Si as a tonal marker, even though it may not have been.
An absolute compelling story that will leave you wanting more, both if you are already familiar with Aliette’s prose, or this was your first taste of her imagination.
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
slow-paced
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
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
adventurous
emotional
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:
Yes
adventurous
hopeful
lighthearted
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:
Complicated
emotional
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Really enjoyed the premise and the world here but the execution was just inefficient and shallow. The very few scenes showing how the main character adjusted to the pirate culture and relationship with her wife of convenience were so cursory and unconvincing. Made the whole thing pretty forgettable. So much time for spent on lengthy dialogue exchanges that barely moved things forward. Found myself wishing many of them could have been condensed to make way for a wider variety of scenes showing the characters developing and growing closer.
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I thought the world idea was awesome & I enjoyed the romance BUT I felt some of the worldbuilding / fleshing out was a bit lacking. Sometimes the narrative sped over things I would have liked to see more of. It’s a very cool and original idea though.