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emily_mh'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
5.0
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 ideationkindra_demi's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
First, let me say, I started reading the physical book but I switched to the audiobook because again grad school. Before I get into the book, let me just say Sena Byer has become one of my favorite narrators and I cannot wait to listen to more work from her. She voices each character so well (to the point I thought there had to be new narrators for the different voices. Literally a vocal chameleon).
Now the book. I will preface with I am a sucker for books with characters whose world is shattered by getting an understanding of how messed up their perception is (such as with nationalism for this book). This book then brings in elements of trying to understand your world when dimension changes are possible. It was set for me to be a book I absolutely love.
It's so easy to get into the world. Yes, there is a lot of world-building (it's sci-fi), but it's not something I found extremely difficult. I would recommend it actually for someone who isn't super familiar with sci-fi but wants to start reading it. There are "excerpts from other books" (that are from the Some Desperate Glory universe) that help give context to the story itself.
The mc can be insufferable (and rightfully so. The mc is a teen who was raised in a military base as a "war breed child". She was literally made to serve her station.), but you watch them as they grow and change. There are characters that you'll either hate or hate to love. There are characters that I personally want to put in bubble wrap and protect their sweet souls. And all of these feelings are established early in the book. So when the multiple dimensions become a factor, it can really influence one's opinions on a character.
TL;DR: Yes read it. Read it if you love sci-fi or love stories that are about the breaking of one's nationalistic perspective. And read it in either a physical/ebook or an audiobook option. Emily Tesh (and if you chose the audiobook, Sena Byer), will not do you wrong.
Graphic: Murder, Grief, Suicide, War, Blood, Gore, Pedophilia, Sexual harassment, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Suicidal thoughts, and Violence
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Medical content, Bullying, Homophobia, Misogyny, and Torture
mo345's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: War, Xenophobia, Blood, Pregnancy, Colonisation, Confinement, Death, Genocide, Sexual assault, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Sexism, Suicide, Torture, and Violence
Moderate: Rape and Grief
Minor: Medical content, Cursing, Alcohol, and Abortion
The xenophobia tag refers to opinions some characters in the book have about aliens.scifi_rat's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Prose: 4★
Pace: 4★
Concept/Execution: 5★/4.5★
Characters: 4.75★
Worldbuilding: 4.5★
Ending: 4★
Graphic: Sexism, Suicide, Violence, War, Homophobia, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Murder, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Colonisation, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Genocide, Grief, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual assault, Abandonment, Gore, Outing, Pregnancy, Rape, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, Medical content, Pedophilia, Kidnapping, and Racism
Minor: Bullying, Blood, Abortion, and Alcohol
caseythereader's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
- Whew, this book! SOME DESPERATE GLORY has fantastic world building, morally gray characters, "are we the baddies?," a dash of queerness, and a freaking fantastic couple of twists that I will try not to give away here. You need to go in fresh on this one, just trust me.
- Kyr is going to be a hard character for a lot of people (as will several others in this book), and I loved that Tesh just did it. Yeah, she's mean and self-centered and has a limited worldview. Deal with it, alongside Kyr herself dealing with it.
- SOME DESPERATE GLORY is truly the best of what sci-fi can do. It pushes on big questions of morality while also delivering edge of your seat action. I absolutely cannot wait to see what Tesh does next.
Graphic: Abandonment, Alcohol, Blood, Death, Death of parent, Gun violence, Sexism, Suicide, Bullying, Transphobia, Violence, Child abuse, Pregnancy, Confinement, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Misogyny, and Murder
Moderate: Racism, Rape, and Sexual violence