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untimelysteph's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
tense
slow-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
tatteredwings's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
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? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Physical abuse, Suicide, Vomit, Abortion, Violence, Torture, Sexual assault, Racism, Slavery, and Sexism
Moderate: Rape
pink_distro's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
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? It's complicated
4.0
this was powerful... the characters and society on the space ship were interesting to me. loved seeing how the characters grow with each other.
norabelle's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
trapezeswinger42's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
tangiblereads's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
An Unkindness of Ghosts is a unique foray into racism, classism, identity, sexuality, mental illness and environmentalism. I was surprised to find comedy as well. The book was a job well done for the most part. World building was up there. A few plot holes/things that didn't make sense, but it didn't dampen my enjoyment that much. I am not a sequel person, but I wouldn't mind one.
stripes_and_naps's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.75
This book was intense, but overall a very good read. I felt like the author did a great job building the world and the characters, so much so that I found myself wishing there was a sequel. I would definitely recommend this book to others, though with a strong caution to review the trigger warnings and be prepared for graphic content.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Religious bigotry, Transphobia, Body horror, Racism, Lesbophobia, Murder, Rape, Abortion, Blood, Death of parent, Physical abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Classism, Colonisation, Homophobia, Torture, Sexual violence, Misogyny, Police brutality, Self harm, Violence, Toxic friendship, Slavery, and Sexual assault
Minor: Animal death and Animal cruelty
cassandrasassaman's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
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
4.25
Wonderfully and skillfully written. The attention to detail, the endless creativity, and the power of world building made this a really enjoyable read. I loved the characters. They were complex, infuriating, and yet, so lovable. However, the book was too sad and violent for my taste which is my only reason to dock it .5 points.
intorilex's review against another edition
5.0
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Actual Rating 4.5 Stars
Through the lens of Aster we are thrown into a harsh world where people have been used as slaves to help navigate the space ship Matilda, to the Promised land for over three hundred years. Aster is a compelling brilliant and queer character. She's on a mission to discover what happened to her mother and fight back against the cruelty of the guards and leaders of Matilda. The low-deckers live on the poorest part of the ship, are dark skinned and treated like animals. Asters ability to understand science allows her to move beyond the low-decks and gain some status. But her aloofness and obsessions would place her on the Autistic spectrum. She works as a assistant to the Surgeon on the ship and uses her scientific research and knowledge to grow plants and provide much needed medicine to her fellow low-deckers.
Beyond the harsh slave like conditions people are subject to on the ship, there is diverse representation shown through the characters beyond race. Aster does not identify as a woman, and behaves in masculine ways. Some of the low decks go by the pronoun They, and the author does a great job describing how and why it is used. There are also non-hetero pairings described in the book between characters. Giselle is Aster's best friend/sister who is often negative and suffering from a mental illness. Aster shows her empathy and sympathy when dealing with the consequences of her illness. The community that persist among the low-deckers despite the harsh treatment they are subject to was inspiring. There are so many characters to root for. Aster and Giselle complemented each other well because Aster was painfully logical while Giselle was ruled by her emotions.
The violence and unfair treatment described in the book was gory and hard to read at times. However the grotesque nature of what was happening highlighted the rampant injustice on Matilda. The author did a great job immersing the reader into a technologically advanced but still morally bankrupt environment. This was a weird but powerful and important story. The author has different accents and dialects for the people who occupy the decks of the ship and the level of detail was amazing. The narrator did a great job capturing all of the nuance between the character's accents. The only reason why this wasn't a five star read for me was because I wanted a bit more from the ending.
Recommended for Readers Who
-enjoy diverse gender, sexuality and mental illness representation
-want a wider gaze on how slavery can manifest
-enjoy own voice science fiction and fantasy books
Actual Rating 4.5 Stars
Through the lens of Aster we are thrown into a harsh world where people have been used as slaves to help navigate the space ship Matilda, to the Promised land for over three hundred years. Aster is a compelling brilliant and queer character. She's on a mission to discover what happened to her mother and fight back against the cruelty of the guards and leaders of Matilda. The low-deckers live on the poorest part of the ship, are dark skinned and treated like animals. Asters ability to understand science allows her to move beyond the low-decks and gain some status. But her aloofness and obsessions would place her on the Autistic spectrum. She works as a assistant to the Surgeon on the ship and uses her scientific research and knowledge to grow plants and provide much needed medicine to her fellow low-deckers.
"I am a boy and a girl and a witch all wrapped into one very strange, flimsy, indecisive body. Do you think my body couldn't decide what it wanted to be?"
Beyond the harsh slave like conditions people are subject to on the ship, there is diverse representation shown through the characters beyond race. Aster does not identify as a woman, and behaves in masculine ways. Some of the low decks go by the pronoun They, and the author does a great job describing how and why it is used. There are also non-hetero pairings described in the book between characters. Giselle is Aster's best friend/sister who is often negative and suffering from a mental illness. Aster shows her empathy and sympathy when dealing with the consequences of her illness. The community that persist among the low-deckers despite the harsh treatment they are subject to was inspiring. There are so many characters to root for. Aster and Giselle complemented each other well because Aster was painfully logical while Giselle was ruled by her emotions.
"You are mean because inside you're are tiny, so tiny you cannot hold up the weight of your own body. You must inflate your ego just to fill the skin. You float around like a helium balloon. Blown up and bloated and gassy and empty."
The violence and unfair treatment described in the book was gory and hard to read at times. However the grotesque nature of what was happening highlighted the rampant injustice on Matilda. The author did a great job immersing the reader into a technologically advanced but still morally bankrupt environment. This was a weird but powerful and important story. The author has different accents and dialects for the people who occupy the decks of the ship and the level of detail was amazing. The narrator did a great job capturing all of the nuance between the character's accents. The only reason why this wasn't a five star read for me was because I wanted a bit more from the ending.
Recommended for Readers Who
-enjoy diverse gender, sexuality and mental illness representation
-want a wider gaze on how slavery can manifest
-enjoy own voice science fiction and fantasy books