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discarded_dust_jacket's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
I feel like I should have a bunch of really thoughtful reactions to this story, since there’s obviously so much going on thematically, but more than anything I just feel like my brain is stuck on the buffering screen, lol.
I loved the premise—an enormous space vessel acting as a sort of Noah’s ark, harboring a human population fleeing earth in search of the proverbial promised land. I appreciated the autistic, intersex, trans/non-binary, and asexual representation, as well as the allegorical interpretation of the antebellum south.
I struggled a little bit with some of the dense “science-y” terminology and just ended up skimming a lot of it, assuming I’d be able to get the gist. I had a similar issue when I tried to visualize some of the things described (in particular, the fields where lowerdeck workers harvest crops). The only other thing that threw me off sometimes was the quick jumps around through time, and not being able to sure when a “flashback” is being described and at what point have we jumped to the present again.
Other than that I really enjoyed this book, especially the second half. It’s beautifully-written, and the characters are nuanced and richly crafted.
Graphic: Death of parent, Murder, Racism, Religious bigotry, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Physical abuse, Slavery, Torture, Toxic friendship, Ableism, Blood, Body shaming, Bullying, Child death, Classism, Confinement, Death, Grief, Mental illness, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Rape, Homophobia, and Sexual violence
Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Vomit, Abortion, and Gun violence
rcsreads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
The story of Aster learning about her mother through the journals she left behind started out so well and then kind of got lost later. We just dropped it for the middle of the book and then it reappeared at the end with a lot of solutions which clearly happened off page.
I could see why Giselle was there to show us the effects of trauma but i have no idea why she was Aster's friend, she seemed to hate her a lot and they had nothing in common apart from living on the same floor of the massive ship. I have no idea what the Lieutenants motives were, he was a cartoon villain who just decided one day that a random child was his nemesis and he was going to mess with her for the rest of his life.
It was very readable and I enjoyed it but this review seems to think otherwise...
Graphic: Medical trauma, Mental illness, Murder, Vomit, Medical content, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Religious bigotry, Torture, Toxic friendship, Violence, Abortion, Blood, Body horror, Child death, Classism, Colonisation, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Lesbophobia, Bullying, Child abuse, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Death, Gore, Homophobia, Suicide attempt, War, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual assault, Adult/minor relationship, Gaslighting, Hate crime, Self harm, Sexism, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, and Stalking
greywolfheir's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Graphic: Physical abuse, Toxic friendship, Self harm, Suicide, Violence, Classism, Grief, Death of parent, Death, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Police brutality, Sexual violence, and Racism
jdianm's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Child death, Injury/Injury detail, Transphobia, Violence, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Vomit, Medical trauma, Fire/Fire injury, Ableism, Colonisation, Sexual harassment, Self harm, Murder, Blood, Confinement, Death, Torture, Rape, Racism, Physical abuse, Dysphoria, Suicide attempt, Medical content, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Police brutality
Minor: Death of parent, Abortion, Gun violence, and Domestic abuse
dragon_s_hoard's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Death, Fire/Fire injury, Hate crime, Police brutality, Pregnancy, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Abortion, Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Cancer, Chronic illness, Dysphoria, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Suicide attempt, Torture, War, Self harm, Sexual assault, Toxic friendship, Violence, Vomit, Classism, Death of parent, Drug use, Infertility, Abandonment, Ableism, Confinement, Lesbophobia, Murder, Racial slurs, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Child abuse, Child death, Colonisation, Gaslighting, Grief, Mental illness, Sexism, Stalking, and Terminal illness
lim's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Classism, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Child abuse, Misogyny, Transphobia, Emotional abuse, Murder, Pedophilia, Violence, Racial slurs, Religious bigotry, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Torture, Police brutality, Racism, Rape, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, and Slavery
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Medical trauma, Lesbophobia, Confinement, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Panic attacks/disorders, Mental illness, Dysphoria, Death, Body shaming, Bullying, and Incest
Minor: Abortion, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Medical content, Pregnancy, Sexual content, Terminal illness, and Vomit
sarkenobi's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Medical content, Mental illness, Police brutality, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Torture, Xenophobia, Ableism, Classism, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Violence, Abandonment, Blood, Body horror, Body shaming, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Confinement, Death, Hate crime, Lesbophobia, Misogyny, Murder, Sexual violence, Toxic friendship, Dysphoria, Gore, Homophobia, and Medical trauma
Moderate: Abortion, Grief, Religious bigotry, Suicide, Death of parent, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Pregnancy, Suicide attempt, Addiction, Chronic illness, Cursing, Drug abuse, Outing, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Child death, and Miscarriage
Minor: Child abuse, Pandemic/Epidemic, and Vomit
tigger89's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Anyway. There were a lot of ways this book could have gone wrong. The concept of "antebellum slavery recreated aboard a generation ship in transit" was ambitious, and I can think of few other authors who could have done it justice — N.K. Jemisin, perhaps? Jemisin wouldn't have done the character work in the same way though, so it would have been a very different book. I thought the level of scientific crunch was perfect for the story Solomon was trying to tell. The science seemed mostly sound to my layman's understanding(with the exception of the siluminium), but rather than taking on a starring role it formed the backbone that supported the main point of the story, which was about the society that relied on that science to survive.
My only complaint about this book is that the pacing gets a little weird in the last third. A lot of time passes, but the plot remains urgent, so there's some very weird time skips that leave the narrative feeling disjointed, even rushed at times. But this only brings the overall score down to maybe a 4.75, so I rounded it up. If you're someone who likes your sci-fi with science that at least puts up a pretense of being grounded in fact, but who still prefers a focus on character and society over hard scientific crunch, the style of this book would probably appeal to you. Just be mindful of the content warnings, as there's quite a lot of them and Solomon pulls no punches.
Graphic: Child death, Death, Homophobia, Misogyny, Slavery, Transphobia, Violence, Religious bigotry, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Police brutality, Racism, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Abortion, Blood, Classism, Death of parent, Child abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Medical content, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, and Sexual content
Minor: Suicide, Alcohol, Pedophilia, and Pregnancy
arguhlincozzi's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Abandonment, Classism, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Police brutality, Self harm, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, War, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Violence, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Abortion, Body shaming, Child death, Confinement, Death, Grief, Homophobia, Mental illness, Blood, Child abuse, Excrement, and Physical abuse
oworthyfool'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? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Bullying, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Police brutality, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Medical trauma, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Self harm, Sexism, Suicide attempt, Ableism, Xenophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Vomit, Dysphoria, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Violence, Child abuse, Classism, Murder, Religious bigotry, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Colonisation, Confinement, Genocide, Grief, Gun violence, Racism, Sexual harassment, Abandonment, Blood, Body horror, Child death, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, and Hate crime
Moderate: Abortion, Abandonment, Fire/Fire injury, and Excrement