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laguerrelewis's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Death of parent, Child death, Classism, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Medical trauma, Torture, Grief, Hate crime, Pregnancy, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Slavery, Suicide attempt, Violence, Abortion, Alcohol, Sexual violence, Death, Medical content, Rape, Toxic friendship, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual harassment, Confinement, Police brutality, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Child abuse and Transphobia
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
nagev's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Death of parent, Homophobia, Abortion, Classism, Racism, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Violence, and Confinement
Moderate: Pregnancy, Police brutality, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual violence, Bullying, Chronic illness, Medical trauma, Gaslighting, Fire/Fire injury, Death, Blood, Abandonment, Torture, Transphobia, Rape, Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, Vomit, Slavery, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Sexism, Panic attacks/disorders, Murder, Misogyny, Medical content, Lesbophobia, and Grief
Minor: Ableism, Child abuse, and Alcohol
solenodon's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Torture, Injury/Injury detail, Police brutality, Sexism, Sexual assault, Abortion, Child death, Death, Murder, Physical abuse, Medical trauma, Child abuse, Colonisation, Medical content, Racism, Religious bigotry, Misogyny, Ableism, Classism, Confinement, Death of parent, Grief, Rape, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Slavery, Violence, Body shaming, Mental illness, Self harm, Transphobia, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Excrement, Fire/Fire injury, Racial slurs, Gore, Homophobia, Pedophilia, Suicidal thoughts, and Lesbophobia
Minor: Alcohol
paperbrownies's review
- 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
4.0
- f|f
-rep: black intersex neurodivergent nonbinary woman mc, nonbinary woman sc (see author’s twitter thread), aroace sc and a casting of racially diverse and queer characters
if i had to say anything about this book, then it would be:
’talented. brilliant. incredible. amazing. showstopping. spectacular. never the same. TOTALLY UNIQUE. completely not ever been done before.’
this. this is my review!!!
-cw: surgery, medical content, needles, transphobia, misgendering, alcohol, death of parent, systematic violence, illness, off-page and on-page suicide, brief mention of cancer, implied child sexual abuse, body horror, injury/injury detail, self harm, abortion, physical abuse, intake of bodily fluids, child death, fire, suicide, torture, confinement, police brutality, minor sexual content
Graphic: Confinement, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Suicide, Transphobia, Body horror, Self harm, Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Police brutality, and Violence
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Abortion
Minor: Cancer, Murder, and Sexual content
nytephoenyx's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Graphic: Blood, Body shaming, Bullying, Child death, Classism, Death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Gun violence, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Misogyny, Murder, Police brutality, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, and Homophobia
Moderate: Ableism, Domestic abuse, and Emotional abuse
Minor: Abandonment, Abortion, Alcohol, Pedophilia, and Religious bigotry
akblair'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
3.75
Graphic: Abortion, Blood, Body horror, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Racism, Rape, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide attempt, and Torture
Moderate: Alcohol, Child death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Medical trauma, Pregnancy, Sexual content, and Slavery
blockieran'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? Yes
5.0
The representation is everything I want in one book. Labels aren't explicitly stated (mostly because they don't exist in this world) but there is a black queer intersex character who seems to be autistic and a trans character with OCD and they own my heart. I want to keep reading forever because it hurts to leave them behind.
Be warned: I thought this was mainly an adventure story with discrimination as a background setting. It's very much in your face though.
Graphic: Abandonment, Ableism, Abortion, Blood, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Dysphoria, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, Lesbophobia, Medical content, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Religious bigotry, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, and Vomit
Minor: Alcohol, Cancer, and Drug use
darkmattersoybean'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? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Abortion, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Biphobia, Blood, Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Genocide, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Medical content, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Murder, Racism, Rape, Sexual content, Slavery, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic friendship, Transphobia, Vomit, and Violence