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andhastthouslainthejabberwock's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
skye_reads00's review against another edition
3.0
my heart ;-; so much going on packed into every page, also really like the writing style. the polyamory was woven in very naturally. there was just so much jargon and technical details without a whole lot of context, i could've used like 50 more pages.
bookish_blanche's review against another edition
3.0
A confusing but fun read
-I got this book as an eARC with Netgalley in exchange for an honest review-
When Triz's friend Casne is falsely accused of a crime, Triz and her ex Kalo will have to work together in order to save Casne. But things won't go as planned and their journey will turn out more dangerous than intended...
I don't know what to say about this book to be honest. It's a fun and quick read, and maybe it is too quick because I can't seem to remember what happened. What I know is that I liked Triz. She's fun to follow and will stop at nothing to save her friend which is beautiful. I liked the tension between her and Kalo as well. But the first few chapters - meaning half the book - had me really confused. The world building was too quick and intense and I had trouble keeping track of who was who and what was going on. But once I was into it, it was okay. Not tremendous, but fun I'd say. My heart did a few backflips because some events were a little stressful and surprising. The writing was okay as well but not particularly memorable. In fact, that's what I could say about this book. It's fun and cool, but not really amazing or fantastic. It's okay and bonus point for the polyamorous rep that was very well put into it.
If you like space opera and want a quick read, you should give this one a try I guess!
"We're family, you know that, don't you?"
-I got this book as an eARC with Netgalley in exchange for an honest review-
When Triz's friend Casne is falsely accused of a crime, Triz and her ex Kalo will have to work together in order to save Casne. But things won't go as planned and their journey will turn out more dangerous than intended...
I don't know what to say about this book to be honest. It's a fun and quick read, and maybe it is too quick because I can't seem to remember what happened. What I know is that I liked Triz. She's fun to follow and will stop at nothing to save her friend which is beautiful. I liked the tension between her and Kalo as well. But the first few chapters - meaning half the book - had me really confused. The world building was too quick and intense and I had trouble keeping track of who was who and what was going on. But once I was into it, it was okay. Not tremendous, but fun I'd say. My heart did a few backflips because some events were a little stressful and surprising. The writing was okay as well but not particularly memorable. In fact, that's what I could say about this book. It's fun and cool, but not really amazing or fantastic. It's okay and bonus point for the polyamorous rep that was very well put into it.
If you like space opera and want a quick read, you should give this one a try I guess!
"We're family, you know that, don't you?"
eol's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
tense
fast-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
2.75
kaa's review against another edition
There is the start of a fun story here, but I think the length was too short to fully capture all of the elements the author was trying to include - family relationships, romantic relationships, an investigation, and some action sequences, plus all the world building. There was so much going on that no single aspect got the attention it needed, so it was hard to feel as connected or deeply invested as I would have liked. I also felt that many aspects were uneven or inconsistent over the course of the story.
One of the most frustrating things, for me, was that I was really looking forward to a queer polyamorous romance, but (while it is certainly plenty queer) neither the existing relationship between Triz, Casne, and (especially) Nan, nor the previous relationship between Triz and Kalo was explored fully enough for me to understand the relationship dynamics and feel the chemistry between the characters. This is especially disappointing because I learned after finishing the book that it's meant to be inspired by Much Ado About Nothing (my favorite Shakespeare), but Triz and Kalo's relationship had none of that humor or spark, nor did Triz feel particularly Beatrice-like.
I also think in general I was expecting something a bit lighter and more humorous, and the fact that some parts did seem to be headed in that direction made the parts that were heavier (some of the family dynamics, Triz's insecurities, Triz's prejudices around body mods) feel a bit jarring. I think it would have been possible to navigate between a lighter tone and these weightier topics, but not at this length with so much else going on. The prejudice around body mods was especially hard to swallow, because of the ableism in this attitude, which I didn't feel was sufficiently examined - this aspect could have been left out, and still kept the larger discussion of the different attitudes towards tech, which was much more interesting.
The lack of commitment to being either a light adventure or a heavier story also made a lot of the plot hard to accept - there were a number of elements that I could have gone along with if I didn't have to take them seriously or if the world-building was grittier to justify them. However, what the story gave me was a generally pleasant world where many of the events felt overly dramatic and things were Very Bad as convenient to the plot, which constantly challenged my suspension of disbelief.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me an eARC of this book.
One of the most frustrating things, for me, was that I was really looking forward to a queer polyamorous romance, but (while it is certainly plenty queer) neither the existing relationship between Triz, Casne, and (especially) Nan, nor the previous relationship between Triz and Kalo was explored fully enough for me to understand the relationship dynamics and feel the chemistry between the characters. This is especially disappointing because I learned after finishing the book that it's meant to be inspired by Much Ado About Nothing (my favorite Shakespeare), but Triz and Kalo's relationship had none of that humor or spark, nor did Triz feel particularly Beatrice-like.
I also think in general I was expecting something a bit lighter and more humorous, and the fact that some parts did seem to be headed in that direction made the parts that were heavier (some of the family dynamics, Triz's insecurities, Triz's prejudices around body mods) feel a bit jarring. I think it would have been possible to navigate between a lighter tone and these weightier topics, but not at this length with so much else going on. The prejudice around body mods was especially hard to swallow, because of the ableism in this attitude, which I didn't feel was sufficiently examined - this aspect could have been left out, and still kept the larger discussion of the different attitudes towards tech, which was much more interesting.
The lack of commitment to being either a light adventure or a heavier story also made a lot of the plot hard to accept - there were a number of elements that I could have gone along with if I didn't have to take them seriously or if the world-building was grittier to justify them. However, what the story gave me was a generally pleasant world where many of the events felt overly dramatic and things were Very Bad as convenient to the plot, which constantly challenged my suspension of disbelief.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me an eARC of this book.
unorgaynized's review against another edition
4.0
Thank you to NetGalley and Intersteller!
A fun, rollicking beat of polyam relationships in space. The main characters are: Triz, the protagonist, a former guttergirl raised to a more comfortable living, her partner Casne, and her ex Kalo. Set is a queernorm, polyam-norm world, it's extremely refreshing to see both of those concepts used regularly and without shame. One friend of Tris's also uses (at the time of this ARC) e/eir pronouns! There aren't quite couples here, as most relationships have four people, casually called a 'gon (short for polygon). Casne, her wife Nantha, and Triz are in a relationship, and there's frank discussion that even if Triz does not find someone to complete their gon, they're happy with her all the same. It's a beautiful sort of discussion that validates the desire for partners to be loved and to want to see them happy, as well as saying they love her and they'll happily keep her where they're at, no matter if they're a triad, a quad, or a pent.
There's also the importance of family bonds: though Triz does not have a family of her own, she's more than accepted into Casne's parents' quadhousehold, who accept her. I might wish that Nantha had more appearances as she's mostly offscreen, though the times Triz considers her are clearly with love. I might wish also that Triz's fear/hatred of body mods was more explained, as it is something that plays a part throughout the book.
A fun, rollicking beat of polyam relationships in space. The main characters are: Triz, the protagonist, a former guttergirl raised to a more comfortable living, her partner Casne, and her ex Kalo. Set is a queernorm, polyam-norm world, it's extremely refreshing to see both of those concepts used regularly and without shame. One friend of Tris's also uses (at the time of this ARC) e/eir pronouns! There aren't quite couples here, as most relationships have four people, casually called a 'gon (short for polygon). Casne, her wife Nantha, and Triz are in a relationship, and there's frank discussion that even if Triz does not find someone to complete their gon, they're happy with her all the same. It's a beautiful sort of discussion that validates the desire for partners to be loved and to want to see them happy, as well as saying they love her and they'll happily keep her where they're at, no matter if they're a triad, a quad, or a pent.
There's also the importance of family bonds: though Triz does not have a family of her own, she's more than accepted into Casne's parents' quadhousehold, who accept her. I might wish that Nantha had more appearances as she's mostly offscreen, though the times Triz considers her are clearly with love. I might wish also that Triz's fear/hatred of body mods was more explained, as it is something that plays a part throughout the book.
leticiatoraci's review
4.0
Three of my favorite sentences in this book were:
"Good almost-morning. Good I-survived-flight-academy-and-I-still-don't-think-people-should-be-up-this-early-o'clock."
"He was half man and half precarious quantum state teetering on the edge of collapse."
And:
"There would be time to work over the engine of that relationship. And to consign it to the recycler if necessary, too."
I liked the polyamory relationships even if they weren't as fleshed out as I wished, but then multi-partner relationships is one of the aspects I consider really interesting in sci-fi and I can't read enough of it. I also liked the multi-layered characters and the flawed main characters.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
"Good almost-morning. Good I-survived-flight-academy-and-I-still-don't-think-people-should-be-up-this-early-o'clock."
"He was half man and half precarious quantum state teetering on the edge of collapse."
And:
"There would be time to work over the engine of that relationship. And to consign it to the recycler if necessary, too."
I liked the polyamory relationships even if they weren't as fleshed out as I wished, but then multi-partner relationships is one of the aspects I consider really interesting in sci-fi and I can't read enough of it. I also liked the multi-layered characters and the flawed main characters.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
judeinthestars's review against another edition
4.0
3.5⭐️ – This was a fun and quick read. The plot is pretty basic. On a three-day leave after a huge victory in the war against the Cyberbionautic Alliance, Casne is planning to celebrate with her best friend and partner Triz. Yet, instead of being honoured as the hero she is, Casne is accused of war crimes, with evidence Triz and Kalo – another Fleet pilot, Triz’s ex and Casne’s sometimes – are convinced is fake.
Even though Local Star is a novella, the worldbuilding is rather extensive and it only took a couple of sentences for me to feel transported to a different universe. The story is centred around Triz, a guttergirl turned mechanic who is still not sure she really fits in her own life, with Casne and Kalo never too far.
Triz has been asked to join Casne and her wife Nantha’s marriage and while she loves them both, she’s not ready to make it official. Her reluctance results from her insecurities but mainly from not wanting to be the third in a triad: she’d rather join with another partner. Whether Kalo will be the one or not remains to be seen, but he’s clearly interested in giving their relationship a second chance.
Around them are a couple more Fleet officers as well as Casne’s quadparents (some male, some female, some non-binary), one of whom is a bit quick to believe his daughter could be guilty.
Besides the world-building, the best part of this story is how normal and self-evident polyamory is. Triz’s interrogations are valid, especially given her background. She struggles with what her place would be in a marriage to Casne and Nan just as much as she struggles with her place in Casne’s family, who more or less took her in when she was rescued from an impossibly rough childhood. The only time she’s really comfortable is when she’s working on a ship.
As usual, I focus on the characters and their motivations, as much as I can without spoiling, but there are many other layers to this story. The Cyberbionautic Alliance, for example, questions transhumanism. Triz’s insecurities and her relationships with Kalo and Casne speak of self-acceptance, growth and forgiveness. This novella is a lot more complex than what the cover and the plot hint at. Complex but fun.
I received a copy from the publisher and I am voluntarily leaving a review.
Even though Local Star is a novella, the worldbuilding is rather extensive and it only took a couple of sentences for me to feel transported to a different universe. The story is centred around Triz, a guttergirl turned mechanic who is still not sure she really fits in her own life, with Casne and Kalo never too far.
Triz has been asked to join Casne and her wife Nantha’s marriage and while she loves them both, she’s not ready to make it official. Her reluctance results from her insecurities but mainly from not wanting to be the third in a triad: she’d rather join with another partner. Whether Kalo will be the one or not remains to be seen, but he’s clearly interested in giving their relationship a second chance.
Around them are a couple more Fleet officers as well as Casne’s quadparents (some male, some female, some non-binary), one of whom is a bit quick to believe his daughter could be guilty.
Besides the world-building, the best part of this story is how normal and self-evident polyamory is. Triz’s interrogations are valid, especially given her background. She struggles with what her place would be in a marriage to Casne and Nan just as much as she struggles with her place in Casne’s family, who more or less took her in when she was rescued from an impossibly rough childhood. The only time she’s really comfortable is when she’s working on a ship.
As usual, I focus on the characters and their motivations, as much as I can without spoiling, but there are many other layers to this story. The Cyberbionautic Alliance, for example, questions transhumanism. Triz’s insecurities and her relationships with Kalo and Casne speak of self-acceptance, growth and forgiveness. This novella is a lot more complex than what the cover and the plot hint at. Complex but fun.
I received a copy from the publisher and I am voluntarily leaving a review.
divadiane's review against another edition
4.0
3.75 stars. It started out slow, I wasn’t sure I liked the main character, but then the pace picked up and there were some truly beautiful lines. I’m not sure I understand what went wrong with Kalo and Triz or what the problem was or then how they fixed it, but it was obvious they would. The intrigue was good and the conflict surrounding the CeeBees and body mods in general was interesting and given just enough depth.
jakegray's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
4.0