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madmadmaddymad'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
It’s remarkable how enthralling the plot and pace of this novel was. I’m satisfied with it as a stand alone, but am absolutely invested if Ellis decides to ever write a follow up,
Cora was such a fun protagonist. She really embodied the adventure of first contact, and her view point as a fish-out-of-water, or maybe fish-adjacent-to-water, coming from a background of government distrust and frustration over conspiracy theories with her famous, estranged, Alex Jones-esque father. What an an excellent background detail and incredible character and worldbuilding.
I also enjoyed the humor of this novel, and I thought the trope of humans being scary to the alien species was handled extremely well. Ampersand is hilarious and lovable and I was lo-key rooting for there to be an inter-galactic romance from the first moment
Loved this book!
Minor: Genocide, Suicide, and Kidnapping
mandkips's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Gore and Blood
Moderate: Death, Genocide, and Car accident
Minor: Suicide, Torture, and Vomit
bookishchef's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Xenophobia and Car accident
Moderate: Genocide, Violence, Grief, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Torture, Blood, Vomit, and Murder
thevampiremars'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
4.0
Also,
I’d recommend Axiom’s End to fans of Stephenie Meyer’s The Host. It has a similar vibe.
Graphic: Confinement, Genocide, Self harm, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Stalking, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Cursing, Death, Drug use, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Sexual content, and Antisemitism
Minor: Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Gun violence, Slavery, Torture, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Excrement, Vomit, Islamophobia, Grief, Car accident, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Alcohol, Colonisation, and War
mind control, not having control over one's own bodynulliusmomenti's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Moderate: Genocide and Abandonment
Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Medical content, and Injury/Injury detail
cfell's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, and Suicide
Minor: Sexism and Torture
maartabarrales's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Graphic: Death, Violence, and Medical content
Moderate: Police brutality
Minor: Genocide
realalexmartin'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
3.75
Moderate: Death, Gun violence, and Colonisation
Minor: Genocide
gwendolynaudrey_reads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Graphic: Body horror
Moderate: Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Abandonment
Minor: Addiction, Genocide, and Suicide
momo916's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
That being said, I definitely enjoyed the experience of watching the relationship between Cora and Ampersand develop as the story went on. It was a sort of self-insert kind of enjoyment, since the narrator doesn’t really seem to have any particular characteristics. Perhaps this could be attributed to the high-stress nature of most of the events of the plot, but I wouldn’t say this particularly detracts from the experience of reading the book. In a way, it allows you to look past the other flaws of the book and just kind of live in it.
A complaint I have that is particular to the audiobook is that the reader has this habit of exaggerating the inflections she adds to her voice when Cora is surprised/shocked by something (which, given the subject matter of the book, happens often). I got used to it after a while but it was annoying at first.
Graphic: Death, Gore, Violence, and Blood
Moderate: Genocide, Suicide, and Excrement
Minor: Car accident