Reviews tagging 'War'

Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel

74 reviews

silverwings's review against another edition

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mysterious reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I found this book to be an enjoyable read. For each central character, we are given a person with their own motivations and complexities, which build the story well. The plot is never bogged down by the prose; the characters’ inner thoughts are there to illustrate the setting , and the frequent introspections make the characters feel very human. It is a great read for those who enjoy speculative fiction and episodic stories with various POVs.
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kaylasbewks's review against another edition

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4.0

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mabechel's review

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adventurous dark mysterious reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

It's weird because some of the main characters are so relatable while others are so flat. The concept itself is good and reads really easily. If it'd been any longer, I'd think it wouldn't be worth the effort, but as a short book, it's still worth it. 
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blor_12's review

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adventurous mysterious reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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theebster's review

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emotional hopeful mysterious sad medium-paced
  • 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

5.0

Excellent all around. As always, the interconnectedness of the characters was delightful to uncover. The settings were also fantastic, I really enjoyed envisioning the moon colonies and how they changed over time. 
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katy_bee's review

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emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

I really like Emily St John Mandel's writing style, although as I said I'm my review of station 11- I can see it isn't for everyone. 
There's an obvious author insert character which I wasn't sure about at first but I came round to it.
The first few chapters meander and you have to wait for it to come together, it did for me and it was beautiful
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chrispy_mac's review

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medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.0

This book wants to be Cloud Atlas without understanding what was good about it. It has some almost-good ideas that are underbaked and way too much of the author talking to the audience in a way that should have been a blog post.
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erikabites's review

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adventurous reflective slow-paced
  • 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

4.5

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maeverose's review

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4.0

This took a long time - about half the book - to grow on me. Up to that point it was very ‘meh’. But then once the stronger sci-fi elements came in I didn’t want to put it down, and the first half became more interesting in hindsight.

I don’t want to say too much, I think it’s better to go into it not knowing much. If you like sci fi stories that involve a mystery but mainly focus on characters, their relationships, and mundane aspects of people’s lives, I would recommend. I found the writing style very easy to read as well, not confusing or difficult as sci-fi books can be for me sometimes, especially with my adhd brain.

The main content warning I would give for this, in the least spoilery way possible: it involves questioning reality. I didn’t personally feel like it was done in a triggering way. It doesn’t dwell on it too much. But if that’s an especially triggering topic for you then that’s something to keep in mind. The spoiler version:
It’s a ‘life is a simulation’ situation. It’s never fully confirmed in the book that this is the case, but it’s strongly suggested.
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bloomingpear's review

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mysterious reflective tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

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