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booksthatburn'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? Yes
5.0
There are a lot of characters and they generally feel distinct from each other. That means I can't really point to an overall style, other than that once I tracked names enough to tell Jenks and Ashby apart I did all right for the rest of the book (I kept mixing up who was with Pei).
main character - If anyone is the main character it might be Rosemary, she's definitely the reader's way into the narrative as a human who doesn't have any travel experience and is generally unfamiliar with the people and places that they encounter on the way. Because she isn't the only point-of-view character there's a pretty robust diversity not only of perspectives but of angles for explanation.
The ship has a relatively small crew but it's enough to make a character relationship web complicated pretty quickly. Ashby is the captain, which means he doesn't pal around with the crew much but still is close to most of them. I like his relationship with Pei, it's nice to see a long-distance thing portrayed well. Jenks and Kizzy have a friendly working relationship and a great rapport. They get along even when they're getting on each other's nerves, which is good since they're generally working on ship maintenance together. Sissix is my favorite, and I like how she is with Rosemary, especially towards the end. There's even more crew and I'm very bad with names, so that's about my limit of what I can remember and say without spoilers. Generally speaking I like the way that non-human characters have conversations and relationships with each other that don't have anything to do with the human ones. It helps reinforce the feeling of a galaxy that isn't centered on humans, which is definitely a welcome departure from a lot of space sci-fi.
Most of the worldbuilding in terms of physical spaces is focused on the ship, with a few visits to other worlds on the way. Where it shines is in establishing the impression of a full galaxy with complicated dynamics of which we're just getting a tiny slice. I love the descriptions of various aliens, and the way the characters make a specific effort to understand other perspectives and ways of being.
For the first half of the book I was lukewarm, having trouble getting into it but having a good enough time to continue. It more than paid off in the second half, wow. There are a lot of important characters by virtue of paying attention to the entire crew plus a few additional people. Because the big thing that's happening is they're traveling a very long way to a specific destination, plus some stops and occasional complications along the way, most of the plot revolves around developing and continuing relationships between the characters. The main journey is to slowly travel to somewhere very far away for a specific reason, and then because of the tech involved they'll be able to get home very quickly. It makes the ending feel climactic even though technically all they did was go a long way away and then come right back to where they started in a fraction of the time.
The ending is devastating. The emotional culmination of getting to know these characters runs into the dangers of their journey in a way that is sudden, frightening, and grief-stricken. If you like found-family journey stories (especially ones in space), don't miss this one.
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Grief, Ableism, Xenophobia, Alcohol, Gore, Terminal illness, Kidnapping, Confinement, Medical content, Vomit, Torture, Genocide, Animal death, Murder, and Death
Minor: Sexual content
fairyollie'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? It's complicated
3.75
Graphic: Gun violence, Xenophobia, War, and Genocide
Moderate: Ableism, Violence, War, and Xenophobia
Minor: Confinement and Forced institutionalization
mandaraffe'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? No
5.0
Graphic: Chronic illness, Death, Grief, Medical content, Police brutality, Terminal illness, Vomit, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Ableism, Colonisation, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, War, and Abandonment
Minor: Abandonment, Alcohol, Death of parent, Drug use, Genocide, Sexual content, Slavery, and Trafficking
skudiklier's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Violence, Gun violence, War, Xenophobia, Terminal illness, and Cursing
Moderate: Death, Racial slurs, Vomit, Sexual content, Murder, Medical content, Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Drug use, Colonisation, Blood, Animal death, Alcohol, and Ableism
Minor: Bullying, Child death, Trafficking, Suicide, Slavery, Sexual harassment, Pregnancy, Incest, Infidelity, and Genocide
The racial slurs aren't real ones, but in-world ones (for different species, not human races) Also CWs for nonconsensual medical treatment, andthetainaship's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Chronic illness, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Police brutality, Torture, Violence, and Terminal illness
Moderate: Ableism, Blood, Colonisation, Forced institutionalization, Murder, Racism, Xenophobia, Genocide, and Medical content
Minor: Vomit, War, Slavery, and Religious bigotry
ableist bullying of autistic person justified by narrative; severe disregard of medical consentbluejayreads'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? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Sexual content, Death, Violence, Grief, and Terminal illness
Moderate: Xenophobia, Genocide, Blood, and Confinement
Minor: Drug use and Ableism
readandfindout's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5
Themes: 5 stars
Characters: 5 stars
Plot: 4 stars
Worldbuilding: 4.5 stars
Graphic: Grief and Chronic illness
Moderate: Death, Violence, Terminal illness, Medical content, Gun violence, Xenophobia, Confinement, Racial slurs, Racism, Blood, and Drug use
Minor: Ableism, Genocide, Sexual content, Vomit, and Slavery
yvonne_cl'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
4.0
Graphic: Gun violence and Violence
Moderate: Alcohol, Colonisation, Confinement, Drug use, Gun violence, and Terminal illness
Minor: Ableism, Abortion, and Medical content
beautifulpaxielreads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Ableism, Medical content, and Mental illness
Moderate: Blood, Confinement, Physical abuse, Terminal illness, Violence, and Torture
Minor: Body shaming, Genocide, and Panic attacks/disorders
blackrabbitrun'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? No
4.25
Moderate: Chronic illness and Police brutality
Minor: Ableism