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atamano'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
3.0
Moderate: Grief
Minor: Violence and Vomit
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: Ableism, Animal death, Confinement, Death, Genocide, Gore, Terminal illness, Torture, Xenophobia, Vomit, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, and Alcohol
Minor: Sexual content
oliverreeds'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
5.0
Graphic: Body shaming, Chronic illness, Confinement, Drug use, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Racism, Terminal illness, Torture, Blood, Vomit, Kidnapping, Grief, and War
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, Terminal illness, Xenophobia, Vomit, Police brutality, Medical content, and Grief
Moderate: Ableism, Confinement, Violence, Abandonment, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Drug use, Genocide, Sexual content, Slavery, Trafficking, Death of parent, Abandonment, and Alcohol
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: Cursing, Gun violence, Terminal illness, Violence, Xenophobia, and War
Moderate: Ableism, Animal death, Death, Drug use, Racial slurs, Sexual content, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Alcohol, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Bullying, Child death, Genocide, Incest, Infidelity, Slavery, Suicide, Trafficking, Pregnancy, and Sexual harassment
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, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Police brutality, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Ableism, Genocide, Racism, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, Medical content, Murder, and Colonisation
Minor: Slavery, Vomit, Religious bigotry, and War
ableist bullying of autistic person justified by narrative; severe disregard of medical consentreadandfindout'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: Chronic illness and Grief
Moderate: Confinement, Death, Drug use, Gun violence, Racial slurs, Racism, Terminal illness, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, and Medical content
Minor: Ableism, Genocide, Sexual content, Slavery, and Vomit
fraxisle's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Moderate: Death, Drug use, Terminal illness, and Xenophobia
Minor: Gun violence, Sexual content, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Religious bigotry, and Colonisation
ehmannky'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
4.25
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Violence and Police brutality
Minor: Xenophobia and Vomit
whylal's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Moderate: Death, Drug use, Slavery, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Medical content, and Grief
Minor: Ableism, Body shaming, Child death, and Vomit