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pinxsol's review against another edition
5.0
This was a hard, frustrating read.
Ursula K. Le Guin wrote that Davidson was, as I understand, something of a caricature of An Evil Man (and there are a LOT of nods to that in the book, literally every second sentence of his is hideous), but it's scary how real the caricature is. It was physically painful to read Davidson's POV. I am, in fact, still in pain.
(Also, I don't usually go for books about colonization, slavery, racism, sexism, war, and bureaucracy surrounding all of the above since it's too heavy to read too much of, but I did greatly enjoy reading this, and imo the themes were dealt with very well)
Ursula K. Le Guin wrote that Davidson was, as I understand, something of a caricature of An Evil Man (and there are a LOT of nods to that in the book, literally every second sentence of his is hideous), but it's scary how real the caricature is. It was physically painful to read Davidson's POV. I am, in fact, still in pain.
(Also, I don't usually go for books about colonization, slavery, racism, sexism, war, and bureaucracy surrounding all of the above since it's too heavy to read too much of, but I did greatly enjoy reading this, and imo the themes were dealt with very well)
northwesternrain's review against another edition
dark
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
justabookworm's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
coffeeandbooked's review against another edition
3.0
I did like this book, it was a very important book to read in my opinion. It has a very important lesson and touches on topics that are as important now and they have been in the past. One of the topics that this story discusses is slavery, rape, murder and invading of other peoples land. I think it is done extremely well - the main character Captain Dan Davidson is an awful man and thinks that the natives of the other planets are beneath him and should do as he wants them to.
A lot does happen in this book and I did get a little lost and confused whilst reading it but I did manage to get back into it fairly quickly.
I think this is a book you could re-read and get something else from it each time.
A lot does happen in this book and I did get a little lost and confused whilst reading it but I did manage to get back into it fairly quickly.
I think this is a book you could re-read and get something else from it each time.
scurvotron's review
challenging
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Colonisation
Moderate: Rape
marivincenzi's review against another edition
dark
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
evelasco's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- 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
curlybooknerd's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
fast-paced
- 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
very interesting take on space colonialism