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pipettesandpages's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- 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? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Violence
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail and Blood
feralratgirl's review
dark
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
A thought-provoking novella about climate-change, capitalist greed, and uploading one’s consciousness into a mammoth.
Nayler’s work as a foreign service officer and research into poaching shine through. In under 200 pages, he takes the reader through the many perspectives of those whose lives are touched by ivory poaching. The scientists, the buyers, the poachers, and some who are in between.
I read the novella for book club and finished in one sitting. I thoroughly enjoyed it and plan to read more of Nayler’s work.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Murder, Death, Gun violence, and Injury/Injury detail
kirtreads's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- 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? It's complicated
4.75
Ray Nayler has a really unique gift of taking a fascinating science fiction premise, one that sucks you in immediately, and then posing such heavy concepts that really make you think. This book is not a fun romp through brain melding science. This is a book about the brutal impacts that the ivory trade continues to have, and the future that awaits us if we don’t take action soon. This book examines human greed, selfishness, and what drives people to extremes. It examines the human condition of empathy and guilt all while set on a backdrop of some very kick ass science fiction.
Ray is one of my favourite authors but he is really not for everyone. This one is heavy handed on the environmental themes but also captures so many deeply human moments it’s worth the western guilt.
My only critiques are, and this may be an audiobook problem, was it was hard to distinguish between characters and what time period they were in. The start was a little hard to pick up on because I was not sure if it was the human or the mammoth narrating.
That being said, it’s a great read and really packs a lot into a quick read. I really recommend it and the audiobook narrators were great!
Ray is one of my favourite authors but he is really not for everyone. This one is heavy handed on the environmental themes but also captures so many deeply human moments it’s worth the western guilt.
My only critiques are, and this may be an audiobook problem, was it was hard to distinguish between characters and what time period they were in. The start was a little hard to pick up on because I was not sure if it was the human or the mammoth narrating.
That being said, it’s a great read and really packs a lot into a quick read. I really recommend it and the audiobook narrators were great!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Gun violence, Animal death, Blood, Murder, Animal cruelty, and Gore
Moderate: Classism and Injury/Injury detail
devynreadsnovels's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Blood, Confinement, Death, Gore, Murder, Animal cruelty, Violence, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, and War
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