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kaa's review
5.0
LOVED this. Xandri is a fantastic narrator and despite the short length, the story packs in a ton of character and relationship development. I'm already on to the next book.
imaginary_space's review
adventurous
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
malimaan's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
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
4.75
jjcrafts's review
5.0
This is a prequel to Faliure to Communicate which is one of my favourite books ever. The adult scifi series follows Xandri, one of the last autistics alive, as she leads a team of xenoliasons aboard a spaceship that initiates first contact with new species. I won't give too much away but to say this is a novella about how she became a member of the team and joined the crew in the first place. I loved it just as much as the first novel and I can't wait to read the rest of the series. If you are a fan of more political space going scifi I would definitely recommend it. But I'd also recommend it to anyone who wants to read a realistic portrayal of an autistic woman going on an adventure!
cawmii's review
3.0
3.5 stars!
This will be a short review for a short book.
I loved being back with Xandri and seeing the autism rep. The title is actually SO clever. It was fun to see the incident that was referred to in Failure to Communicate. The plot was cool and as always I really liked the world. However, this didn't get me very emotionally invested, which is why the rating isn't higher.
Overall, this was absolutely worth the read and it was fun seeing more of Xandri's backstory! Now I'll get on to Tone of Voice, which I'm super excited for!
This will be a short review for a short book.
I loved being back with Xandri and seeing the autism rep. The title is actually SO clever. It was fun to see the incident that was referred to in Failure to Communicate. The plot was cool and as always I really liked the world. However, this didn't get me very emotionally invested, which is why the rating isn't higher.
Overall, this was absolutely worth the read and it was fun seeing more of Xandri's backstory! Now I'll get on to Tone of Voice, which I'm super excited for!
simonlorden's review
4.0
I loved Failure to Communicate so much that I rushed to pick up the prequel and read it in one sitting.
I couldn't have enough of the crew in FTC, especially Xandri, Diver and Chui, so this was great. Testing Pandora describes Xandri's joining of the crew, and the it has the exact same characters. It was nice to notice things that were similar in the two books, like Aki and the Captain being protective of Xandri and nudging her to eat.
On the other hand, in some ways this novella felt /too/ similar. After all, four years passed between Testing Pandora and Failure to Communicate - and yet, to me it felt like many of these relationships barely changed in those for years. For example, Christa and Xandri have the exact same rivalry they do four years later. This was a little strange, and I would have love to see more progression/change.
Also - tests or not, but I was surprised that Xandri was immediately offered to be the leader of the team instead of working her way up during those four years. In this situation, I understood Christa's anger better - I'd be pissed too if I had been doing my job well for years and the Captain brought in someone without any experience or formal education to be my boss, no matter how good Xandri did on that one test mission.
Another thing that was strange to me in both books is that literally everyone somehow seems to know Xandri is autistic, even without her telling them? Like, she worries about Diver finding out for example, but then we see in the interlude that Diver already knows. I wasn't sure what to do with that, or how he found out. This is especially strange given that autistics are even rarer here than in the "real" world.
There were several hints and references to the things Xandri had to do or survive, and the abuse she suffered - and while I don't wish to read about these in great detail, I still feel like it would have been interesting if there was a pre-prequel set even further back.
tldr; I loved this story and I loved getting more time with the crew, but it felt less like a prequel, and more like... the beginning of Failure to Communicate. I didn't really feel that there were supposed to be four years between the two books. (As far as I know, this was actually written before FTC, which would explain some of these things... but still, in that case I'm not sure why the author set the book four years later instead of just continuing this one.)
(By the way: two books, and I'm ashamed to confess at this point, but I still don't understand how slingspace works.)
I couldn't have enough of the crew in FTC, especially Xandri, Diver and Chui, so this was great. Testing Pandora describes Xandri's joining of the crew, and the it has the exact same characters. It was nice to notice things that were similar in the two books, like Aki and the Captain being protective of Xandri and nudging her to eat.
On the other hand, in some ways this novella felt /too/ similar. After all, four years passed between Testing Pandora and Failure to Communicate - and yet, to me it felt like many of these relationships barely changed in those for years. For example, Christa and Xandri have the exact same rivalry they do four years later. This was a little strange, and I would have love to see more progression/change.
Also - tests or not, but I was surprised that Xandri was immediately offered to be the leader of the team instead of working her way up during those four years. In this situation, I understood Christa's anger better - I'd be pissed too if I had been doing my job well for years and the Captain brought in someone without any experience or formal education to be my boss, no matter how good Xandri did on that one test mission.
Another thing that was strange to me in both books is that literally everyone somehow seems to know Xandri is autistic, even without her telling them? Like, she worries about Diver finding out for example, but then we see in the interlude that Diver already knows. I wasn't sure what to do with that, or how he found out. This is especially strange given that autistics are even rarer here than in the "real" world.
There were several hints and references to the things Xandri had to do or survive, and the abuse she suffered - and while I don't wish to read about these in great detail, I still feel like it would have been interesting if there was a pre-prequel set even further back.
tldr; I loved this story and I loved getting more time with the crew, but it felt less like a prequel, and more like... the beginning of Failure to Communicate. I didn't really feel that there were supposed to be four years between the two books. (As far as I know, this was actually written before FTC, which would explain some of these things... but still, in that case I'm not sure why the author set the book four years later instead of just continuing this one.)
(By the way: two books, and I'm ashamed to confess at this point, but I still don't understand how slingspace works.)
thebooksanctum's review
5.0
Oh my love for Xandri grows with every page!
Still so accurate to my experiences of being on the autistic spectrum, while also giving fantastic worldbuilding, and a brilliant storyline!
Still so accurate to my experiences of being on the autistic spectrum, while also giving fantastic worldbuilding, and a brilliant storyline!
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