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tigger89's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Anyway. There were a lot of ways this book could have gone wrong. The concept of "antebellum slavery recreated aboard a generation ship in transit" was ambitious, and I can think of few other authors who could have done it justice — N.K. Jemisin, perhaps? Jemisin wouldn't have done the character work in the same way though, so it would have been a very different book. I thought the level of scientific crunch was perfect for the story Solomon was trying to tell. The science seemed mostly sound to my layman's understanding(with the exception of the siluminium), but rather than taking on a starring role it formed the backbone that supported the main point of the story, which was about the society that relied on that science to survive.
My only complaint about this book is that the pacing gets a little weird in the last third. A lot of time passes, but the plot remains urgent, so there's some very weird time skips that leave the narrative feeling disjointed, even rushed at times. But this only brings the overall score down to maybe a 4.75, so I rounded it up. If you're someone who likes your sci-fi with science that at least puts up a pretense of being grounded in fact, but who still prefers a focus on character and society over hard scientific crunch, the style of this book would probably appeal to you. Just be mindful of the content warnings, as there's quite a lot of them and Solomon pulls no punches.
Graphic: Child death, Death, Homophobia, Misogyny, Slavery, Transphobia, Violence, Religious bigotry, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Police brutality, Racism, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Abortion, Blood, Classism, Death of parent, Child abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Medical content, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, and Sexual content
Minor: Suicide, Alcohol, Pedophilia, and Pregnancy
writererinm'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? No
5.0
Graphic: Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, Toxic friendship, Self harm, Sexual violence, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Racial slurs, Medical trauma, Medical content, Murder, Mental illness, Police brutality, Physical abuse, Suicide, Sexism, Racism, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Transphobia, Slavery, Misogyny, Torture, Rape, and Outing
cowboyaj's review against another edition
4.0
However, if you do read this book I would highly encourage reading the content warnings first. It doesn't hold back on harsher topics, though I think that quality makes the book much stronger.
My few disappointments of the book was the (romance?) and the ending. I honestly had such a difficult time discerning if Theo and Aster were romantically involved or not. Their relationship felt like it was fluctuating constantly and it just felt too surface level compared to the other themes of the book. For me, the ending wasn't satisfying. Though I don't always need a happy ending, the ending just didn't give me any relief from all the build up that happened from the beginning of the story.
Graphic: Sexual assault, Slavery, Violence, and Torture
Moderate: Pregnancy, Rape, Suicide, Abortion, Colonisation, Murder, and Child death
Minor: Blood, Gun violence, Vomit, and Transphobia
ireadinbed'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
Honestly regret letting it sot on my tbr so long.
Graphic: Transphobia, Racism, Violence, Medical trauma, Homophobia, Slavery, Sexism, and Medical content
Moderate: Sexual assault
alexashabit'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? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Mental illness, Suicide, Toxic friendship, Medical content, Misogyny, Self harm, Sexual assault, Slavery, Transphobia, Racism, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Vomit, Eating disorder, Gore, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Abortion, Body shaming, Blood, Classism, and Murder
hailstorm3812's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Police brutality, Sexual violence, Violence, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Racism, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Suicide, Grief, Classism, Bullying, Toxic friendship, and Death of parent
Minor: Homophobia, Transphobia, and Abortion
hendrixpants'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? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Violence and Murder
Moderate: Homophobia, Transphobia, and Sexual violence
orion's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Hate crime, Blood, Child death, Police brutality, Racism, Ableism, Bullying, Lesbophobia, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Sexism, Suicide attempt, Violence, Emotional abuse, Murder, Rape, Self harm, War, Classism, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Slavery, and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Toxic friendship, Transphobia, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Death, Grief, Medical content, Torture, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Death of parent and Cursing
booksthatburn's review against another edition
I really wish I could handle finishing this, but I just can't.
Graphic: Violence, Medical content, and Medical trauma
Moderate: Pregnancy, Death, Racism, Slavery, Police brutality, Terminal illness, Sexual harassment, Vomit, Ableism, Homophobia, Cursing, Abortion, Mental illness, Blood, Infertility, Child abuse, and Cancer
Minor: Transphobia, Dementia, Sexual assault, Suicide attempt, Sexual content, Death of parent, Self harm, and Fire/Fire injury
nagev's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Death of parent, Homophobia, Abortion, Classism, Racism, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Violence, and Confinement
Moderate: Pregnancy, Police brutality, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual violence, Bullying, Chronic illness, Medical trauma, Gaslighting, Fire/Fire injury, Death, Blood, Abandonment, Torture, Transphobia, Rape, Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, Vomit, Slavery, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Sexism, Panic attacks/disorders, Murder, Misogyny, Medical content, Lesbophobia, and Grief
Minor: Ableism, Child abuse, and Alcohol