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3.46 AVERAGE
3.46 AVERAGE
emotional
hopeful
slow-paced
adventurous
challenging
inspiring
medium-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:
Complicated
E.K. Johnston, the author of excellent novels such as Ahsoka and Queen's Shadow, has decided to grace us with a new science fiction book, Aetherbound.
Pendt Harland has only ever known her family's interstellar freighter, the Harland. On this ship, everyone must be useful – they do not have any resources to spare. So from a young age, Pendt knew that she had to find a use for herself.
Unfortunately, she wasn't born with the gifts of her brothers or her cousins. So she kept waiting for her talent to show itself; only when it finally did, she found herself more trapped than ever. Treated as somebody worse than useless, her family shuns her, leaving Pendt some time to plan a way off the ship.
“Not knowing was a weakness, and no weakness could be tolerated in space.”
Aetherbound is an intense, traumatic, and intelligent read. It portrays a world in space that has the potential for great beauty – but once again, some would do everything in their power to ruin it.
Pendt's life on her family ship is brutal and heartbreaking. Now would probably be a good time to mention that several content warnings come with this book (E.K. Johnston herself included a warning at the beginning of the book, which I adore). This novel contains instances of abuse, trauma, food rationing, starvation, forced pregnancy, and human trafficking. These elements are very relevant to the story Johnston is trying to tell and cannot be avoided.
Back to the point, I was trying to make – Pendt's early life absolutely broke my heart. The idea of being called useless every day sounds so painful and sad. A feeling that only gets worse once the plan for her becomes apparent.
“Choosing was new for her, and she relished it.”
Once the Brannick twins are introduced in the story – and the universe – seem to brighten up instantaneously. Right away, I found myself liking these two, as well as the goals they were hoping to achieve.
There were times when I wish more details were available. Specifically on how the station ran, the universal politics, and the overall background of it all. I understand that most of that was simply a setting for the plot to exist within, but I am just so curious about it all – I can't help it.
For me, it is absolutely the characters that sell this story. They wormed their way into my heart, forcing me to care about their stories and their struggles. It was impossible to look away from it all and has left me hoping that against all odds, we'll see a sequel someday. Just so I can check in on this trio and make sure they're doing alright.
Read more reviews at Quirky Cat's Fat Stacks
Pendt Harland has only ever known her family's interstellar freighter, the Harland. On this ship, everyone must be useful – they do not have any resources to spare. So from a young age, Pendt knew that she had to find a use for herself.
Unfortunately, she wasn't born with the gifts of her brothers or her cousins. So she kept waiting for her talent to show itself; only when it finally did, she found herself more trapped than ever. Treated as somebody worse than useless, her family shuns her, leaving Pendt some time to plan a way off the ship.
“Not knowing was a weakness, and no weakness could be tolerated in space.”
Aetherbound is an intense, traumatic, and intelligent read. It portrays a world in space that has the potential for great beauty – but once again, some would do everything in their power to ruin it.
Pendt's life on her family ship is brutal and heartbreaking. Now would probably be a good time to mention that several content warnings come with this book (E.K. Johnston herself included a warning at the beginning of the book, which I adore). This novel contains instances of abuse, trauma, food rationing, starvation, forced pregnancy, and human trafficking. These elements are very relevant to the story Johnston is trying to tell and cannot be avoided.
Back to the point, I was trying to make – Pendt's early life absolutely broke my heart. The idea of being called useless every day sounds so painful and sad. A feeling that only gets worse once the plan for her becomes apparent.
“Choosing was new for her, and she relished it.”
Once the Brannick twins are introduced in the story – and the universe – seem to brighten up instantaneously. Right away, I found myself liking these two, as well as the goals they were hoping to achieve.
There were times when I wish more details were available. Specifically on how the station ran, the universal politics, and the overall background of it all. I understand that most of that was simply a setting for the plot to exist within, but I am just so curious about it all – I can't help it.
For me, it is absolutely the characters that sell this story. They wormed their way into my heart, forcing me to care about their stories and their struggles. It was impossible to look away from it all and has left me hoping that against all odds, we'll see a sequel someday. Just so I can check in on this trio and make sure they're doing alright.
Read more reviews at Quirky Cat's Fat Stacks
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Just something I found and binged read one night, it wasn’t completely terrible.
Forced pregnancy is a topic I try to avoid.
Content Warnings
Minor: Animal death, Child abuse, Confinement, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail
forced/unwanted pregnancy
Enjoyment: 1/5
Execution: 1.5/5
Final rating: 1.25/5
This was a really cool and interesting premise but it ended up being such a drag to read. While there is a content warning at the beginning for the calorie counting (which was its own weird thing), there are definitely other significant ones to be considered, and I was unpleasantly surprised by the excessive abuse Pendt suffers in the beginning of the book. Pendt and the twins are all very dull and it was hard to feel invested in any of them or their relationships. Furthermore, the pacing is very choppy where not much happens until the ~40% mark, and then after that becomes very rushed. The constant info-dumping combined with the extremely dry writing style makes the read feel more like a history textbook than a space adventure. Dull and disappointing.
Content Warnings (may include spoilers, may be incomplete): intensive calorie counting/food restriction through rationing, emotional & physical abuse of minor from family members, bullying, confinement, trafficking, forced insemination/pregnancy, human trafficking, violence, blood,
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Execution: 1.5/5
Final rating: 1.25/5
This was a really cool and interesting premise but it ended up being such a drag to read. While there is a content warning at the beginning for the calorie counting (which was its own weird thing), there are definitely other significant ones to be considered, and I was unpleasantly surprised by the excessive abuse Pendt suffers in the beginning of the book. Pendt and the twins are all very dull and it was hard to feel invested in any of them or their relationships. Furthermore, the pacing is very choppy where not much happens until the ~40% mark, and then after that becomes very rushed. The constant info-dumping combined with the extremely dry writing style makes the read feel more like a history textbook than a space adventure. Dull and disappointing.
Content Warnings (may include spoilers, may be incomplete): intensive calorie counting/food restriction through rationing, emotional & physical abuse of minor from family members, bullying, confinement, trafficking, forced insemination/pregnancy, human trafficking, violence, blood,
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.
adventurous
challenging
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
hopeful
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated