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3.46 AVERAGE
3.46 AVERAGE
adventurous
hopeful
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Overall this was just sort of meh for me. There were trigger warnings at the beginning of the book, but I was surprised that the author didn't include one for (spoilers) human trafficking and forced insemination. This book does have lgbt rep that was cute, but this book wasn't for me.
dark
hopeful
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Medical content, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Colonisation
Minor: Confinement, Infertility, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Medical content, Trafficking, Classism
challenging
emotional
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
hopeful
medium-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Pregnancy
Moderate: Child death, Trafficking
Minor: Transphobia
adventurous
funny
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This was horrible. I love sci fi, I love dark fantasy, but this ain’t it. Tons of issues right off the get go and reading reviews, it only got worse. There’s a reason there’s so many low ratings and many DNF. It’s like the author took the horrible treatment that Harry Potter received and upped it up a notch. Main character gets punished for minor things, being put in darkness and isolation, is told she’s useless after spending the first pages of the book emphasizing there’s always work to be done, but this is happening when the character is 5. Family talks about just letting her be killed, even having a pet where the captain doesn’t want to try and save her as she almost dies. She’s “useless” but can changes genes and ever offers to work with the plants and start studying them so she can change their genes to produce more, but they just say “no the plants are fine the way they are” BUT THE WHOLE COUNTING CALORIES AND FOOD RATIONING IS THE MAJOR PLOT FO THIS??????? it just wanted to hammer it in that the character is experiencing cruelty, but guess what? She doesn’t really respond to the treatment. She just deals with it. No emotional trauma, no insight to how she’s reacting, and she just accepts it.
Pacing was terrible as well. It focuses so much on the treatment of a child before she’s older, yet the book isn’t that big. Why? Why not just mention her horrible life experiences as memories? Nah ok we gatta live through it to build up to forced pregnancies and men owning women. Oki
Pacing was terrible as well. It focuses so much on the treatment of a child before she’s older, yet the book isn’t that big. Why? Why not just mention her horrible life experiences as memories? Nah ok we gatta live through it to build up to forced pregnancies and men owning women. Oki
Reading this book’s synopsis, I was expecting more of a Star Wars level action plot, not a Gattaca genetic-perfection motivated romance that resolves in the of the most uncomfortable ways I’ve ever read.
Aetherbound reads like a book inspired by and written during a global pandemic quarantine, in a bad way. The limited setting and strange choices in time jumps and information overload all lead to a very confusing reading experience over all.
The narrative tries to convince the reader that this incredibly strange plot is the norm in this universe but it’s just too out-there for me to suspend my disbelief.
Other reviews have mentioned this, but I too found it strange that the author included a content warning for calorie counting and disordered eating, but not the human trafficking, familial emotional abuse, or forced pregnancy.
Pendt, our protagonist, is hard to connect with or sympathize with despite her terrible situation.
To call this a “space adventure” is generous, and the whole book is just weird and unsettling.
Aetherbound reads like a book inspired by and written during a global pandemic quarantine, in a bad way. The limited setting and strange choices in time jumps and information overload all lead to a very confusing reading experience over all.
The narrative tries to convince the reader that this incredibly strange plot is the norm in this universe but it’s just too out-there for me to suspend my disbelief.
Other reviews have mentioned this, but I too found it strange that the author included a content warning for calorie counting and disordered eating, but not the human trafficking, familial emotional abuse, or forced pregnancy.
Pendt, our protagonist, is hard to connect with or sympathize with despite her terrible situation.
To call this a “space adventure” is generous, and the whole book is just weird and unsettling.
adventurous
challenging
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
There were so many excellent pieces of world-building and lore but it just wasn't executed properly. I think the biggest drawback of this book is that it is written as very YA. I think it would've soared if it was Adult and longer. There are a lot of difficult themes in this book but they aren't dealt with well but I did enjoy the characters even if their depth was not there.
I am delighted that there was very good trans rep in this book (I am not trans so please seek some trans reviews!) but it was just lacking overall even though I do want more of the universe.
There's a lot of talk about calorie counting in this book for various reasons and as someone who has been privy to many diets and that culture through my life, it brought up some discomfort but I did enjoy the overall message as the book progressed and that it was through the lens of energy rather than body size. But it is something to realize as you read this book.
In addition, the audiobook is incredible. The sound design and voice acting was just beautiful. The little additions of ambient sound made me very happy.
I am delighted that there was very good trans rep in this book (I am not trans so please seek some trans reviews!) but it was just lacking overall even though I do want more of the universe.
There's a lot of talk about calorie counting in this book for various reasons and as someone who has been privy to many diets and that culture through my life, it brought up some discomfort but I did enjoy the overall message as the book progressed and that it was through the lens of energy rather than body size. But it is something to realize as you read this book.
In addition, the audiobook is incredible. The sound design and voice acting was just beautiful. The little additions of ambient sound made me very happy.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Medical content, Medical trauma
Moderate: Pregnancy
tw: calorie counting, food restriction, medical images, forced insemination, human trafficking, faked death
I'll keep this short. I love E.K. Johnston's writing style and storytelling ability, however I don't think I read this book at the right time. Johnston has built out a very unique world with power and gender dynamics that had potential (or has potential if Johnston has more space to play in this world), however some of the topics and themes were surprisingly difficult for me to read and my head was just not there even though my heart wanted to LOVE it.
I rarely write out reviews for books that are a three on my rating scale (which really means I liked it generally), but I wanted to emphasize that this won't turn me off of reading the next thing Johnston writes. I also wanted to caution other readers to find a general review when you pick this up because I think being forwarned would have prepared me a little more.
I rarely write out reviews for books that are a three on my rating scale (which really means I liked it generally), but I wanted to emphasize that this won't turn me off of reading the next thing Johnston writes. I also wanted to caution other readers to find a general review when you pick this up because I think being forwarned would have prepared me a little more.