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theblueforest's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
seth you were insane for this
rozecrest's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
truly, exordia earns the title juggernaut. as always i am enchanted by the characters and relationships in seth dickinson novels. chayali butchfemme at the end of the world you will always always be famous. clayton-erik-rosamaria legendary bisexual triangle. anna and khaje. serendure -- speaking of, the cultural worldbuilding for the khai is so incredibly sharp and cool!
it was very good at explaining and unraveling the mysteries of blackbird and taking me through math and physics concepts that were unknown to me before -- doing so in a way that kept me engaged and interested when historically i am not these branches biggest fans. that whole middle section of forces converging on tawakul juggled a whole lot of characters and events and i never felt like i was losing the thread, or losing investment, or getting lost in the shifting pacing. just great concept exploration and themes...
this book sets out to horrify, to delight, to grip you. this story took me somewhere, well and truly transported me. it made me fear the end, and took me past it. life doesn't end when the word does, if people are still alive then there will still be hope and resistance and sex and despair and all the things that humanity clings onto. nothing you can do about the end but keep living. bahala na!
it was very good at explaining and unraveling the mysteries of blackbird and taking me through math and physics concepts that were unknown to me before -- doing so in a way that kept me engaged and interested when historically i am not these branches biggest fans. that whole middle section of forces converging on tawakul juggled a whole lot of characters and events and i never felt like i was losing the thread, or losing investment, or getting lost in the shifting pacing. just great concept exploration and themes...
this book sets out to horrify, to delight, to grip you. this story took me somewhere, well and truly transported me. it made me fear the end, and took me past it. life doesn't end when the word does, if people are still alive then there will still be hope and resistance and sex and despair and all the things that humanity clings onto. nothing you can do about the end but keep living. bahala na!
zeuxine's review against another edition
5.0
! I’m obsessed with dickinson. I’m definitely the type of person who can picture a book in my head like a movie but there is smth about the way Dickinson writes that is just…super cinematic To Me. Like I think about the flag scene from baru book 1 all the time (iykyk!!).
Everything was so vivid- from the landscapes to the body horror !!! Lots of interesting questions about god as per usual and about pragmatism which tbh I’ve never thought about before….
Did I understand all of the physics? No. But tbh I think the gist was more important. The pacing kind of drags a little in the middle of the book but idk I loved it. I feel like the ending was open ended ?was ssrin talking about her sister??? . Anyway. Loved it.
Everything was so vivid- from the landscapes to the body horror !!! Lots of interesting questions about god as per usual and about pragmatism which tbh I’ve never thought about before….
Did I understand all of the physics? No. But tbh I think the gist was more important. The pacing kind of drags a little in the middle of the book but idk I loved it. I feel like the ending was open ended ?
eagoldberg's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Seth Dickinson was already my favorite Fantasy writer. Now Dickinson is my favorite SF writer, too. Chilling and gut-wrenching and heartfelt. Like my favorite childhood book series (which Exordia gives a nod to!) but written for grown-ups. Truly unforgettable.
hannahzee's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
inaworldoftrees's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
5.0
Honestly a science-fiction horror masterpiece. I loved it. Aliens, eyeballs, politics; and the characters! Dickinson's character writing has always been phenomenal and this book did not disappoint. They are somehow able to reach into their characters' brains and pull out and express each personality and how it was shaped absolutely beautifully. I will be buying this book once it comes out in tradeback form.
justabean_reads's review against another edition
3.5
It's hilarious that this got published, and I don't mean that in a bad way, but also, OMG! How did this get published? Dickinson mentions in his notes that he was working on it as a brain break from his other series (which I haven't read), which I guess is why this book is just wall to wall idtastic shenanigans, with long chapters of the characters talking to each other about story tropes and the interface between physics and theology. Everything about it is so bonkers and dialled up to eleven that I took four weeks to read it, because I kept going, "that's too much, put some back." It's over 500 pages, and could've been a solid 150 pages shorter, and also just... kinda ends. (It also would've made sense if I'd found out Dickinson had been doing some kind of a Triple NaNoWriMo challenge.)
Overall, I did enjoy it! The general plot is that Earth becomes a battleground between two aliens, who both employ the worst people ever in order get to the MacGuffin first. The MacGuffin happens to be in Kurdistan, and the Kurds are very much not impressed by any of this, especially the part where the Chinese, Russian, Iranian and American militaries are all also trying to get the MacGuffin, on top of the Ugandan and Canadian resource exploration teams already there. Also, the aliens are threatening to wipe out all life on Earth.
Each of the half dozen or point of view characters (who tell the story under the auspices of an omniscient point of view) is fairly strongly characterised, and their relationships were deliberately dynamic and interesting, but the story careens forward so breathlessly that I didn't feel that invested in any of them save on the level of "Lol, what will happen next!?" I did appreciate the variety of queer characters, and that at least a few of them survived (the kill count is generally pretty high). I could've used less of the all caps evil alien slaughtering everyone.
The book is hyper-violent body-horror-soaked mil-SF that simultaneously wants to have a lot of fun talking about missiles and helicopters in loving technical detail and point out that Russian and American imperialism are bad. Which I guess is better than the former without the latter (ala Tom Clancy), but did make me raise my eyebrows from time to time. I'm seriously not kidding about the body horror, which was probably another reason why I kept taking breaks from it.
Overall, I did enjoy it! The general plot is that Earth becomes a battleground between two aliens, who both employ the worst people ever in order get to the MacGuffin first. The MacGuffin happens to be in Kurdistan, and the Kurds are very much not impressed by any of this, especially the part where the Chinese, Russian, Iranian and American militaries are all also trying to get the MacGuffin, on top of the Ugandan and Canadian resource exploration teams already there. Also, the aliens are threatening to wipe out all life on Earth.
Each of the half dozen or point of view characters (who tell the story under the auspices of an omniscient point of view) is fairly strongly characterised, and their relationships were deliberately dynamic and interesting, but the story careens forward so breathlessly that I didn't feel that invested in any of them save on the level of "Lol, what will happen next!?" I did appreciate the variety of queer characters, and that at least a few of them survived (the kill count is generally pretty high). I could've used less of the all caps evil alien slaughtering everyone.
The book is hyper-violent body-horror-soaked mil-SF that simultaneously wants to have a lot of fun talking about missiles and helicopters in loving technical detail and point out that Russian and American imperialism are bad. Which I guess is better than the former without the latter (ala Tom Clancy), but did make me raise my eyebrows from time to time. I'm seriously not kidding about the body horror, which was probably another reason why I kept taking breaks from it.
billymermays's review against another edition
challenging
funny
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
rowanbg's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Death, Violence, Body horror, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Genocide and Colonisation