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philamot's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
I felt like the non-human intelligence was handled in a really fun way - it was like a semi-omniscient first person narrator, and really affirmed the fact that this was not a human narrator.
The worldbuilding is layered and does not feel like a renamed sci-if version of an Earth culture. Which can be fun, when done well, but I enjoyed novel societies.
One of the most arresting bits of worldbuilding is the adherence to she/her/hers as the default pronouns for a society that did not consider gender a meaningful linguistic or societal marker. A fun inversion from the traditional use of he, and one that still surprised me, as I would assume the use of they/them/theirs. Since the main character was generally confused by gender markers, almost all characters were referred to using she/her/hers. Further, different characters from gendered societies would refer to the same characters with different pronouns - implying to me at least that different cultures had conflicting interpretations of a characters gender markers. Sometimes, it came across as a bit heavy handed, and I’m not sure if using she/her feels like kind of queer or like a doubling down on the binary from the opposite directions. I’m generally a fan though, as I’m into any playing with gender into science fiction tbh.
In general, a fun read! Good for fans of the Murderbot series for sure - read it in about 4 hours on a plane hahaha.
Moderate: Slavery
Minor: War, Violence, and Sexual assault
starlitpage's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Gun violence, Classism, and Colonisation
Moderate: Death, Violence, Drug abuse, Vomit, War, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, and Drug use
Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Alcohol, Xenophobia, Slavery, Cursing, and Grief
tascaraudo's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
BIG warning for execution/mass murder. The MC is also essentially a slave to the Radch empire.
Graphic: Gun violence, Slavery, and Murder
Moderate: Genocide, War, Xenophobia, Addiction, and Mental illness
Minor: Body horror, Blood, and Vomit
ailsaod'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
5.0
Graphic: Body horror and Medical trauma
Moderate: Colonisation, Slavery, Murder, and Genocide
Minor: Addiction, Child death, Drug abuse, and Death
So many war crimes. A lot of potentially disturbing themes arising from the use of 'ancillaries' - humans from colonised planets that have been 'wiped' of their previous existence and made into cyborg soldiers for AIs to operate.fiveredhens's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Moderate: Racism, Slavery, Medical trauma, and Medical content
katie_the_librarian's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Xenophobia, Trafficking, Slavery, Death, and Violence
Moderate: Body horror, Religious bigotry, Gun violence, Addiction, and Drug abuse
Minor: Genocide
urs's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Slavery
Moderate: Addiction, Violence, Gun violence, and Genocide
reina's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Space opera.
Graphic: Slavery
Moderate: Addiction, Death, Genocide, Gun violence, Medical trauma, and Violence
Minor: Body horror and Suicide
Severely depressed character, withdrawal, injury,