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charleyyyyy's review against another edition
5.0
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π«πβ¨οΈThis book made me forget that I was readingβ¨οΈππ«
π½This book is soooo good and sooo enjoyable!! I never wanted to put it down and was always excited to pick it back up.
The plot is fast, twisty and action packed. I was on the edge of my seat the entire time. At some points I was even yelling at the book because of all the emotions it made me feel.
πThe themes were written and explored so well!! Especially those of radicalisation, reproductive rights, colonialism, and queerness. And how the society you are apart of can effect your view on all of the above, and your own place in the world.
π‘And the charicters were incredibly well developed and written!! I love Kyr, she's so flawed and unlikeable and well writen. She is such a great and interesting main charicter. Yiso and Clio are my other favourite charicters, of course. Yiso's friendship with Kyr was so sweet!
πThe worldbuilding was interesting, I'm new to sci-fi but I didn't struggle at all with it. This world is the perfect setting to explore these themes in.
πͺThe writing sometimes got on my nerves, some times there was too much telling instead of showing, such as :"'with the old one gone, that technology is-' he closed his fist, like crushing something out of existence." Or: "'wow, how deep.' Avi said with heavy sarcasm." The telling is unnecessary in these sentences, we can figure it out on our own.
Or sentences like this: "Ursa would have told her to be less judgmental, but Ursa's opinion had stopped mattering when Ursa left." How many times do you need to say Ursa?????
π«But overall, the writing didn't take away too much enjoyment for me. So while this book has flaws, I still gave it 5 stars because of how much it emotionally impacted me, and how good the story telling was.
πI would definitely recommend this book if you like action packed sci-fi with a focus on important, heavy themes, and flawed main charicters.
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π«πβ¨οΈThis book made me forget that I was readingβ¨οΈππ«
π½This book is soooo good and sooo enjoyable!! I never wanted to put it down and was always excited to pick it back up.
The plot is fast, twisty and action packed. I was on the edge of my seat the entire time. At some points I was even yelling at the book because of all the emotions it made me feel.
πThe themes were written and explored so well!! Especially those of radicalisation, reproductive rights, colonialism, and queerness. And how the society you are apart of can effect your view on all of the above, and your own place in the world.
π‘And the charicters were incredibly well developed and written!! I love Kyr, she's so flawed and unlikeable and well writen. She is such a great and interesting main charicter. Yiso and Clio are my other favourite charicters, of course. Yiso's friendship with Kyr was so sweet!
πThe worldbuilding was interesting, I'm new to sci-fi but I didn't struggle at all with it. This world is the perfect setting to explore these themes in.
πͺThe writing sometimes got on my nerves, some times there was too much telling instead of showing, such as :"'with the old one gone, that technology is-' he closed his fist, like crushing something out of existence." Or: "'wow, how deep.' Avi said with heavy sarcasm." The telling is unnecessary in these sentences, we can figure it out on our own.
Or sentences like this: "Ursa would have told her to be less judgmental, but Ursa's opinion had stopped mattering when Ursa left." How many times do you need to say Ursa?????
π«But overall, the writing didn't take away too much enjoyment for me. So while this book has flaws, I still gave it 5 stars because of how much it emotionally impacted me, and how good the story telling was.
πI would definitely recommend this book if you like action packed sci-fi with a focus on important, heavy themes, and flawed main charicters.
π©·πππ©΅π©·πππ©΅
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Colonisation, Homophobia, Misogyny, Gun violence, Racism, Death, Grief, Sexual assault, Suicide, Transphobia, War, Xenophobia, and Pedophilia
wifi_bifi's review against another edition
dark
emotional
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
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide, Xenophobia, Homophobia, and Sexism
Moderate: War, Rape, Child abuse, Sexual assault, Emotional abuse, and Transphobia
lady_sharp's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
reflective
fast-paced
- 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
5.0
This was fun as hell. Mind the trigger warnings, but this is what science fiction should be, using the premise to dig at the flaws of society.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Homophobia, Suicide, Genocide, Xenophobia, Violence, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, War, Transphobia, and Misogyny
Moderate: Ableism, Racism, Injury/Injury detail, Acephobia/Arophobia, War, Physical abuse, Bullying, Pedophilia, and Rape
Minor: Abandonment and Body horror
Contains an on-page suicide, women being forced into the roles of breeding stock, in-depth look at cults, attempted grooming of a minor and a successful past attempt that resulted in the birth of a child, genocide, a forced kiss, and an attempted rapemoppyy's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
tense
fast-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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Transphobia, War, Sexual harassment, Murder, Homophobia, and Suicide
eh1736's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
fast-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? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Child abuse, Genocide, Sexism, Transphobia, and Homophobia
Moderate: Suicide
buff_dude's review against another edition
dark
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
- 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? It's complicated
3.5
Neon Genesis Evangelion if it were told by an infinitely more empathetic storyteller (and minus the fanservice).
This book discusses some important topics, including radicalisation, child soldiers and grooming, and it keeps these issues at the centre of its plot without desensitising the reader from them by heaping all of them in at once. It's not just an information dump either - the characters are genuinely engaging, which makes it all the more impactful when you see the effects of their soldier upbringing.
The plot follows the de-brainwashing of the protagonist, including the realisation of her anger towards an abuser, and love towards her friends and family. There's nothing quite as inspiring as seeing her embrace herself and break out of a sea of trauma.
That said, I'm not about to pretend that the world building was flawless. There were large swathes of exposition that I'm not even going to try understanding. I still don't know who was on which side of what war but the main point of the book was war bad so I suppose it's not a big deal. The plot itself tends to get messy around midway to 3/4 of the way through the book, but power through it and you will be rewarded. (I have a whole set of sticky flags around that bit with the same note: what the fuck is happening.)
Overall an eye-opening read worth the time. If you're considering picking this up and care about characters being lovable, note that a lot of them, especially the protagonist, are not, but this is mainly due to a very very rough upbringing that they learn to grow out of.
This book discusses some important topics, including radicalisation, child soldiers and grooming, and it keeps these issues at the centre of its plot without desensitising the reader from them by heaping all of them in at once. It's not just an information dump either - the characters are genuinely engaging, which makes it all the more impactful when you see the effects of their soldier upbringing.
The plot follows the de-brainwashing of the protagonist, including the realisation of her anger towards an abuser, and love towards her friends and family. There's nothing quite as inspiring as seeing her embrace herself and break out of a sea of trauma.
That said, I'm not about to pretend that the world building was flawless. There were large swathes of exposition that I'm not even going to try understanding. I still don't know who was on which side of what war but the main point of the book was war bad so I suppose it's not a big deal. The plot itself tends to get messy around midway to 3/4 of the way through the book, but power through it and you will be rewarded. (I have a whole set of sticky flags around that bit with the same note: what the fuck is happening.)
Overall an eye-opening read worth the time. If you're considering picking this up and care about characters being lovable, note that a lot of them, especially the protagonist, are not, but this is mainly due to a very very rough upbringing that they learn to grow out of.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Suicide, and Xenophobia
Moderate: War, Child abuse, Genocide, Homophobia, Pregnancy, Transphobia, Rape, Sexual harassment, and Colonisation
Minor: Abortion and Animal death
sarasreading's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
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
3.75
Before reading I knew the MC would be a terrible person, and I think that helped with my expectations. I didn't know much else about it though, and it drew me right in. There are a LOT of conversation points in this book, and while the book was already on the longer side, I almost wish it were even longer? To delve into those a little more deeply.
I also would have liked even more world building, especially regarding the Wisdom, because I found it fascinating. I also would have liked some character relationships to have more time. AND more time for the ending as it felt a bit rushed and just cut off at the end. Maybe an epilogue?
I guess I'm saying I would have liked this to be a couple of books lol!
But I enjoyed it. It always left me guessing and kept me on my toes, and I enjoyed how the unlikable main character learned and grew out of the extremist world view she was brought up with.
CW: There are so many, and they're listed in the beginning of the book. Heed them if you need them.
I also would have liked even more world building, especially regarding the Wisdom, because I found it fascinating. I also would have liked some character relationships to have more time. AND more time for the ending as it felt a bit rushed and just cut off at the end. Maybe an epilogue?
I guess I'm saying I would have liked this to be a couple of books lol!
But I enjoyed it. It always left me guessing and kept me on my toes, and I enjoyed how the unlikable main character learned and grew out of the extremist world view she was brought up with.
CW: There are so many, and they're listed in the beginning of the book. Heed them if you need them.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Xenophobia, Transphobia, Sexual harassment, Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Colonisation, Suicide, Murder, Death, Genocide, Homophobia, Misogyny, and Racism
Moderate: Rape, Grief, and Ableism
Minor: Abortion
annettewolf's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
sad
tense
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? Yes
5.0
This book is AMAZING. It broke my brain, it made me cry, it has super cool tech, and the characters continually surprised me. I couldn't put it down, and wasn't sure where it was going to end up, but I was very satisfied with the ending I got.
I normally hate unlikable characters, but the writing drew me in from the first page and there were so many little unanswered questions that would catch my attention, that I just had to keep reading. I wasn't disappointed.
There's a flavor of Iron-Widow-esque rage in this book, so if you loved that as much as I did, you'll want to pick up this book. I don't want to say much else in case of spoilers, but the queer rep was lovely, and obviously not just token rep, it was really woven into the characters.
I really appreciate the content warnings at the beginning of the book...being able to make the decision that I had enough emotional energy for this kind of story feels very empowering.
I'm excited to see what this author tackles next!
I normally hate unlikable characters, but the writing drew me in from the first page and there were so many little unanswered questions that would catch my attention, that I just had to keep reading. I wasn't disappointed.
There's a flavor of Iron-Widow-esque rage in this book, so if you loved that as much as I did, you'll want to pick up this book. I don't want to say much else in case of spoilers, but the queer rep was lovely, and obviously not just token rep, it was really woven into the characters.
I really appreciate the content warnings at the beginning of the book...being able to make the decision that I had enough emotional energy for this kind of story feels very empowering.
I'm excited to see what this author tackles next!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism, Racism, Xenophobia, Gun violence, Violence, and Suicide
Moderate: Sexual assault, Child abuse, Genocide, Ableism, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, Homophobia, and Transphobia
btwnprintedpgs's review against another edition
dark
hopeful
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism, Injury/Injury detail, Suicide, Death, Racism, Sexual assault, Violence, and Child abuse
Moderate: Genocide, Suicidal thoughts, War, and Kidnapping
Minor: Homophobia, Transphobia, Ableism, and Rape
tinytrashqueen's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
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
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Genocide, Transphobia, Violence, Sexual violence, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Rape