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callmekt's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
[EDIT] THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS. The spoiler tags aren't working for me on mobile. Please read this review at your own risk.
Spoilering my review because I want to talk about later plot developments.
<Spoiler> Overall, I liked the first half over the second. Kyr's slow realizations were much more interesting than the timey-whimey shenanigans of the second half.
<Spoiler>I am not big into stories where time travel is a major plot development. I think things start to go off the rails in Part 3 when Kyr gets to the Wisdom node on Chrysothemis and both Magnus and Avi conveniently show up. Without prior understanding of a Wisdom node's security measures, it felt a little farcicle.
<Spoiler>If Part 4 had been a longer segment, I would have DNF'd right there, but Tesh seemed to understand that would have been a stopping point for a lot of readers and brought back the main timeline to keep us going. I was worried that the last part would be another jump away from the original timeline of the first half, but it didn't. Thankfully.
<Spoiler>Part 5 had the most adventure and action. That made it fun and engaging, though I would have liked another moment between Kyr and Lisabel. I think they make a cute couple.
This book talks about sexual subjugation of women, and I was a little worried we would see a graphic rape scene. We did not. I am grateful that this is a book where sexual assault is a central talking point without being graphically depicted.
For readers like me who want to know exactly how a book handles/talks about sexual assault, here is a spoiled list of the mentions:
<Spoiler>
Spoilering my review because I want to talk about later plot developments.
<Spoiler> Overall, I liked the first half over the second. Kyr's slow realizations were much more interesting than the timey-whimey shenanigans of the second half.
<Spoiler>I am not big into stories where time travel is a major plot development. I think things start to go off the rails in Part 3 when Kyr gets to the Wisdom node on Chrysothemis and both Magnus and Avi conveniently show up. Without prior understanding of a Wisdom node's security measures, it felt a little farcicle.
<Spoiler>If Part 4 had been a longer segment, I would have DNF'd right there, but Tesh seemed to understand that would have been a stopping point for a lot of readers and brought back the main timeline to keep us going. I was worried that the last part would be another jump away from the original timeline of the first half, but it didn't. Thankfully.
<Spoiler>Part 5 had the most adventure and action. That made it fun and engaging, though I would have liked another moment between Kyr and Lisabel. I think they make a cute couple.
This book talks about sexual subjugation of women, and I was a little worried we would see a graphic rape scene. We did not. I am grateful that this is a book where sexual assault is a central talking point without being graphically depicted.
For readers like me who want to know exactly how a book handles/talks about sexual assault, here is a spoiled list of the mentions:
<Spoiler>
- Serious talk of Ursula, Kyr's sister, getting raped by Aulus Jole. This includes Kyr's thoughts going from "Jole hurt my sister" to "Jole raped my sister." This is brought up a lot.
- Allusions to the women assigned to Nursery at Gaea Station being raped regularly, and this rape bears children. Not mentioned as often as the first point but still often.
- One of Kyr's friends, newly assigned to Nursery, is led away by a superior officer in front of Kyr, who does not try to stop it.
- Jole kisses Kyr without consent. He also touches her hand and arm and shoulder. Clothes are on throughout the exchange and Kyr gets herself out of it.
- A single mention of Kyr realizing female fetuses are aborted so the majority of births on the station are male. This is only ever mentioned explicitly once.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism, Genocide, Xenophobia, Adult/minor relationship, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, War, and Rape
Moderate: Torture, Suicide, Death of parent, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Pregnancy, and Gun violence
zoenelson's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
sad
tense
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? It's complicated
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide
Moderate: Sexual assault, Injury/Injury detail, War, Xenophobia, Rape, and Adult/minor relationship
Minor: Homophobia, Death of parent, Death, and Lesbophobia
hailstorm3812's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
hopeful
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
This is a tough read, but so worth it. It is both incredibly dark and incredibly hopeful. Kyr's arc is so well done and the side characters are so interesting. It makes so many interesting points. I think it straddles the line of YA and adult in an odd way sometimes, most evidently in the very ending which I have mixed feelings on. Overall I really did love it and highly recommend.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, War, Suicide, Genocide, Colonisation, Xenophobia, Injury/Injury detail, and Adult/minor relationship
Moderate: Homophobia, Death of parent, Torture, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Misogyny, and Kidnapping
Minor: Ableism, Outing, Bullying, Abortion, Rape, and Pregnancy
rsb12's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-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? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Violence, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Homophobia, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Abortion, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence
Minor: Genocide, Murder, Alcohol, Death of parent, and War
bookishwondergoth's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
hopeful
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
4.75
Not quite 5 stars but sooooooo close. This book was an absolute ride and I adored every moment. There was a bit of a lull in the middle and I got whiplash a few times with all the changes, but ultimately this was a fantastic examination of cult mentality, facism, radicalisation and deconstruction of dangerously right-wing views. Absolutely brilliant. Will be reading more of Emily Tesh's books for sure.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Sexism, Homophobia, War, Transphobia, Xenophobia, Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Sexual harassment, Pregnancy, Sexual assault, Rape, Murder, Misogyny, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Genocide, Grief, and Pedophilia
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Pedophilia, Gun violence, and Death of parent
Minor: Blood
literaryintersections's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
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? Yes
5.0
My brain ➡️ “idk what tf is going on but I LOVE IT”
Y’all get this book. It’s queer. It’s a SPACE OPERA. It’s violent. Some of the best sci fi I’ve read recently. What are you waiting for????
A few things - I think this book does an amazing job of worldbuilding. You are immediately dropped into an Earth type world but have no clue what is going on. And then you are just along for the ride as Tesh slowly feeds you bit after bit about what happened to Earth, who the aliens are, who the villains are. The twists and turns took me by complete surprise. I can't say more without spoiling but that first shift in the story I literally just put the book down and stared into space.
Now I loved Kyr. She is truly a horrible character in the beginning because she is brainwashed. BUT, as she learns, as she explores other people and experiences, as she starts to break away from being a cold robot, she becomes so much more. And she gets challenged in her shitty ways. I think Tesh did a great job of giving us a rough character who we ultimately know is terrible and has other characters tell her that she is terrible. It's not just shitty for the sake of shitty. And I loved Cleo. She was prob my favorite character in the entire book besides Yiso.
There's been a lot of talk about the whole hair part at the end. As a Black person, it didn't bother me. Does it make sense? No. But it didn't take away from the story for me.
It is also important to note that this is sometimes billed as a "sapphic space opera" and imo that is not correct. Queer? 100%. Sapphic? Not 100% clear. There is an inkling of sapphic romance. There is very much queer relationships. But it is not a romance book. Nor does it even have strong romantic elements.
Overall I fucking loved this.
Y’all get this book. It’s queer. It’s a SPACE OPERA. It’s violent. Some of the best sci fi I’ve read recently. What are you waiting for????
A few things - I think this book does an amazing job of worldbuilding. You are immediately dropped into an Earth type world but have no clue what is going on. And then you are just along for the ride as Tesh slowly feeds you bit after bit about what happened to Earth, who the aliens are, who the villains are. The twists and turns took me by complete surprise. I can't say more without spoiling but that first shift in the story I literally just put the book down and stared into space.
Now I loved Kyr. She is truly a horrible character in the beginning because she is brainwashed. BUT, as she learns, as she explores other people and experiences, as she starts to break away from being a cold robot, she becomes so much more. And she gets challenged in her shitty ways. I think Tesh did a great job of giving us a rough character who we ultimately know is terrible and has other characters tell her that she is terrible. It's not just shitty for the sake of shitty. And I loved Cleo. She was prob my favorite character in the entire book besides Yiso.
There's been a lot of talk about the whole hair part at the end. As a Black person, it didn't bother me. Does it make sense? No. But it didn't take away from the story for me.
It is also important to note that this is sometimes billed as a "sapphic space opera" and imo that is not correct. Queer? 100%. Sapphic? Not 100% clear. There is an inkling of sapphic romance. There is very much queer relationships. But it is not a romance book. Nor does it even have strong romantic elements.
Overall I fucking loved this.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Genocide, Death of parent, and Death
Moderate: Violence and Sexual violence
Minor: Sexual harassment
mo345's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
funny
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: War, Xenophobia, Blood, Pregnancy, Colonisation, Confinement, Death, Genocide, Sexual assault, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Sexism, Suicide, Torture, and Violence
Moderate: Rape and Grief
Minor: Medical content, Cursing, Alcohol, and Abortion
The xenophobia tag refers to opinions some characters in the book have about aliens.bookswithbethx's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
reflective
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
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pregnancy, Adult/minor relationship, Murder, Child abuse, Genocide, Death of parent, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Death, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Misogyny, Outing, Torture, Xenophobia, Rape, Sexism, Violence, and War
azrah786's review against another edition
3.5
[This review can also be found on my BLOG]
**I received a proof copy from Orbit Books UK in exchange for an honest review**
CW: violence, gun violence, blood, injury, murder, death, death of parent (off page), suicidal ideation, suicide, war, genocide, sexism, misogyny, homophobia, transphobia, racism, xenophobia, ableism, sexual assault, rape (off page), pregnancy, child abuse, radicalisation, gaslighting, confinement
--
Some Desperate Glory is a fast paced, action packed sci-fi that will keep you on your toes.
The story revolves around Kyr, a young super soldier who has been brought up on Gaea Station as part of a militarised fascist cult, a group determined to avenge humanity from the Majoda - aliens who obliterated Earth with the help of a reality bending technology known as the Wisdom. However, when it comes to being assigned a division to serve in Kyr is allocated to Nursery, where she is expected to bear children, and her brother is sent on a mission to certain death. Less than pleased with her fate Kyr sets off to save her brother instead and to claim her higher purpose in the war against the Majoda. What she doesn’t expect is the reality check she gets along the way.
One of the big selling points about this book is that it is labelled as a queer space opera. Some things you should know going in is that yes the MC (and a few of the supporting cast) identify as queer but there is not much in terms of romance in this book. There is very little. In fact with characters who are so rigorously indoctrinated as part of a patriarchal community there are a lot of disparaging attitudes towards anyone who identifies as queer in the story and the MC’s journey has a lot to do with unlearning her brainwashing and coming to terms with her own identity. On that note there are A LOT of heavy topics so please take care when picking this one up and definitely check the content warnings before doing so.
The various characters in the book are all pretty morally ambiguous but the single POV narrative means we mainly get accustomed with Kyr and she is not a likable protagonist at all. Her age and mannerisms make the book have a YA feel to it which again is not what you would expect going in so this might be off putting for some people. Her journey and development over the course of the book are in some way inspiring and make you warm towards her a little but I’m not sure I totally liked her by the end either. Her saving grace in a sense and what allowed me to put up with her was how much she actually cared for her brother. I'd definitely give Tesh credit for character relationships throughout this book because they were an interesting mix and written and developed quite well.
What I also really like were the little snippets from text/books that we got at the beginning of each part fleshing out the history and philosophy surrounding everything occurring in the book. Plus I always love seeing different interpretations on reality bending / subrealities / alternate timelines and Tesh’s take on it was pretty cool. Otherwise I have to say the worldbuilding does come across as a little simplistic.
This is an edge of your seat type of read where a lot is happening. The plot itself is simple but it’s the type of sci-fi where everything is storming on ahead and by the time you register what they mean some new twist gets thrown in. Sometimes this makes for the best sci-fi, other times this can be quite frustrating. I’d say for the most part this book falls into the former however, I did get lost by some parts when it came to the reality changing / Shadowspace technology. It is never fully explained so didn’t feel even slightly credible.
The last thing that I do want to point out is a very questionable moment which occurs towards the end of the book which I really don’t think was necessary - Rebecca Roanhorse’s review touches on it here – and this made me knock off another half star.
But all in all this was an extremely engaging story about indoctrination and survival that despite not being particularly ground-breaking was an entertaining read all the same.
Final Rating – 3.5/5 Stars
**I received a proof copy from Orbit Books UK in exchange for an honest review**
CW: violence, gun violence, blood, injury, murder, death, death of parent (off page), suicidal ideation, suicide, war, genocide, sexism, misogyny, homophobia, transphobia, racism, xenophobia, ableism, sexual assault, rape (off page), pregnancy, child abuse, radicalisation, gaslighting, confinement
--
Some Desperate Glory is a fast paced, action packed sci-fi that will keep you on your toes.
The story revolves around Kyr, a young super soldier who has been brought up on Gaea Station as part of a militarised fascist cult, a group determined to avenge humanity from the Majoda - aliens who obliterated Earth with the help of a reality bending technology known as the Wisdom. However, when it comes to being assigned a division to serve in Kyr is allocated to Nursery, where she is expected to bear children, and her brother is sent on a mission to certain death. Less than pleased with her fate Kyr sets off to save her brother instead and to claim her higher purpose in the war against the Majoda. What she doesn’t expect is the reality check she gets along the way.
One of the big selling points about this book is that it is labelled as a queer space opera. Some things you should know going in is that yes the MC (and a few of the supporting cast) identify as queer but there is not much in terms of romance in this book. There is very little. In fact with characters who are so rigorously indoctrinated as part of a patriarchal community there are a lot of disparaging attitudes towards anyone who identifies as queer in the story and the MC’s journey has a lot to do with unlearning her brainwashing and coming to terms with her own identity. On that note there are A LOT of heavy topics so please take care when picking this one up and definitely check the content warnings before doing so.
The various characters in the book are all pretty morally ambiguous but the single POV narrative means we mainly get accustomed with Kyr and she is not a likable protagonist at all. Her age and mannerisms make the book have a YA feel to it which again is not what you would expect going in so this might be off putting for some people. Her journey and development over the course of the book are in some way inspiring and make you warm towards her a little but I’m not sure I totally liked her by the end either. Her saving grace in a sense and what allowed me to put up with her was how much she actually cared for her brother. I'd definitely give Tesh credit for character relationships throughout this book because they were an interesting mix and written and developed quite well.
What I also really like were the little snippets from text/books that we got at the beginning of each part fleshing out the history and philosophy surrounding everything occurring in the book. Plus I always love seeing different interpretations on reality bending / subrealities / alternate timelines and Tesh’s take on it was pretty cool. Otherwise I have to say the worldbuilding does come across as a little simplistic.
This is an edge of your seat type of read where a lot is happening. The plot itself is simple but it’s the type of sci-fi where everything is storming on ahead and by the time you register what they mean some new twist gets thrown in. Sometimes this makes for the best sci-fi, other times this can be quite frustrating. I’d say for the most part this book falls into the former however, I did get lost by some parts when it came to the reality changing / Shadowspace technology. It is never fully explained so didn’t feel even slightly credible.
The last thing that I do want to point out is a very questionable moment which occurs towards the end of the book which I really don’t think was necessary - Rebecca Roanhorse’s review touches on it here – and this made me knock off another half star.
But all in all this was an extremely engaging story about indoctrination and survival that despite not being particularly ground-breaking was an entertaining read all the same.
Final Rating – 3.5/5 Stars
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Blood, Murder, Death, Suicide, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Genocide, Sexism, Misogyny, Homophobia, Transphobia, Racism, Xenophobia, Ableism, War, and Child abuse
Moderate: Gaslighting, Confinement, Death of parent, Sexual assault, Rape, and Pregnancy
ezwolf's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Kyr is a teenager born to fight for humanity after Earth is destroyed by The Wisdom and she has the training scores to prove it. When she's assigned to the Nursery and sends her twin brother on a mission meant to kill him, she breaks the rules and goes after him. Venturing to a planet inhabited by "traitor" humans, Kyr begins to learn that maybe everything she's learned is not the whole truth.
This book brings up a lot of great topics, the faults of humanity in the future, as well as currently. Gaea is everything you would expect from a society that's almost entirely white and able bodied, xenophobic, homophobic, and forces its women to be pregnant for years and years. Of course, this is why Kyr starts off being immensely unlikeable, but she does grow and learn to realize how narrow minded her thinking was and at one point even recognizes that even though she has made progress, she still holds internal biases.
But this is getting a solid 4 stars from me because I could not stand Kyr for a good chunk of the book. I know that was part of the plot and Kyr had to realize that Gaea was brainwashing everyone, but I was never endeared to her. I wanted her to succeed because no one should grow up the way Kyr did but I didn't particularly care about anyone other Yiso, I didn't like any of the characters other than them.
Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for making this available in exchange for an honest review!
This book brings up a lot of great topics, the faults of humanity in the future, as well as currently. Gaea is everything you would expect from a society that's almost entirely white and able bodied, xenophobic, homophobic, and forces its women to be pregnant for years and years. Of course, this is why Kyr starts off being immensely unlikeable, but she does grow and learn to realize how narrow minded her thinking was and at one point even recognizes that even though she has made progress, she still holds internal biases.
But this is getting a solid 4 stars from me because I could not stand Kyr for a good chunk of the book. I know that was part of the plot and Kyr had to realize that Gaea was brainwashing everyone, but I was never endeared to her. I wanted her to succeed because no one should grow up the way Kyr did but I didn't particularly care about anyone other Yiso, I didn't like any of the characters other than them.
Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for making this available in exchange for an honest review!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Sexism, Suicide, Violence, Homophobia, Grief, Xenophobia, Gaslighting, Genocide, Gun violence, Murder, Misogyny, War, Blood, Death, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Pedophilia, Sexual harassment, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, and Torture
Minor: Ableism, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Abortion, Death of parent, Racism, Rape, and Pregnancy