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buff_dude'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? It's complicated
3.5
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.
Graphic: Death, Suicide, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Child abuse, Genocide, Homophobia, Rape, Transphobia, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, and War
Minor: Animal death and Abortion
mariebrunelm'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
4.75
The first few chapters were a challenge, getting to know Kyr and her strong but flawed character, and the universe in which Terrans lost the war. Then, through the intricacies of plot and world-building, the characters started to shine and take centre-stage, bringing with them many questions around the notion of legitimacy and power. Kyr has a fantastic character arc, and I loved witnessing her growth as a character, from a devoted teenager so sure of her hierarchy’s benevolence to a questioning young woman having to sort through what’s true and what she’s been told all her life.
There were some plot twists I did not see coming, and I loved how they blended exterior conflicts with character writing. Tesh pictures a world that is still riddled with sexism and racism, but she shows the origins and how the characters decide to deal with the situation in a very satisfying way all along a fast-paced narrative that kept me turning the pages.
Rep: Kyr reads as asexual, there are gay and lesbian secondary characters as well as some diverse characters.
Graphic: Ableism, Homophobia, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, and Suicide
Minor: Child abuse, Genocide, Rape, and Pregnancy
madscientistcat's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Cursing, Death, Homophobia, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Murder, and War
Moderate: Rape and Pregnancy
pineapple_queen'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: Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicide, Violence, Xenophobia, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and War
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Chronic illness, Homophobia, Pedophilia, Racism, Rape, Torture, and Lesbophobia
annettewolf'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
5.0
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!
Graphic: Gun violence, Racism, Sexism, Suicide, Violence, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Ableism, Child abuse, Genocide, Homophobia, Sexual assault, Transphobia, Pregnancy, and Sexual harassment
callmekt's review against another edition
- 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
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.
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Homophobia, Rape, Sexism, Xenophobia, and War
Moderate: Gun violence, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Torture, Death of parent, and Pregnancy
clhtdr'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
4.25
Moderate: Death, Gun violence, Homophobia, Rape, Suicide, Violence, Xenophobia, Pregnancy, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail
hailstorm3812's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Genocide, Suicide, Violence, Xenophobia, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Homophobia, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Torture, Kidnapping, and Death of parent
Minor: Ableism, Bullying, Rape, Abortion, Pregnancy, and Outing
reneekgood'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
4.5
This was a MINDFUCK of a book. You know it’s good when what feels like the last act happens 200 pages in. A chapter starts that makes you go “wait, this didn’t happen this way before.” Feels like if Tamsyn Muir took a Becky Chambers universe and wrote the most pessimistic and upsetting perspective (as opposed to Becky’s hopeful takes). Recommend if you like Murderbot, Gideon the Ninth, sci-fi that'll fuck you up, and loveable aliens that make you smile in the midst of fascist chaos.
Graphic: Gun violence, Suicide, and Murder
Moderate: Genocide and War
Minor: Racism, Abortion, and Pregnancy
kylieqrada's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Genocide, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Violence
Moderate: Ableism, Child abuse, Homophobia, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Transphobia, and Pregnancy
Minor: Rape and Abortion