Scan barcode
lorenz32's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
hopeful
medium-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
odin45mp's review against another edition
4.0
A good debut.
Kyr (spelling mistakes my own, I listened to the audiobook) is a child soldier raised to take revenge on Earth being destroyed. Only to find out there's so, so much more to the story than she has been told.
This book took a while for me to get into, because Kyr and her fellow soldiers aren't very likable. One even identifies as a complete asshole. She finds that the whole organization has rot at its core, that the state of the galaxy isn't quite what she thought it was, and that she might be able to do something to change it. Great action sequences string bits of plot together in a way that seldom left me bored and didn't stop to dwell on the science - it was here to service a high adventure, not prove theorems, and I'm good with that.
Recommended for fans of The Light Brigade, Starship Troopers, and Star Wars. Note: the content warning at the start of the audiobook is accurate. Definitely check the list before buying if you are sensitive to any number of difficult subjects, because odds are someone somewhere in the story either inflicts it on others, or contemplates it, or does it.
Kyr (spelling mistakes my own, I listened to the audiobook) is a child soldier raised to take revenge on Earth being destroyed. Only to find out there's so, so much more to the story than she has been told.
This book took a while for me to get into, because Kyr and her fellow soldiers aren't very likable. One even identifies as a complete asshole. She finds that the whole organization has rot at its core, that the state of the galaxy isn't quite what she thought it was, and that she might be able to do something to change it. Great action sequences string bits of plot together in a way that seldom left me bored and didn't stop to dwell on the science - it was here to service a high adventure, not prove theorems, and I'm good with that.
Recommended for fans of The Light Brigade, Starship Troopers, and Star Wars. Note: the content warning at the start of the audiobook is accurate. Definitely check the list before buying if you are sensitive to any number of difficult subjects, because odds are someone somewhere in the story either inflicts it on others, or contemplates it, or does it.
grumpkin's review against another edition
adventurous
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
3.75
soupynoodles's review against another edition
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
4.5
yeah that was good. Good handling of time “loops”/alternate realities that don’t get redundant: the characters development in each reality have a distinct impact on the next reality. Nothing felt thrown away at the end.
lavi23's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
medium-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
4.5
trintonofthesea's review against another edition
3.0
My experience with this book was complex - I liked it, and there was definitely some interesting and unexpected directions explored in the narrative that I loved, but I also was left wanting more from a lot of threads that seemed to be dropped early. While I couldn’t see any indication right now that this is the start of a series, the story had the vibe of something that would have been best positioned as the start of a trilogy or a series in the same universe with different characters.
The protagonist definitely is fairly unlikeable through the first third of the book and while they grow a lot and I came to root for them, there were some choices made on how the character would grow that felt like short cuts and left me uncertain on how satisfying the overall arc of their story was for me. I would recommend this book to others, particularly if you enjoy exploring fascism, dystopia, and characters breaking through indoctrination, but be prepared for some story beats being left behind as the narrative begins to rush towards a conclusion in the final third of the book.
The protagonist definitely is fairly unlikeable through the first third of the book and while they grow a lot and I came to root for them, there were some choices made on how the character would grow that felt like short cuts and left me uncertain on how satisfying the overall arc of their story was for me. I would recommend this book to others, particularly if you enjoy exploring fascism, dystopia, and characters breaking through indoctrination, but be prepared for some story beats being left behind as the narrative begins to rush towards a conclusion in the final third of the book.
violvioletvine's review against another edition
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Am I the target audience for this book? No, so take this review with a grain of salt. However, I, personally, could not stand Kyr and thus struggled to ever invest myself in this book. Also, it felt like we were only ever *told* of the bad things that were happening until, like, 80% through the book, which is always my favorite trope in writing /sarcastic.
Additionally, a lot of the “diversity characters” felt like they were only ever given one moment to be ~diverse~. i.e. the only Black character gets one paragraph to talk about racism about two thirds through the book.
Additionally, a lot of the “diversity characters” felt like they were only ever given one moment to be ~diverse~. i.e. the only Black character gets one paragraph to talk about racism about two thirds through the book.
mdegge's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-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
3.5