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sarahweyand's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
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? Yes
4.25
I read this book at the recommendation of my husband as a shorter book to get close to passing my 2023 reading goal. I was skeptical at first but ended up really enjoying myself! I liked the writing style and thought the story was well-suited to a novella. There was a good amount of character development and I found myself caring about our protagonist(s), which is something that's hard for me to do with shorter texts.
Sometimes the pacing felt a little all over the place, and I wish the ending had provided more catharsis than it did. Don't get me wrong, I really liked the ending. I predicted the climax and enjoyed how it played out, and I understand that not every story has to have a happy ending, but I was hoping for a little more relief for our protagonists.
I'm glad I picked this one up and I would be interested in reading more from Tchaikovsky in the future.
Sometimes the pacing felt a little all over the place, and I wish the ending had provided more catharsis than it did. Don't get me wrong, I really liked the ending. I predicted the climax and enjoyed how it played out, and I understand that not every story has to have a happy ending, but I was hoping for a little more relief for our protagonists.
I'm glad I picked this one up and I would be interested in reading more from Tchaikovsky in the future.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Gore, and Mental illness
Moderate: Death and Suicidal thoughts
surdiablo's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
mysterious
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? Yes
4.0
It's a solid, entertaining novella with the right amount of everything, which you might appreciate more if you go in completely blind ( So don't click my spoiler tags unless you are absolutely sure ). Tchaikovsky blends fantasy and sci-fi in such a clever, humorous way, and I really liked how seamless the POV switch was. It never felt jarring at any point, which could easily happen in a book trying to execute an idea like this. The realistic portrayal of mental anguish of the characters, alongside the constant miscommunication due to language or cultural barriers was quite interesting to read. Overall it was quite fun, can't think of any major flaws whatsoever.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Mental illness, and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Mental illness
lbelow's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- 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? Yes
3.75
There are things I really enjoyed about this and things I did not. The negatives are almost entirely in the "style" column. Mixed third person and first person point of view only works if there's a good reason for it and in this, there was not. So the style was jarring.
As for the things I did enjoy: the depiction of depression and how it isn't automatically cured by advanced technology, the alienness of the villainous alien, the intricacies of culture and language that even an anthropologist can't bypass.
Overall, this novella was fascinating but a bit shallow. I understand why it's gotten so many accolades, but I don't think it hit home for me in the same way it did for many others.
As for the things I did enjoy: the depiction of depression and how it isn't automatically cured by advanced technology, the alienness of the villainous alien, the intricacies of culture and language that even an anthropologist can't bypass.
Overall, this novella was fascinating but a bit shallow. I understand why it's gotten so many accolades, but I don't think it hit home for me in the same way it did for many others.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror and Mental illness
Minor: Suicidal thoughts and Injury/Injury detail
deetabz's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Mental illness, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal death, Death, Violence, Grief, and War
raincloud35's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
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
3.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body horror and Mental illness
Minor: War
yuyuv's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body horror
Minor: Gore, Mental illness, Violence, Medical content, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail
bluejayreads's review against another edition
4.5
The back cover on this was mediocre, and I didn't have high expectations. But it was surprisingly good. It takes the maxim "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic" and rolls with it. But the communication struggles between the augmented anthropologist of a technologically-advanced people and the princess of a generally-primitive people were the most fascinating part. For being as short as it is, the world and characters are remarkably complex and the emotions are surprisingly deep and rich. The plot is fairly simple - go to this place, deal with the demon there - but it ended in a pleasantly unexpected way. I just can't get over how this book looked so unassuming on the outside and yet managed to be complex and interesting and have such solid characters and a well-developed world while still being so short. I almost wish it was longer just because I want more in this world with these characters.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Gore, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal death, Death, and Mental illness
Minor: Suicidal thoughts
johnbat's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
This is a duel-perspective narrative that is BRILLIANTLY told. I loved how the author used unique language in the perspective of each character to incite differing images of the story.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body horror and Mental illness
Minor: Gore
wizardlyweirdo's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
fast-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
4.5
Content Warnings
Minor: Mental illness
dejaghoul's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Great premise, but the characters and writing are underdeveloped and the ending is disappointing.
Nyr is clearly the character that Tchaikovsky is more interested in, and the dual narration functions beautifully to bring him to life, but I didn’t feel that there was much more to Lyn than what she tells us about herself in the first few pages. I truly don’t think it’s intentional, but it’s frustrating that the headstrong young woman is utilized mainly to reflect upon and prop up the inner struggles of the main male character.
Regarding the plot—I can accept that a novella will move faster than a novel, and that it leaves some things unsaid in favor of a streamlined story. However, I felt like there was quite a bit of telling vs showing, in a way that was detrimental. One notable moment is when several characters tell stories that reflect their personalities/cultures; instead of actually writing these stories, they’re simply described, which just feels odd and empty.
That’s at around 3/4 of the way through, and it’s around there that the story begins to falter and stumble towards an unsatisfactory ending. The cleverness of the beginning of the book comes from how it contrasts the perceptions of scientist and the magic-believer. So I was hoping—taking for granted, really—that the Big Bad Thing would be something that sounds similarly fantastic and strange but ultimately has a scientific explanation that the reader understands. Without any specific spoilers, the ending is an interesting idea that is not fully explored or explained, and its ambiguity is unsatisfying, especially when combined with the very brief denouement that we, again, experience mainly through telling rather than showing.
Fantastic beginning and middle with the Clarke’s third law stuff and the interpretation of depression, so it’s very sad about the lame ending. I do think it’s still worth reading for the good parts.
Nyr is clearly the character that Tchaikovsky is more interested in, and the dual narration functions beautifully to bring him to life, but I didn’t feel that there was much more to Lyn than what she tells us about herself in the first few pages. I truly don’t think it’s intentional, but it’s frustrating that the headstrong young woman is utilized mainly to reflect upon and prop up the inner struggles of the main male character.
Regarding the plot—I can accept that a novella will move faster than a novel, and that it leaves some things unsaid in favor of a streamlined story. However, I felt like there was quite a bit of telling vs showing, in a way that was detrimental. One notable moment is when several characters tell stories that reflect their personalities/cultures; instead of actually writing these stories, they’re simply described, which just feels odd and empty.
That’s at around 3/4 of the way through, and it’s around there that the story begins to falter and stumble towards an unsatisfactory ending. The cleverness of the beginning of the book comes from how it contrasts the perceptions of scientist and the magic-believer. So I was hoping—taking for granted, really—that the Big Bad Thing would be something that sounds similarly fantastic and strange but ultimately has a scientific explanation that the reader understands. Without any specific spoilers, the ending is an interesting idea that is not fully explored or explained, and its ambiguity is unsatisfying, especially when combined with the very brief denouement that we, again, experience mainly through telling rather than showing.
Fantastic beginning and middle with the Clarke’s third law stuff and the interpretation of depression, so it’s very sad about the lame ending. I do think it’s still worth reading for the good parts.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness
Minor: Xenophobia