You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.81 AVERAGE
3.81 AVERAGE
The reviews for this were either "space romp and the power of friendship!" or "philosophical meander through weird and wonderful conceptual future". It is somehow both. This generally worked for me.
My main gripe was that the characters needed more distinct voices. The narration remained so similar in spite of POV switches that they sometimes felt like a collection of beliefs, principles and experiences on a personal growth journey, rather than people. The POV was also slippery enough to make me uncomfortable - it felt like it was supposed to be close 3rd person, but then I'd have expected more differentiated styles and fewer chirps at the reader... There were also issues with the timing of some reveals, making plot elements seem repetitious, rather than symmetrical in a meaningful way. Otherwise, cool ideas, plenty of "wow space future", and enough emotional realness to keep it together. In spite of the characters almost all falling into the "I repress my feelings" camp, the through-line is more emotional and philosophical than anything else. I'm sure this isn't everyone's cup of tea, but I was mostly on board for the thought experiment.
I read half as an audiobook and then realised that the narrator wasn't doing it for me and swapped to the e-book, so it's hard to tell how much of my crit relates to the audio version... At some point I will re-read the first half and find out, but this is a long read, so probably not any time soon!
My main gripe was that the characters needed more distinct voices. The narration remained so similar in spite of POV switches that they sometimes felt like a collection of beliefs, principles and experiences on a personal growth journey, rather than people. The POV was also slippery enough to make me uncomfortable - it felt like it was supposed to be close 3rd person, but then I'd have expected more differentiated styles and fewer chirps at the reader... There were also issues with the timing of some reveals, making plot elements seem repetitious, rather than symmetrical in a meaningful way. Otherwise, cool ideas, plenty of "wow space future", and enough emotional realness to keep it together. In spite of the characters almost all falling into the "I repress my feelings" camp, the through-line is more emotional and philosophical than anything else. I'm sure this isn't everyone's cup of tea, but I was mostly on board for the thought experiment.
I read half as an audiobook and then realised that the narrator wasn't doing it for me and swapped to the e-book, so it's hard to tell how much of my crit relates to the audio version... At some point I will re-read the first half and find out, but this is a long read, so probably not any time soon!
2 for story; 4 for narration so a 3 average
The book started off interesting. Viv is a genius programmer who has made and lost fortune after fortune. Knowing that her latest tech is going to bring the authorities down on her, she attempts to go into hiding. But as she is about to, she is suddenly whisked off to another time and place, thousands of years in the future.
From there it gets just pain weird and hard to follow. I had hopes and with the first couple chapters I recommended it to people. But now.... not so sure.
The book started off interesting. Viv is a genius programmer who has made and lost fortune after fortune. Knowing that her latest tech is going to bring the authorities down on her, she attempts to go into hiding. But as she is about to, she is suddenly whisked off to another time and place, thousands of years in the future.
From there it gets just pain weird and hard to follow. I had hopes and with the first couple chapters I recommended it to people. But now.... not so sure.
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Fascinating premise and an amazing futuristic civilization that spans from microcosms in black holes to galaxy spanning civilizations. There is a story arc, but it is not one I enjoyed much. The heroines are complex characters, a bit more sadistic than I can appreciate, or perhaps they enjoy thinking about revenge and trying to get it, more than I ever have. I like indulging in revenge fantasies somewhat, but not this much.
They move from one exciting adventure to another without progressing much, either in resolving issues, developing character, or solving problems. So, I get five-sixths of the way through, and I don't really have the desire to finish it.
Gladstone typically creates wonderful worlds, but they are broadly drawn, concepts a plenty, but always populated by people who inherit their world and don't create it, so they, like us, don't really have a clue how anything works. It's a lovely trope, but a frustrating one for me.
So, if you love Max, you'll love this book.
They move from one exciting adventure to another without progressing much, either in resolving issues, developing character, or solving problems. So, I get five-sixths of the way through, and I don't really have the desire to finish it.
Gladstone typically creates wonderful worlds, but they are broadly drawn, concepts a plenty, but always populated by people who inherit their world and don't create it, so they, like us, don't really have a clue how anything works. It's a lovely trope, but a frustrating one for me.
So, if you love Max, you'll love this book.
challenging
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
this book rocks
some of the best worldbuilding I've ever seen, that manages to strike the perfectbalance between feeling expansive but not overwhelming
some of the best worldbuilding I've ever seen, that manages to strike the perfectbalance between feeling expansive but not overwhelming
adventurous
reflective
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
adventurous
emotional
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
I started listening to this book via audible as I sweatshopped masks for this shitty covid-19 pandemic, and I became pretty much enamored with it to the point of walking around my house in my cat ear headphones with it piping into my head whilst cooking, doing laundry, gardening; pretty much anything that didn't require my absolute concentration, just to keep listening to it over the course of a week or so. I hadn't even seen the treatment of it as "a female guardians of the galaxy" until I checked in to mark it as read and let me tell you, the eyeroll is strong over here for that particular marketing choice. It is not, dear reader; it's more an examination of what you may or may not be capable of becoming and what choices you have in the matter, and how those choices are influenced by your found family, disguised as a cyberpunk space adventure featuring a higher-than-average number of women for either of those genres, many space battles, malleable reality, and beings of nearly-unbelievable strength and shape.
As someone who's read and thoroughly enjoyed some of Gladstone's Craft series, I'm well familiar with the amount of batshittery he can put together, so I was unsurprised and pleased by the level of insanity here. Vivian as a main character is smart and talented enough to know when she has no idea what the fuck is going on and when it's time to bring in the SME (and I did indeed snicker at her use of corporate software development and management experience coming in handy), and dysfunctional enough to be believably hampered by her own flaws.
Kudos to Gladstone for writing so many female leads here; I'd say mostly believably, though Viv's horndog response to hot women in general seems a little over the top, it's mostly in her head and not disrespectful in general (there's a stark difference between the book recently where I pointed out the gross descriptions of "the little blonde" with long legs and perky tits, etc. vs. the sight of strong, well-formed women making your insides a little melty). Viv also doesn't hit on all the women she admires, and though Gladstone doesn't shy away from the lady love scenes, and I'm entirely ok with it mainly because a) I'm a slasher myself and never shied away from writing mantouching despite not personally being a gay man, and b) they're steamy and grabby, but not desperately graphic, which is in my own opinion, the sweet spot for sex scenes anyway. Entirely enjoyable.
That said, I also really enjoyed the platonic relationships that were built during the course of the book, and that Gladstone absolutely does NOT go for the cheap love triangle trope; it's more a cuddle pile of disparate friends and allies around Viv. An extremely lethal cuddle pile, certainly, but it's a good one.
There seems to be a lot going on and many factions involved at first, and Gladstone also does a great job of weaving them all back through the plot. More than once, I found myself thinking, "you know what they need to solve that problem--" and then being pleased at the fact that I was not wrong, e.g.:
At any rate, a fantastic story and outstanding listening material to accompany my manual labor.
As someone who's read and thoroughly enjoyed some of Gladstone's Craft series, I'm well familiar with the amount of batshittery he can put together, so I was unsurprised and pleased by the level of insanity here. Vivian as a main character is smart and talented enough to know when she has no idea what the fuck is going on and when it's time to bring in the SME (and I did indeed snicker at her use of corporate software development and management experience coming in handy), and dysfunctional enough to be believably hampered by her own flaws.
Kudos to Gladstone for writing so many female leads here; I'd say mostly believably, though Viv's horndog response to hot women in general seems a little over the top, it's mostly in her head and not disrespectful in general (there's a stark difference between the book recently where I pointed out the gross descriptions of "the little blonde" with long legs and perky tits, etc. vs. the sight of strong, well-formed women making your insides a little melty). Viv also doesn't hit on all the women she admires, and though Gladstone doesn't shy away from the lady love scenes, and I'm entirely ok with it mainly because a) I'm a slasher myself and never shied away from writing mantouching despite not personally being a gay man, and b) they're steamy and grabby, but not desperately graphic, which is in my own opinion, the sweet spot for sex scenes anyway. Entirely enjoyable.
That said, I also really enjoyed the platonic relationships that were built during the course of the book, and that Gladstone absolutely does NOT go for the cheap love triangle trope; it's more a cuddle pile of disparate friends and allies around Viv. An extremely lethal cuddle pile, certainly, but it's a good one.
There seems to be a lot going on and many factions involved at first, and Gladstone also does a great job of weaving them all back through the plot. More than once, I found myself thinking, "you know what they need to solve that problem--" and then being pleased at the fact that I was not wrong, e.g.:
Spoiler
when they're like, oh man, who can join the cause? And I'm yelling OMG THE ORN CLANS, YO! five minutes later: Xiara: I've got it! Me: GIRL, YES. YES YOU DOOOOAt any rate, a fantastic story and outstanding listening material to accompany my manual labor.
I really did like this book, I just had some trouble paying attention, so it's one I'm going to reread at some point so I can write a more accurate review.