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3.81 AVERAGE
3.81 AVERAGE
Mini-Review:
3.5 Stars for Narration by Natalie Naudus
4.5 Stars for Story Concepts
2.5 Stars for Execution of Concepts
3.5 Stars for Characters
4.5 Stars for Really Weird & Cool Setting/Characters
This was one of those stories where I re-listened to various parts/chapters a few times to make sure I got it all. A lot of the story was abstract thoughts/emotions/drive/etc and sometimes the story did not give enough information for me to fill in the blanks. For such a complicated story idea, the characters were fairly flat & two-dimensional. There wasn't enough time to develop them into solid & weighty aspects within the mystery covered plot.
- The narrator totally made the story sound YA. By content & writing style, I would not call it YA except for the relationship parts. One in particular felt very forced & unnatural.
- I love the twisty, weird paths that Gladstone weaves into his work. It's rather mind-catchy & lures me into the story.
- There were too many big ideas and none of them were fully developed into a cohesive piece by the end. I thought the ending was okay but not one of my favorite styles for wrap ups.
- Pieces of the story were amazing and really thought provoking. The downside was how they did not flow well from one to the next.
Irony: The weird stuff came across as totally normal. The normal aspects came across as weirdly out of place. I may be the only person to think/feel that way.
Overall, a fun story with a few interesting bits.
3.5 Stars for Narration by Natalie Naudus
4.5 Stars for Story Concepts
2.5 Stars for Execution of Concepts
3.5 Stars for Characters
4.5 Stars for Really Weird & Cool Setting/Characters
This was one of those stories where I re-listened to various parts/chapters a few times to make sure I got it all. A lot of the story was abstract thoughts/emotions/drive/etc and sometimes the story did not give enough information for me to fill in the blanks. For such a complicated story idea, the characters were fairly flat & two-dimensional. There wasn't enough time to develop them into solid & weighty aspects within the mystery covered plot.
- The narrator totally made the story sound YA. By content & writing style, I would not call it YA except for the relationship parts. One in particular felt very forced & unnatural.
- I love the twisty, weird paths that Gladstone weaves into his work. It's rather mind-catchy & lures me into the story.
- There were too many big ideas and none of them were fully developed into a cohesive piece by the end. I thought the ending was okay but not one of my favorite styles for wrap ups.
- Pieces of the story were amazing and really thought provoking. The downside was how they did not flow well from one to the next.
Irony: The weird stuff came across as totally normal. The normal aspects came across as weirdly out of place. I may be the only person to think/feel that way.
Overall, a fun story with a few interesting bits.
At first glance, aside from the author's name, there's nothing about this that should be my cup of tea. I am not that into space opera, and if I describe this--as I did to my husband upon finishing it--as William Gibson cyberpunk crossed with Journey to the West, then also none of those things are really things I get very excited about.
And yet, I enjoyed this a lot. Most of that is down to the author's name: Gladstone is always fun to read, and he's outdone himself this time writing characters capable of Big Damn Things and yet also a wonderful tangle of humanity. The face-melting enormity of events is balanced very nicely with the delicacy of little choices and profound character shifts. As such, the romp across the galaxy is balanced out and elevated, for me, by the essential nature of each step for the characters themselves.
It doesn't hurt that those characters are about 80% female. There are so many fantastic, nuanced, intricate ladies, interacting with other ladies. It's great!
Four stars of purely great execution, only missing the fifth because so many of its elements aren't that exciting to me, and thus this wasn't absolutely mesmerising.
And yet, I enjoyed this a lot. Most of that is down to the author's name: Gladstone is always fun to read, and he's outdone himself this time writing characters capable of Big Damn Things and yet also a wonderful tangle of humanity. The face-melting enormity of events is balanced very nicely with the delicacy of little choices and profound character shifts. As such, the romp across the galaxy is balanced out and elevated, for me, by the essential nature of each step for the characters themselves.
It doesn't hurt that those characters are about 80% female. There are so many fantastic, nuanced, intricate ladies, interacting with other ladies. It's great!
Four stars of purely great execution, only missing the fifth because so many of its elements aren't that exciting to me, and thus this wasn't absolutely mesmerising.
adventurous
reflective
This is a solid sci-fi adventure. I saw some reviews compare this book to Guardians of the Galaxy, and that comparison rings true. It doesn't take itself too seriously, and many of the plot progression feels like it could be recreated in an ongoing comic book series with all the distinctive planets and different situations that arise along the way of an overarching threat.
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
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
fast-paced
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Empress of Forever is pure, good vibes all the way through.
Vivian Liao is tech billionaire with the intention of taking over the world (absolutely benevolently of course). However, as her artificial intelligence that will allow her to do so compiles, Vivian is kidnapped by a vicious green woman and catapulted into - the future? an alternate reality? a dream? - and crazy shenanigans ensue breakneck until the end. The best part of this book is the insanely imaginative world that the characters explore. Sure, Vivian Liao doesn’t often seem significantly challenged by much of what she faces, but thats not the point. The point is Vivian Liao is on a kickass space adventure with murder lesbians and a psycho grey goo child.
Recommended for people who love space vibes. Listen, you either get the vibe or you don’t get the vibe and if you don’t get the vibe I honestly feel sorry for you.
About midway through (before I'd spotted the work of classic literature it was riffing on), I said to a friend of mine that one way to think about this book was if you imagine that Farscape had been written by someone who just binge watched the entire run of Steven Universe. Neither of those shows were among the cultural touchstones mentioned in the afterword, but that characterization didn't feel any less accurate as I went on.
With Farscape, it shares a thematic fascination with breaking down the boundaries between its individual characters and the world around them: they're doubled, split, traumatized, mixed together, they eat and are eaten, their minds and bodies are leaky and permeable. And it takes that show's narrative tendency never to let a frying pan go by without a scarier fire prepped and waiting beyond. With Steven Universe, it shares an abiding faith in the ability of empathy and connection to make families out of people who began as enemies, and, eventually, for that process to topple tyrannies; a tendency to jewel tones; a heavy mix of high fantasy aesthetic in with its space opera.
I began this book entertained, and ended it pretty delighted.
With Farscape, it shares a thematic fascination with breaking down the boundaries between its individual characters and the world around them: they're doubled, split, traumatized, mixed together, they eat and are eaten, their minds and bodies are leaky and permeable. And it takes that show's narrative tendency never to let a frying pan go by without a scarier fire prepped and waiting beyond. With Steven Universe, it shares an abiding faith in the ability of empathy and connection to make families out of people who began as enemies, and, eventually, for that process to topple tyrannies; a tendency to jewel tones; a heavy mix of high fantasy aesthetic in with its space opera.
I began this book entertained, and ended it pretty delighted.
This is a piece of truly delightful galaxy-spanning excess. It starts off closely resembling a heroes-of-commerce technothriller, and then zooms back and out into a world of immense scale, ancient evils, magical monks, Viking warrior princesses and domesticated grey goo with a new marvellous absurdity in every chapter.