Scan barcode
cdc95's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Terminal illness, Incest, Death, Child death, Sexual content, Violence, Gore, War, Death of parent, and Self harm
Moderate: Colonisation, Xenophobia, and Genocide
bluemonkey14's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
I enjoyed this but in the end it left me a bit cold. It felt like the first two acts were building towards something huge and revelatory, but the ending felt like it petered out without really tying up most of the loose ends.
Some of the sexual content felt corny to me, especially contrasted with the grand arcs of the overall storyline and took away from the overall experience. I think it would have been better to gloss over it a little more and let the reader fill in the gaps with their imagination.
Contrary to other reviews I don't think Laviaja is supposed to be taken as some sort of perfect utopia, but just another version of civilisation with pros and cons, similar to how modern society is very different from the Mayan society, but in no way perfect. As we know, anything presented as a utopia is usually nothing of the sort, and I think that holds true here. Byrne cites Black Mirror as one of her influences and I think the 3012 portion of the book should be taken in that same vein - a possible futures.
The Laviaja sections were my favourite, and I would personally love to see more development of it, both before and after the events of The Actual Star. We know some history of the Age of Emergency - aspects like nomadism, mutual aid and the push back against hoarding of resources all make sense in that context. But naturally given the format, there is a huge gap between what we know of today, and where Laviaja is in 3012. And of course there's scope to see how things play out, especially given Niloux's theory about the location of further cortadas.
Some of the sexual content felt corny to me, especially contrasted with the grand arcs of the overall storyline and took away from the overall experience. I think it would have been better to gloss over it a little more and let the reader fill in the gaps with their imagination.
Contrary to other reviews I don't think Laviaja is supposed to be taken as some sort of perfect utopia, but just another version of civilisation with pros and cons, similar to how modern society is very different from the Mayan society, but in no way perfect. As we know, anything presented as a utopia is usually nothing of the sort, and I think that holds true here. Byrne cites Black Mirror as one of her influences and I think the 3012 portion of the book should be taken in that same vein - a possible futures.
The Laviaja sections were my favourite, and I would personally love to see more development of it, both before and after the events of The Actual Star. We know some history of the Age of Emergency - aspects like nomadism, mutual aid and the push back against hoarding of resources all make sense in that context. But naturally given the format, there is a huge gap between what we know of today, and where Laviaja is in 3012. And of course there's scope to see how things play out, especially given Niloux's theory about the location of further cortadas.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Self harm, Incest, Death, Murder, Sexual content, and Blood
Moderate: Drug use
Minor: Cancer, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, and Vomit
jordynkw's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Self harm, Death, Gore, Blood, and Incest
ceilidhwilliams's review
challenging
informative
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Blood, Self harm, Sexual content, Death, Incest, Injury/Injury detail, and Murder
ksorianotaylor's review
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
an interesting take on intergenerational trauma in the form of three eras that add up to the founding of a “utopian” religion. while i didn’t really love any of the characters, the book was definitely a fun/exciting read. definitely scratched that “i want to solve a mystery” itch. i felt like the pacing was great in that it’s slow at the beginning when you’re learning about everything and the events leading up to the main plot are taking shape and by the end it’s racing alongside the journey.
definitely saw some big “twists” coming, but i think that was intentional. and there were enough that i didn’t catch them all. the world building to me was just so-so, but the connections between the three settings were super interesting. one of the books it reminded me of that hasn’t been brought up yet is the fifth sacred thing by starhawk, so people might enjoy that.
i’m rating it a little lower i guess because while i overall enjoyed the book, a lot of it seemed unbelievable to me (which is a dumb reason for a sci-fi book i know). but like leah as a character was boring and kind of stock-y to me (also why didn’t she have a cell phone? in 2012?!) likewise ajul and ixul were the least interesting part of the 1012 era, and ket suffered from weird wise-child syndrome. the 3012 era had the most promise to me but it was super hard for me to believe that a dispersed nomadic society dedicated pluralism would ALL so dogmatically believe in the laviaja/st leah religion. also there was just sooo much unsexy sex. (that i don’t think was intentional.) like i would have expected to see more fun sex stuff happening in 3012 with endless ~future~ possibilities? but instead we got tired twincest and leah. and i think the author could have used more queer/trans input in those relationships. ahh sorry now that i said it leah was so boring!
also the kriol and spanish that people complained about is definitely intelligible/context oriented, i did not have a problem with it at all.
definitely saw some big “twists” coming, but i think that was intentional. and there were enough that i didn’t catch them all. the world building to me was just so-so, but the connections between the three settings were super interesting. one of the books it reminded me of that hasn’t been brought up yet is the fifth sacred thing by starhawk, so people might enjoy that.
i’m rating it a little lower i guess because while i overall enjoyed the book, a lot of it seemed unbelievable to me (which is a dumb reason for a sci-fi book i know). but like leah as a character was boring and kind of stock-y to me (also why didn’t she have a cell phone? in 2012?!) likewise ajul and ixul were the least interesting part of the 1012 era, and ket suffered from weird wise-child syndrome. the 3012 era had the most promise to me but it was super hard for me to believe that a dispersed nomadic society dedicated pluralism would ALL so dogmatically believe in the laviaja/st leah religion. also there was just sooo much unsexy sex. (that i don’t think was intentional.) like i would have expected to see more fun sex stuff happening in 3012 with endless ~future~ possibilities? but instead we got tired twincest and leah. and i think the author could have used more queer/trans input in those relationships. ahh sorry now that i said it leah was so boring!
also the kriol and spanish that people complained about is definitely intelligible/context oriented, i did not have a problem with it at all.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Incest, Blood, and Self harm
beccaand's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- 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
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Self harm, Incest, Sexual content, and Blood
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail and Child death
Minor: Terminal illness
cleo_wylde's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
reflective
tense
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? It's complicated
4.0
Loved the world the author has conceptualised and how it all comes together. A book that tries very hard to hit lots of points and overall succeeds.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Murder, Self harm, Sexual content, Injury/Injury detail, and Blood
Moderate: Incest, Religious bigotry, and Injury/Injury detail
valentina_legge's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- 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
The right book at the right time.
Long and dense with research and complex world-building, but never too heavy, still a page-turner. Perfect structure. Loved the ending.
Will stay with me for a long time.
Long and dense with research and complex world-building, but never too heavy, still a page-turner. Perfect structure. Loved the ending.
Will stay with me for a long time.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood and Violence
bailey_the_bookworm's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
medium-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
5.0
This book! Wow. It melted my brain in the best way.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Self harm, Violence, Death, and Incest
Minor: Terminal illness
caseythereader's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Thanks to Harper Voyager for the free copy of this book.
- Wow, how do I even review a work like THE ACTUAL STAR? This book is a massive undertaking, telling the stories of three sets of people in three timelines each a thousand years apart. We watch as their stories braid, repeat, differ, and merge.
- I saw elements of Ursula LeGuin, Octavia E. Butler, Simon Jimenez, and more from across decades of sci-fi and fantasy literature in this story.
- I felt deeply invested in each timeline, and was on the edge of my seat as the stories came together. It’s quite a feat to make a slow paced, 600+ page novel a page turner.
- Story aside, the writing is fantastic, too. Beautifully written, with the recurring elements never becoming too heavyhanded.
- Wow, how do I even review a work like THE ACTUAL STAR? This book is a massive undertaking, telling the stories of three sets of people in three timelines each a thousand years apart. We watch as their stories braid, repeat, differ, and merge.
- I saw elements of Ursula LeGuin, Octavia E. Butler, Simon Jimenez, and more from across decades of sci-fi and fantasy literature in this story.
- I felt deeply invested in each timeline, and was on the edge of my seat as the stories came together. It’s quite a feat to make a slow paced, 600+ page novel a page turner.
- Story aside, the writing is fantastic, too. Beautifully written, with the recurring elements never becoming too heavyhanded.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Incest, Infidelity, Self harm, Violence, Cursing, Drug use, Murder, Sexual content, Child death, Death, Blood, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, and Alcohol
Minor: Terminal illness