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3.49 AVERAGE
3.49 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I really enjoyed reading this queer sci fi story. It never took the easy route, including a complicated/problematic love affair, and a complicated/problematic chosen-one narrative, with plenty of signs that things are not as straightforward as they seem. Yet it kept me guessing right to the end about how things actually are, with a satisfying conclusion (no deus ex machina, or something out of step with the rest of the world).
I really liked the theme of how to trust your senses, and when to trust people who say you are special, all wrapped up in religion and dogma. Can dreams be prophetic, or do they become self-fulfilling when you’re looking for prophecy?
Notably, the dominant religion is not anti-LGBT! Plenty of lesbian, trans, and nonbinary characters sprinkled throughout the church and military hierarchies.
As well as the philosophical questions, there were multiple mech fights, chases across space stations, and galactic level political manoeuvres. Something for everyone!
I really liked the theme of how to trust your senses, and when to trust people who say you are special, all wrapped up in religion and dogma. Can dreams be prophetic, or do they become self-fulfilling when you’re looking for prophecy?
Notably, the dominant religion is not anti-LGBT! Plenty of lesbian, trans, and nonbinary characters sprinkled throughout the church and military hierarchies.
As well as the philosophical questions, there were multiple mech fights, chases across space stations, and galactic level political manoeuvres. Something for everyone!
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
I'm a bit up and down on this one... At the beginning I found it a bit hard to get into, the writing style a bit too intellectual for me I think. However once I got passed that I started to get into it more, enjoying the wit and no nonsense behavior or the main character. I enjoyed the first half of the book, however then the main character changes completely and loses that spark that endeared me to them. I was still fine with it thinking it was leading to some sort of point and ultimate meaning but in the end I don't think it really came together. I believe I got the point that the author was trying to make, to not blindly trust, and examine the flaws of both sides of a fight. But by the last page it just felt that there were too many loose ends. I wanted to know more about the characters that we barely got to see, I wanted a nice wrapped up sci-fi conclusion and for me I don't think I got it. There was enough of interest in here that it wasn't a total flop of a read, but I'd be curious if a sequel is planned to tie some things up and give readers a more satisfying conclusion.
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
tense
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
adventurous
hopeful
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
challenging
dark
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Imagine a world where the prescence of God is indisputable. When humanity leaves earth, they are met by God in their darkest hour, or a Real equivalent of God, who helps them fight what might as well be Hell. When the forces of good and evil are plain and morality stops holding water, what else matters but justice and absolution? The protagonist of the story is the Messiah, a chosen warrior of God who communes with an omnipotent being who delivers her tools to stop a dark plague transforming humans into eldrich monsters. This story takes the one-dimensional view of a villain and blows it up tenfold; Misery's life is just and rational, but her humanity abandons her in a way that is wonderful to read. She did nothing wrong, and everything. I loved her story, it's a powerful take on faith and what it means to pursue an ineffable plan blindly. Neon Yang is an incredible author, they have a skill with words that's interesting and complex while not getting in the way of how the story is told. The way they imagine their societies and the thought they put into their characters is like nothing I've seen from other authors. This book was a joy to read and a fascinating take on the human condition. Nothing is what it seems.
adventurous
medium-paced
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A twisty mecha epic rife with lies, religious imagery, and intrigue. Misery is a “moonrat” meant for greater things; a liar, manipulator, and opportunist that just might be the saviour of their people. They’re also highly unreliable and possibly mad, which adds a fascinating layer to the story.
I enjoyed how this story played with the history of Joan of Arc and yet constantly had me guessing. The world building is fascinating as usual, featuring alien relics (which are a favorite trope of mine) and digs deeply into the imagery and propaganda of religious fervour without being too overtly Catholic.
However, the characters keep you at arms length until about 60% of the way through, which I found frustrating. I wanted to know so much more about Misery’s allies and I don’t think I ever truly got a feel for them.
While slow to start, this sci-fi epic is great story for those love unreliable narrators and wish more Joan of Arc stories were clearly queer.
I enjoyed how this story played with the history of Joan of Arc and yet constantly had me guessing. The world building is fascinating as usual, featuring alien relics (which are a favorite trope of mine) and digs deeply into the imagery and propaganda of religious fervour without being too overtly Catholic.
However, the characters keep you at arms length until about 60% of the way through, which I found frustrating. I wanted to know so much more about Misery’s allies and I don’t think I ever truly got a feel for them.
While slow to start, this sci-fi epic is great story for those love unreliable narrators and wish more Joan of Arc stories were clearly queer.
Lots of purple prose and grandiose descriptions - I honestly considered DNFing this for a bit because of that, but I stuck with it. I'm kind of glad I did stick with it, but at the same time this book was not my favorite. It was kind of interesting to read through a perspective of this kind of religious fanaticism as someone who isn't religious at all - very much a divergent perspective from mine.
Spoiler
I honestly feel like I was reading from the villain's perspective this whole time; after about halfway through the book Misery kind of deteriorated and became a caricature of a religious cult leader. Constantly spouting religious "forgiveness" and other sayings believing barely any of it themself. The heretics feel like the "good" side and the faithful feel like the "bad" side to me.
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I’d previously only read silkpunk novellas from them - with incredible world building and character development and this was no different!
Space Opera as a genre can get rather repetitive and mundane, so it is really refreshing when there are still new and interesting concepts. And as per usual, I’m astounded by the queer representation in their books. It’s all very tactfully handled, and concepts are gently introduced, which I love.
Apparently this is supposed to be a modern day retelling or Joan of Arc, so the plot isn’t a surprise at all. I did appreciate the portrayal of religious fanaticism - the lack of logic and absolute conviction of righteousness were on point!! I ended up hating and resenting the main character (Misery) but like - I think that might be the point of the book. lol.
Anyway, I’ll likely read the rest of the nullvoid trilogy once it’s out, at least for the space opera and worldbuilding. Hopefully Misery and the plot get a little less annoying 😅