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miles's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
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
5.0
Absolutely loved it. There are so many things to mention and I’m already scrambling to try and remember them all for this review, but my god am I in love with the world-building in this book (and the series as a whole).
First of all, all the crew members are absolutely lovely and the ones you don’t like at first, you still warm up to (at least I did, and there was only the one for me). Either way, they are all very compelling characters and I wish we could stay with them for longer, but the book does a very good job in giving us insight into all of their personal and cultural backstories and it’s brilliantly done.
On that note, love love love all the different species and cultures Chambers has cooked up. Some very interesting stuff and lots to make you ponder about our society and how it might be changed for the better. Though I feel like for some of the things I’d love to implement, we’d have to start from scratch (which is a-ok by me tbh). I absolutely love Aandrisk family structure and relations and would honestly love to have our society work like that.
But yeah, so much good shit, 10/10 will absolutely revisit at some point in the future. Effortlessly queer. Found family. So bloody lovely.
First of all, all the crew members are absolutely lovely and the ones you don’t like at first, you still warm up to (at least I did, and there was only the one for me). Either way, they are all very compelling characters and I wish we could stay with them for longer, but the book does a very good job in giving us insight into all of their personal and cultural backstories and it’s brilliantly done.
On that note, love love love all the different species and cultures Chambers has cooked up. Some very interesting stuff and lots to make you ponder about our society and how it might be changed for the better. Though I feel like for some of the things I’d love to implement, we’d have to start from scratch (which is a-ok by me tbh). I absolutely love Aandrisk family structure and relations and would honestly love to have our society work like that.
But yeah, so much good shit, 10/10 will absolutely revisit at some point in the future. Effortlessly queer. Found family. So bloody lovely.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Terminal illness, and Death
Moderate: Grief and Xenophobia
Minor: War
therainbowshelf's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
relaxing
slow-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
I've been looking forward to reading this one for a long time, and it was well worth the wait. I absolutely loved this! The characters are so fun, and the world building delves deeply into each race's culture and mannerisms in such interesting ways. It's lower action than most scifi, so it won't be everyone's favorite. It reminded me a lot of Firefly and Titan AE.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Xenophobia, War, Gun violence, Violence, Death, Terminal illness, and Grief
Moderate: Police brutality, Racism, Racial slurs, Blood, Panic attacks/disorders, and Injury/Injury detail
anxiety from trauma, ableismgreystory's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Don't ask me to chart the narrative arc because I have no idea but I enjoyed this a lot. It was fun, lighthearted despite covering some heavy topics, had a great diverse cast (alien diversity, not intrahuman diversity), and good worldbuilding. Refreshing science fiction.
I cried for the last bit of the book and I did not see that coming.
I have a feeling this is the kind of book that I'll catch myself thinking about weeks, months from now. I'll be talking about something or reading something else or watching a movie or whatever and I'm going to relate it back to this book.
I'm intrigued at the world Chambers has built here and I'm very interested to see more. I have so many questions and there are so many opportunities to explore of this universe. I'm happy to have the fortune of starting this series when there's a full four books available so I can dive right into the next one.
I own a physical copy of the book but ended up listening to the audiobook. The narration is great and I thought it added well to the personality of the characters. I think half the reason I found Kizzy to be so fun was the way she was voiced.
I cried for the last bit of the book and I did not see that coming.
I have a feeling this is the kind of book that I'll catch myself thinking about weeks, months from now. I'll be talking about something or reading something else or watching a movie or whatever and I'm going to relate it back to this book.
I'm intrigued at the world Chambers has built here and I'm very interested to see more. I have so many questions and there are so many opportunities to explore of this universe. I'm happy to have the fortune of starting this series when there's a full four books available so I can dive right into the next one.
I own a physical copy of the book but ended up listening to the audiobook. The narration is great and I thought it added well to the personality of the characters. I think half the reason I found Kizzy to be so fun was the way she was voiced.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Xenophobia, Police brutality, Death, Terminal illness, and Grief
Minor: War and Vomit
lynxpardinus's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
reflective
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Xenophobia, Terminal illness, Death, Grief, Medical content, and War
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Gore, Gun violence, Police brutality, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Ableism, and Slavery
Minor: Pregnancy, Deportation, Racial slurs, and Religious bigotry
midsummernoodle's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
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? No
5.0
This is my second read-through of this book and I have to say, I am so glad I read it again. It's been long enough that I had forgotten many of the major plot points and it felt like a new book. And I liked it better this time than before. I was able to appreciate it more as a series of events detailing the lives of a lovely found family, whereas before I was a little miffed by the lack of a satisfying ending. I was fully satisfied this time. I love this book. If you like space operas with ragtag crews, heartwarming family dynamics, and a healthy dose of adventure, read this book.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, War, Violence, Medical content, and Grief
Minor: Drug use, Genocide, and Xenophobia
bergha1998's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
sad
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
4.5
Like everything I’ve read so far by Becky Chambers this book will make you feel more understood and also expand your mind. It’s delightfully funny and lighthearted at times and then so breathtakingly deep and emotional. I didn’t know Sci-fi or any book that wasn’t self-help would make me feel so understood. Perfection.
Found Family, Romance Subplots
“We cannot blame ourselves for the wars our parents start. Sometimes the very best thing we can do is walk away.”
“You found something dark within your own house, and you are wondering how much of it has rubbed off on you.”
“The truth is, Rosemary, that you are capable of anything. Good or bad. You always have been, and you always will be. Given the right push, you, too, could do horrible things. That darkness exists within all of us.”
“All any of us can do—is work to be something positive instead. That is a choice that every sapient must make every day of their life. The universe is what we make of it. It’s up to you to decide what part you will play.”
“How much of me is actually you?”
Found Family, Romance Subplots
“We cannot blame ourselves for the wars our parents start. Sometimes the very best thing we can do is walk away.”
“You found something dark within your own house, and you are wondering how much of it has rubbed off on you.”
“The truth is, Rosemary, that you are capable of anything. Good or bad. You always have been, and you always will be. Given the right push, you, too, could do horrible things. That darkness exists within all of us.”
“All any of us can do—is work to be something positive instead. That is a choice that every sapient must make every day of their life. The universe is what we make of it. It’s up to you to decide what part you will play.”
“How much of me is actually you?”
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Xenophobia, Alcohol, Death, Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, Blood, Medical content, Racism, Violence, Cursing, Drug use, Colonisation, Confinement, Racial slurs, Chronic illness, Death of parent, Police brutality, and War
peachpie's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
sad
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? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief
waqupi's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
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? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Grief, Xenophobia, War, and Terminal illness
Minor: Drug use and Sexual content
foxclcves's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Police brutality
Moderate: Animal death and Cursing
Minor: Alcohol, Racial slurs, Violence, Xenophobia, Terminal illness, War, Medical trauma, Genocide, Drug use, Suicide attempt, Racism, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, and Grief
loxeletters's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.0
This books left me with extremely mixed feelings.
First off, there were a few things I liked quite a bit: the sort of "mixed media" approach of including emails and news articles was fun, the world and cultures the author had created were interesting, and the writing style was simple and binge read-able.
That being said, I had some major gripes and for the first 80% I thought it was gonna be a 2.5 star at best. Most prominently, while I enjoyed the prose itself (except for some genre-typical infodumps), the storytelling decisions made in this book baffled me. Most of the conflicts, relationships, and arcs set up for the characters developed and resolved quickly and/or off-page, whereas I found myself annotating over and over again: "This would have been impactful if it had been properly set up" for the conflicts that actually were explored on-page.
The time skips seriously took me out of the story multiple times, especially since there is no in-text discussion of time passing.
Since we spend so little time getting to know the characters, I was unable to connect to most of them on any deeper level, especially the (intentionally) unlikeable ones, and this eliminated any emotional impact the first 3/4s of the book should've had. It was still a fun read! But I could tell in many scenes the author was trying to make things emotional or tense, while I just did not care. Certainly not enough to read pages worth of "tragic" backstory for a character that was supposed to be unlikeable less than ten pages ago. This really irked me.
The last 20% or so did kind of throw me for a loop, in that I suddenly did really connect with one emotional event, which I didn't expect. That is what made this book 3 stars for me, in the end. I did also appreciate the final ending, which wrapped up some ties very neatly.
Tldr: while this was an enjoyable and fun read, the narrative structure was bizarre and undermined the emotional impact of many scenes. However, the final conflict and ending surprised me positively in this regard.
First off, there were a few things I liked quite a bit: the sort of "mixed media" approach of including emails and news articles was fun, the world and cultures the author had created were interesting, and the writing style was simple and binge read-able.
That being said, I had some major gripes and for the first 80% I thought it was gonna be a 2.5 star at best. Most prominently, while I enjoyed the prose itself (except for some genre-typical infodumps), the storytelling decisions made in this book baffled me. Most of the conflicts, relationships, and arcs set up for the characters developed and resolved quickly and/or off-page, whereas I found myself annotating over and over again: "This would have been impactful if it had been properly set up" for the conflicts that actually were explored on-page.
The time skips seriously took me out of the story multiple times, especially since there is no in-text discussion of time passing.
Since we spend so little time getting to know the characters, I was unable to connect to most of them on any deeper level, especially the (intentionally) unlikeable ones, and this eliminated any emotional impact the first 3/4s of the book should've had. It was still a fun read! But I could tell in many scenes the author was trying to make things emotional or tense, while I just did not care. Certainly not enough to read pages worth of "tragic" backstory for a character that was supposed to be unlikeable less than ten pages ago. This really irked me.
The last 20% or so did kind of throw me for a loop, in that I suddenly did really connect with one emotional event, which I didn't expect. That is what made this book 3 stars for me, in the end. I did also appreciate the final ending, which wrapped up some ties very neatly.
Tldr: while this was an enjoyable and fun read, the narrative structure was bizarre and undermined the emotional impact of many scenes. However, the final conflict and ending surprised me positively in this regard.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Grief
Moderate: Drug use, Suicide attempt, Violence, Terminal illness, Confinement, War, and Xenophobia