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fairymodmother 's review for:
The Vela: The Complete Season 1
by Becky Chambers, Rivers Solomon, Yoon Ha Lee, S.L. Huang
I received an ARC of this serial from Serial Box in exchange for my honest review.
I believe that I received a sort of earlier version as there were some inconsistencies that seemed like editing errors more than anything else, so I anticipate those will have been remedied before each episode comes out for general consumption. Overall, it was a fun story of environmentalism, the dangers of bigotry, and wormholes.
CONTENT WARNING: (no actual spoilers, just a list of topics)
Things to love:
-The authors involved. If you enjoy the writing of Becky Chambers, Yoon Ha Lee, Rivers Solomon, and SL Huang, you're going to be a happy camper. They each add so much of their own flavor to their episodes--Huang's were tense and action packed, Chambers' filled me with a combo of joy and dread, Lee's were funny and filled with tons of bright moments with complex characters, and Solomon's were full of allegory.
-The messages. You really don't have to dig too deeply. This is about a dying planet and other planets overlooking their own imminent demise. It's about how we choose who's "worth" saving, what allyship is and isn't, and how love changes all of us.
-The inclusion. As you might imagine from a creative team like this, there's all sorts of people with all sorts of gender identities, orientations and so on, and none of it changes the respect they are given.
-The emotional notes. All of the authors take their own time in their own way to frame something for us, and it's really neat to see what calls to them.
Things that detracted:
-Inherent format issues. Naturally, when you're all writing from scratch, consistency in tone and what information we've received is a bit bouncier than any one author would do at once. This is something I notice in every sort of episodic structure, so it's not like these authors handled it poorly or anything, just remember what you're signing up for--a story told consecutively by different people. I will say I think they all found their groove in their second installments, so it gets better as it goes. I also had difficulty with some of the discrepancies, which I'm assuming won't be there later. I particular did not like the slur used in the first half and was glad that that changed--I'd hope someone realized they were using a real life slur (accidentally, I'm sure!) and fixed it.
-Could have used a bit more action. I know this can't be easy, and it was an enjoyable story, but some episodes felt a little more direct than others. I'd have liked each episode to have felt a bit more like a TV episode, where we progress the story arc but something internal to the episode is resolved. I didn't quite get that.
3.5 stars rounded up because I haven't read Becky Chambers' books yet (though they've been on the list) and this made me need to push them a little closer to the front. I think this is fun--if you like space operas and any of these authors, I think it's definitely worth checking out.
I believe that I received a sort of earlier version as there were some inconsistencies that seemed like editing errors more than anything else, so I anticipate those will have been remedied before each episode comes out for general consumption. Overall, it was a fun story of environmentalism, the dangers of bigotry, and wormholes.
CONTENT WARNING: (no actual spoilers, just a list of topics)
Spoiler
genocide, racism, graphic violence.Things to love:
-The authors involved. If you enjoy the writing of Becky Chambers, Yoon Ha Lee, Rivers Solomon, and SL Huang, you're going to be a happy camper. They each add so much of their own flavor to their episodes--Huang's were tense and action packed, Chambers' filled me with a combo of joy and dread, Lee's were funny and filled with tons of bright moments with complex characters, and Solomon's were full of allegory.
-The messages. You really don't have to dig too deeply. This is about a dying planet and other planets overlooking their own imminent demise. It's about how we choose who's "worth" saving, what allyship is and isn't, and how love changes all of us.
-The inclusion. As you might imagine from a creative team like this, there's all sorts of people with all sorts of gender identities, orientations and so on, and none of it changes the respect they are given.
-The emotional notes. All of the authors take their own time in their own way to frame something for us, and it's really neat to see what calls to them.
Things that detracted:
-Inherent format issues. Naturally, when you're all writing from scratch, consistency in tone and what information we've received is a bit bouncier than any one author would do at once. This is something I notice in every sort of episodic structure, so it's not like these authors handled it poorly or anything, just remember what you're signing up for--a story told consecutively by different people. I will say I think they all found their groove in their second installments, so it gets better as it goes. I also had difficulty with some of the discrepancies, which I'm assuming won't be there later. I particular did not like the slur used in the first half and was glad that that changed--I'd hope someone realized they were using a real life slur (accidentally, I'm sure!) and fixed it.
-Could have used a bit more action. I know this can't be easy, and it was an enjoyable story, but some episodes felt a little more direct than others. I'd have liked each episode to have felt a bit more like a TV episode, where we progress the story arc but something internal to the episode is resolved. I didn't quite get that.
3.5 stars rounded up because I haven't read Becky Chambers' books yet (though they've been on the list) and this made me need to push them a little closer to the front. I think this is fun--if you like space operas and any of these authors, I think it's definitely worth checking out.