major_tom's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.75
At first, I was afraid the lore would be too confusing - I am not very familiar with space-related fiction and never had much interest in it. Here, the story started straight away - I liked how we discovered things along the way, without long and boring history lessons. Each chapter has a short passage before it, which could be a letter, a quote, or other short piece that gave more insight into the world. I love good exposition and, I’m my opinion, Linden A. Lewis here did a great job.
The main character are interesting, flawed and have their own priorities and desires. There are some flaws, but I’ll talk about them later.
I loved how unique this world is. It really stands out with how logical historical development of each nation is.
Spoiler
Why the religion is the way it is, or why there is no AI anymore.However, I got quite disappointed by the end. The ending felt rushed, used mostly explanation rather than exposure, and gave a bit of flat character development. I saw how some things before could be linked to the plot twists, but still it wasn’t satisfactory. I felt that the ending was made that way to create reason for the next book. I am afraid that the next books will turn to obvious conflicts and will greatly worsen in world-building. In my opinion, the book by itself is great as stand-alone (if the ending was changed). I hope I’m wrong, because I still enjoyed it most of the way.
Graphic: Child abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Body horror, Bullying, Blood, Emotional abuse, Violence, Racism, War, and Slavery
booksthatburn's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Death, Bullying, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Sexual harassment, Transphobia, Murder, Physical abuse, Medical content, Racism, Violence, Body horror, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Child abuse, Dysphoria, Ableism, Colonisation, Medical trauma, Sexual content, War, and Xenophobia
Minor: Rape, Vomit, and Self harm
lanid's review against another edition
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Moderate: Ableism, Dysphoria, Medical trauma, Racism, Terminal illness, War, Xenophobia, Religious bigotry, Bullying, Classism, Death, Gun violence, Medical content, Child abuse, Sexual violence, Torture, and Body horror
thoughtsontomes's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Child abuse and Bullying
Moderate: Rape
Minor: Suicidal thoughts
wellintendedbibliophile's review against another edition
- 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
Minor: Bullying, Colonisation, Child abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexism, War, Murder, Racism, Religious bigotry, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, and Panic attacks/disorders
anniereads221's review against another edition
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
Moderate: Bullying, Sexual assault, Death, Murder, Dysphoria, Gaslighting, Racism, Rape, Torture, Violence, War, and Classism
foreverinastory's review against another edition
- 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
Rep: Bisexual mute female MC (unknown ethnicity), Japanese achillean nonbinary MC, Spanish-Italian demisexual male MC, sapphic mute female side character, Asian female side character with chronic pain, arm prosthetic and leg prosthetic, queer-normative world.
CWs: Blood, body horror, bullying, death, gun violence, injury/injury detail, medical content, medical trauma/nonconsensual experimentation, murder, violence, war. Moderate: abandonment, past mentions of child abuse, colonisation, deadnaming/misgendering, religious bigotry, sexual content, slavery/forced sex work, vomit.
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Bullying, Death, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Medical trauma, Murder, Violence, and War
Moderate: Abandonment, Child abuse, Colonisation, Deadnaming, Religious bigotry, Sexual content, Slavery, and Vomit
peachani's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Graphic: Death, Murder, Torture, Violence, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Body horror, Child abuse, Confinement, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Sexual harassment, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Abandonment, Ableism, Bullying, Grief, Infidelity, Misogyny, Sexual content, and Transphobia