Reviews with content warning for Medical content - The First Sister

Reviews tagging 'Medical content'

The First Sister by Linden A. Lewis

10 reviews

katsmedialibrary's review against another edition

Go to review page

3.75

Content Warnings

planetesastraea's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous tense

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

Content Warnings

booksthatburn's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous 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

The short version is that I loved this book and found it to be one of the more satisfying sci-fi books I've read in a while. Fantasy is my preferred genre, and I like my sci-fi squishy, conversation- or thought-driven, and not worried overly much about making sure I know how the FTL functions. This ticked all those boxes in addition to being a thoughtful exploration of various structures of power and how they are used to justify and perpetuate exploitation in the name of some other good.

THE FIRST SISTER is relationship-driven in the sense that their decisions have implications for other people and they're very aware of this as they proceed. Lito, in particular, has been ordered to hunt down his former partner. While he does want to find Hiro, he hasn't totally made up his mind about what he will do when that confrontation comes. First Sister has been ordered to spy on Captain Ren, also finding herself drawn to her. She's both terrified and intrigued by the captain's condition that restores some parity between them, but also places First Sister in even more danger.

I love the way the world is built here. There's a history of colonization and and an ongoing conflict, with main characters from different sides of the war. This means there's several places where he get to know what each side's propaganda is about the basic events, which shows what they actually do, what they say about themselves, and what their enemies think of them. I understand why this book gets compared to THE HANDMAID'S TALE, and while I do think some of that comparison is appropriate, it also made me nervous before I started reading, and gave me a distorted anticipation of how traumatic this book might be. While it does deal with systematic sexual exploitation (mostly of women but implicitly some men as well), it focuses much more on the systems and structures that are controlling and perpetuating this exploitation and lack of agency -- as well as the way that the sister within this exploitative system are encouraged to work against each other in order to support the group as a whole and eke out some measure of comfort and privilege at the expense of those around them. There are many moments when First Sister is terrified of what might happen to her, but much of my trepidation was soothed when it became clear that I was not going to have to read a graphic assault scene just to have the book hammer home how frightening a loss of bodily autonomy can be. Instead, THE FIRST SISTER takes a multifaceted approach to exploring different kinds of exploitation and loss of autonomy, from classism and financial precarity making people vulnerable to medical experimentation, loss of individual freedom and mental autonomy in military settings, to commodification of emotional labor and sexual exploitation in the Sisterhood.

I like the soft sci-fi approach; things work because they work, they have particular ways that they function, but the story never grinds to a halt to make sure I understand exactly how a mercurial blade can do what it does. The things that it does take the time to specifically explain are much squishier things, like the various ways that people synced by an implant can or can't access each other's minds. Even those come up in the moment as they're needed, when a character is trying to do something and it either succeed or fails.

There's a pair of revelations towards the end which completely reframed my understanding of some dynamics which had been been in play for most of the book. The reveal is a very cool moment and I absolutely do not want to spoil it, but one of them sits in that sweet spot of being a twist in a deeply personal sense related to one of the main characters without quite changing what the rest of the story means. It's followed up with a different discovery in the same incident, in a delightful moment of revelation and confusion as three seemingly disparate plot threads cohere and the main characters actually meet.

I like the trio audiobook narrators, in particular I appreciate Emily Woo Zeller's performance, as always. She's narrated several other audiobooks that I've enjoyed and this was no exception.

As the first book in a trilogy, THE FIRST SISTER resolves several major plot points in a way that gets the three main characters to each have a new status quo and an idea of their plan for what's next. Because of the way the story is structured, it makes sense that all three of them would have new situations and goals as the result of what transpired, especially with the upheaval towards the end of the book. I'm excited for the rest of the trilogy, especially for how the structure of the Sisterhood is affected by what transpires next.

*A quick note that this follows a Western anglophone trend of naming the only significant Japanese character “Hiro”. No one instance is automatically a problem, but over time it starts to seem like the main Japanese name fiction authors reach for. Part of what bothers me particularly in this instance is that the name “Hiro” is a traditionally male name in Japanese, and while nonbinary people are not limited to ambiguously-gendered names, I get the sense that this name was chosen for the “Hiro”/“Hero” pun (which is made explicitly at one point.

Content Warnings

lanid's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark mysterious

Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

Content Warnings

studydniowka's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark tense 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

4.5

Content Warnings

rebeccajost's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark 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? Yes

4.5

Content Warnings

caseythereader's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny 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? Yes

4.5

- It's hard to summarize THE FIRST SISTER. It's set in a huge, complex galaxy with two factions at war with each other, and we see those two sides intersect throughout the book, through defections, strategizing, secrecy and more.
- This is one of those dual POV books where you're always eager to return to the action of whoever's storyline you're in. Both First Sister and Lito's stories were so gripping.
- There are a couple of great plot twists: even if you see them coming, this book is fantastically plotted.
- I feel like I am not doing this book justice, lol. It's great! Just hard to condense into an IG caption. If you love space opera and romance and discussing power and inequality through sci-fi, go get it!

Content Warnings

peach_pie's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective sad 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? It's complicated

4.0

Content Warnings

foreverinastory's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense 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? Yes

5.0

Still love this book with all my heart. Cannot wait to pick up The Second Rebel!

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.

Content Warnings

ofbooksandechos's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous fast-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? Yes

In their sparkling eyes I see a plan. I see resolve. I see rebellion like a coming storm.

Actual rating: somewhere between 2.5★ and 2.75★

The First Sister is the first installment in the homonymous queer sci-fi dystopian series by debut author Linden A. Lewis. And while the blurb and the author themselves describe this series as a mixture between "the social commentary of The Handmaid's Tale and the white-knuckled thrills of Red Rising" but make it queer, I found myself being disappointed by the execution of said ambitious premise. Mind you, I haven't read neither Red Rising nor The Handmaid's Tale, however knowing the outline of said books I expected something dark, hopeful, action packed and brutal in its commentary. What I got was a lukewarm and superficial glimpse of the book I expected to listen to, despite finding myself enjoy what I was reading and caring about one, and only one, character in particular.

To dive a little further into why I gave First Sister a low rating, despite my enjoyment of some of its aspects, I'll explain my issues with the world building and why I found it disappointing and lacking when it comes to certain themes. Firstly, to give a bit of context, book is set some centuries in the future, where some of humanity left Earth (because climate change is a thing and they made Earth inhabitable, well kind of) to settle on the first ring of planets in the Solar System resulting in two factions that have been at war since forever: the Geans, who live between Earth and Mars, and the Icarii who, thanks to advanced technology, settled on Venus and Mercury. Between the two opposing factions of humanity are the Asters, human beings of any human race who decided to be genetically modified in order to better adapt to a life in space, and who are hated and discriminated by both Icarii and Geans. With their racism towards Asters being the only similarities between Icarii and Geans, their society couldn't be more different: Icarii live in a utopian society governed by science and freedom, whereas Geans live under military and religious leaders.
Secondly this novel is told through the points of views of its three main characters, one Gean and two Icarii: First Sister, a priestess of the Sisterhood who has no name and no voice, and who both has to act as a religious figure and a comfort woman for Gean soldiers on space ships; Lito sol Lucius, an Icarii soldier who is sent on a dangerous mission; and Hiro val Akira a nonbinary deserter and Lito's former partner. Their point of view is mostly told through flashbacks, but that doesn't make it any less important seeing as they're the only character who deserves rights.

My first issue when it comes to the world is that throughout the novel, the author never emphasises the abuse Sisters have to go through, both at the hands of their Aunts (older members of the Sisterhood), and at the hands of the men. And while I appreciated the choice of never depicting assault or rape on the page, I wish we could have seen more of the aftermath, the coping mechanisms, and how Sisters find comfort in that harsh reality. The Sisters are stripped of their voice, of their name and their agency, they join the Sisterhood either by force or because they have no other choice, but instead of seeing the Sisterhood in a collective manner, as a societal failure, the author only focuses on First Sister and her point of view, treating the other girls as an afterthought. Furthermore as a trans reader reading a "queer version of The Handmaid's Tale" I expected to see trans women, women of colour, and transfemme nonbinary people in the Sisterhood. Instead most of the Sisters introduced are white and cis, though most of them are queer. The author also mentions male Cousins as lower members of the Sisterhood, both functioning as servants of the sort and comfort men, but even then they're just an afterthought. The whole Sisterhood narrative is left in the dark with the author's failure to convey that social commentary they wanted to give. To top it all off, I found First Sister's point of view the weakest of the three, which is a shame since her voice was supposed to be one of the loudest ones. I often found myself speeding up through her chapters, only because I knew at the end I would hear Hiro's voice.

Speaking of Hiro, they're my absolute favourite character in the novel. Their voice is loud and clear, they are unapologetically themselves, they rebel against their powerful father and the social constructs of Icarii society. They hold their Japanese heritage dear, and they are fierce and fragile and all kinds of wonderful. Their journey is told through a series of recording Hiro leaves for Lito, their partner, which sound almost like a suicide note. Despite being the point of view I enjoyed the most, what happens to Hiro is something that triggered me deeply as a trans person. I'll explain further down below, for the trans readers who find this review, however Hiro's loss of agency at the hands of the Icarii is touching, terrifying, dreadful, and so very relatable that I advise for caution when reaching the end of the novel, especially if you're trans.

In contrast to Hiro's compelling voice, Lito felt like a passive character, who just goes with the flow. Despite being someone who raised from the lowest and poorest class to a "proper member of Icarii society", Lito's character arc, and his "awakening", was too short to feel satisfying.

In conclusion despite my heavy criticism, I did find myself having a good time with The First Sister. I just wish I could have cared for the other characters half of what I felt towards Hiro. I will be continuing with the series, when I'm not feeling as raw and dysphoric as I feel these days. However I have to point out that I hope the author will add the point of view of an Aster character. It seems unfair to experience this novel only through the eyes of the awakened oppressors, instead of those who are the lowest of the low in The First Sister's broken society.

PS: THERE IS A SPOILER BELOW THE LIST OF CONTENT WARNINGS that I added for, and only for, the sake of trans readers.

content warnings for implied rape, murder, violence, implied sexual assault, gender dysphoria, misgendering, racism, anxiety, ptsd, neurodegenerative disorders, loss of body autonomy, non-consensual surgery, medical procedures, experimentation on humans, mentions of past child abuse, abuse.

mini spoiler for the sake of trans readers:
trans readers please be please careful going into this one: the book features a trans character, Hiro being stripped of their identity, and their agency over their body. Hiro is a nonbinary person who, after having finally found love for themselves, is forced into a body that isn't theirs without their consent. And while that may be considered a spoiler, I care more about the wellbeing of trans readers than the comfort of cis people. The book puts this abuse in negative light, it caused me, a trans person, pain and so much discomfort I wanted the book to end so that I could stop suffering with Hiro. Their feeling forcing in their body is something I know very well, so if you're trans and you're feeling vulnerable or dysphoric please proceed with caution when you pick this up or reach the last 20% of the novel.

Content Warnings

More...