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silentquercus's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Eating disorder, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Infidelity, Medical content, and Trafficking
Minor: Cannibalism
bug_lightyear's review against another edition
4.0
Second read in 21.5h at 0.6 speed (feeling too fast)
Interesting/weird background space noises, loud enough to cover background noise on noise cancelling headphones but discreet enough to be barely audible on loudspeaker.
Mildly horrifying but interesting thoughts about genetics and magic but in a Sci fi setting. One character sounds like he might be trans or intersex because he lacks a Y chromosome but it's also never said explicitly why.
Graphic: Child abuse and Pregnancy
Moderate: Death
mj_them'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
3.5
Moderate: Pregnancy
kat_0w0'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
4.0
Moderate: Slavery, Trafficking, and Pregnancy
Minor: Sexual harassment
Swearing, Medical violence present.stailysh1'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
4.5
Graphic: Child abuse, Sexual assault, Medical trauma, and Pregnancy
Minor: Bullying, Medical content, and Trafficking
theroastedbookery's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Things I Liked:
- Typical gender roles were swapped or abandoned altogether. This was a refreshing romance and action/adventure story because of that.
- The magic system was not overly complicated nor was the technical jargon overbearing. This let me see clearly the characters behind the decisions.
- The action of the book was driven by the choices of the people in the story - there were politics, economic systems, etc in the book but those things served as the backdrop against which people acted.
- There wasn't anything about the cruelty or the romance present in the book that was gratuitous. The book was an engaging read that I didn't feel the need to take a "break" from because while the themes were hefty, the manner in which they were presented didn't knock me on my heels.
Graphic: Child abuse, Eating disorder, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Bullying, Domestic abuse, and Trafficking
Minor: Child death and Grief
This book is set in space and the characters in it (in the beginning) are on a ship where the line between cruelty and survival blurs and in some cases disappears entirely. Because of the manner in which they operate their ship, there is a hyper-focus on food intake. Each crew member's food intake is carefully rationed and controlled to ensure survival but nothing more. Food allotments are controlled to the gram and harsh punishments are exacted for hoarding, wasting or spoiling food.little_white's review against another edition
- 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? No
3.0
Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Pregnancy, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Death, Trafficking, and War
Minor: Child death and Colonisation
kowari's review against another edition
I have two big problems with this book.
1) The blurb is misleading to the point of being a false description. The two characters Pendt meets already control the station. It is not an inciting incident and doesn't happen until over a third of the way through. The "scheme" they hatch is not "against all odds". In fact there is no conflict at all, and the "scheme" is resolved within a few pages before the mid-point of the novel. The story is about something else entirely. The blurb made it sound like an exciting adventure or a space heist. It is not any of those things and I strongly recommend against buying if you got that impression.
2) The editing quality is atrocious. I don't mind the typos so much. I do mind the perspective errors, where a chapter in one character's perspective suddenly shifts into another character's for one sentence. I do mind that characters know things they couldn't possibly know, like the family relationships of people they've just met. It speaks to the lack of care that went into the edits, which is surprising from Penguin.
Inside the book, after the dedication, a content warning reads: "This book contains a scene of medical violence. Characters also obsess about food and count calories." I honestly think it needs more detail. It's not just a scene of medical violence, it's a constant fear of sexual medical violence, forced pregnancy and child abuse in various forms.
Forced pregnancy and bodily autonomy are the main themes of the story. It's odd that it doesn't get a mention in the blurb or the warning. It was uncomfortable throughout and not at all what I was expecting.
Does it do a good job of what it was trying to achieve?
I don't think so. The fear of forced pregnancy is the main motivation for Pendt to escape her family onto the space station. Within literal minutes of escaping though, she happily agrees to (ever so slight spoiler)
We're only halfway through now and all the driving conflict has been resolved. The story potters about for a while as the characters talk about who will clean the dishes today (apparently they forgot that they have automatic machines to do that for them - it was a big part of the story earlier), or think about how lovely everything is and how happy everyone is to see them all the time.
The story meanders aimlessly into a romance plot, briefly thinks about some trans issues, something that's meant to be dramatic happens offscreen somewhere, and then I gave up with a quarter of the book left to go.
Conclusion:
This reads like a first draft, almost like the wrong file got sent to print. With a bit of work it could be something good, like a low-stakes, low-conflict, more depressing Becky Chambers novel (assuming the blurb wasn't misleading). Unfortunately it was released before it could ever meet its potential.
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Eating disorder, Rape, Sexual violence, Medical content, Pregnancy, and Abandonment
Moderate: Sexism and Transphobia
stelepami's review against another edition
Discusses externally-imposed food restrictions to near-starvation levels and forced pregnancy.
Graphic: Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, and Medical trauma
Moderate: Trafficking, Pregnancy, and Colonisation
cerebellum's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Graphic: Pregnancy
Moderate: Trafficking