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emilb'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
4.25
Graphic: Drug abuse, Mental illness, Addiction, Antisemitism, Death, Gun violence, Grief, Suicide, Islamophobia, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Suicide attempt, Racism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, and Xenophobia
Minor: Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, and Kidnapping
meremeth'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
Untreated PTSD is a debilitating experience, it turns you so disfunctional. It felt nice to read a character that is actually experiencing the effects of the serious trauma she went through in the first book. (Rare for sci fi!!)
Also, I genuinely felt politically challenged by this book. It guides you through some really interesting political thought.
I can't wait for the next book, I'm so desperate for more from this series. This one's a definite improvement on the first book, which makes sense as it was a debut!
Graphic: Gun violence, Suicidal thoughts, and Self harm
Moderate: Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, and Kidnapping
Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Antisemitism, and Forced institutionalization
claremcg's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Death, Blood, Adult/minor relationship, Antisemitism, Suicide attempt, Panic attacks/disorders, Gore, Forced institutionalization, Suicide, Self harm, Kidnapping, Gun violence, Grief, Dementia, Xenophobia, Violence, Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, Eating disorder, Dysphoria, and Toxic relationship
pizzasprite's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
It a took a while for me to get around to reading this one, since the plot of Axiom's End was so heavily based in American politics, which I am completely uninterested in as a non-American. However, Truth of the Divine does a better job exploring the international implications of first contact than Axiom's End did. The first half of this book was, well, divine - I was extremely interested in the relationship between Cora and Ampersand, and the urgency of resolving the main political conflicts continued on from the first book. I thought Kaveh was a much-needed different perspective to contrast Cora's limited viewpoints. I think that telling the story of first contact from a journalist's POV much more interesting than from a "militarist" perspective. I also loved Nikolas! The alien culture that Ellis has fabricated is truly fascinating, I almost wish this series was all about aliens with no human characters. The way Cora's PTSD and panic attacks were depicted were equally heartbreaking and sympathetic. This book depicts mental illness more earnestly than anything I have read recently.
The second half of the book is much weaker. The tension between Cora and Ampersand dissolved completely, since Ampersand is largely absent beyond Act 2. The sexual relationship between Cora and Kaveh made me so, so, so uncomfortable. It felt very gratuitous and came out of nowhere, almost like an editor insisted on their romance. In the author's notes, Ellis mentions that Kaveh used to be two characters, and you can definitely see that in the writing. There were many instances in which I felt like I could not continue reading, because their age difference and unbalanced power dynamic made me feel that uncomfortable. Early on, it's established that Cora feels very lonely, and needs another human to talk to: if Kaveh had remained her friend/mentor, this dynamic would have been perfect. However, the fact that they begin sleeping together makes their bond feel extremely creepy and toxic. This makes it difficult to "root" for Kaveh as a protagonist. I wish the book focused on the relationship between Ampersand and Cora, especially since their romance is alluded to early in the book. I suspect/hope this will be explored more in the next book.
I will probably read the next book in the series, to ultimately see what happens to Ampersand. But this one definitely left a foul taste in my mouth.
Graphic: Abandonment, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Mental illness, Kidnapping, Murder, Gun violence, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Toxic relationship, Injury/Injury detail, Self harm, Toxic friendship, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide attempt, and Suicide
Moderate: Racism, Xenophobia, Ableism, Eating disorder, Islamophobia, Sexual content, and Addiction
Minor: Misogyny
kharlan3's review against another edition
Graphic: Gun violence, Violence, Xenophobia, Toxic relationship, Suicidal thoughts, Self harm, Racism, Racial slurs, Panic attacks/disorders, Mental illness, Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Eating disorder, Confinement, Blood, and Antisemitism
Moderate: Sexual violence, Sexual content, Forced institutionalization, and Alcoholism
Minor: Alcohol
bigofheartdumbofass'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
Graphic: Death, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Violence
Moderate: Eating disorder, Hate crime, Islamophobia, Kidnapping, and Toxic friendship
balfies'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
4.5
The promise of the series - an alien first contact story set within post 9/11 Bush administration (well, now the Cheney administration for them) - continues to interrogate how American militarism, conspiracy, exceptionalism, and immigrant cultures react to the warring factions between intergalactic asylum seekers.
Must reiterate - I am not big on sci fi or fantasy usually, but I make an exception for Lindsay, in part because I wanna support her but mostly because she's an excellent, witty writer and I trust her voice.
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Self harm, Genocide, Gun violence, Antisemitism, Racism, Xenophobia, Sexual content, Panic attacks/disorders, Murder, Medical trauma, Kidnapping, Grief, Gore, Forced institutionalization, Eating disorder, Death, and Blood
Moderate: Dementia, Eating disorder, Religious bigotry, and Racial slurs