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celiapowell's review against another edition
4.0
This was such an interesting combo of two sorts of books - a first contact story, where the Ringers come to earth to convince humans to leave their (dangerous dying) planet, and an environmental story about the type of society which has arisen both within the communities fighting to halt climate change and the corporate cities who cling to older ways of living. Chock full of fascinating ideas and concepts, a great read.
edwardshaddow's review against another edition
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
hachidoribug's review against another edition
2.0
A large portion of the first 2/3 of this book could have been cut out, and to be honest it didn't feel much like a sci-fi novel until the last 1/3, but rather like some kind of gender studies story written by an undergrad who happens to like sci-fi. I firmly believe that people who are non-binary, gender non-conforming, trans, and gender-fluid absolutely need to be represented in every genre (not just for people who identify this way, but for all of us), especially as they have been and are underrepresented. However, the way that fictional alternative pronouns which can change depending on various factors and the obsessive, tedious emphasis on gender and pronouns in this book was so completely over the top that it felt to me like it makes a mockery of what is a serious subject (despite the good intentions of the author) and will just make the subject worse in the minds of people who aren't already on board with respecting a person's gender identity and pronouns. It also seemed odd that in 2083, this was still an issue which required people to wear pronoun badges, despite everyone wearing computer/network interfaces on their heads that don't even require them to type to give or receive information from the network or sensors (therefore, why would one not have a pronoun token programmed in which everyone could see via their mesh when they look at them). Some of the humans (such as the ones working for corporations using fictional, variable pronouns) felt much more alien than the actual aliens themselves.
There were also parts that felt very improbable and unnatural, such as everyone being very chilled out about aliens who look like giant isopods being around and it rapidly becoming normal to just hang out with them whilst doing mundane things at home and in the neighbourhood. If 2016-2021 taught us anything, it's that there definitely would have been some adverse, xenophobic reactions as well as conspiracy ideas surrounding the arrival of aliens on earth, and conflicts ensuing from this. Furthermore, there was what felt like a ridiculous false dichotomy regarding the decision of whether humans would go to space to live with the aliens or stay on Earth--the obvious solution that people who wanted to go could go and those who wanted to stay and work on restoring Earth could do so didn't come up until surprisingly late in the story.
***WARNING: spoiler alerts below***
The things I liked about this novel: the matriarchal structure of the Ringers' society and how this necessitated human mothers to lead rather than being made invisible; the implications of bringing one's children to diplomatic negotiations; the interesting idea of living in a household with a co-parenting couple to share the load of child rearing which goes back a bit more to a village structure of raising a family rather than everything being thrown onto the shoulders of just two overworked parents; the parallels between the historical Jewish story and the family's Passover seder with the situation in the story; the thought-provoking & unconventional ideas of what family can/could be; the relationships between Judy, her partner, and their alien lover; the hopeful trajectory of the fate of humans using science to advance the development of the human race as well as help restore the Earth's ecosystems.
Overall, I doubt whether I would have been able to finish the book had it not been an audiobook. The first 2/3 were painful to get through and at times infuriating and absurd, but the last 1/3 (if you can make it that far) was enjoyable and it felt like the writing matured as the book progressed.
There were also parts that felt very improbable and unnatural, such as everyone being very chilled out about aliens who look like giant isopods being around and it rapidly becoming normal to just hang out with them whilst doing mundane things at home and in the neighbourhood. If 2016-2021 taught us anything, it's that there definitely would have been some adverse, xenophobic reactions as well as conspiracy ideas surrounding the arrival of aliens on earth, and conflicts ensuing from this. Furthermore, there was what felt like a ridiculous false dichotomy regarding the decision of whether humans would go to space to live with the aliens or stay on Earth--the obvious solution that people who wanted to go could go and those who wanted to stay and work on restoring Earth could do so didn't come up until surprisingly late in the story.
***WARNING: spoiler alerts below***
The things I liked about this novel: the matriarchal structure of the Ringers' society and how this necessitated human mothers to lead rather than being made invisible; the implications of bringing one's children to diplomatic negotiations; the interesting idea of living in a household with a co-parenting couple to share the load of child rearing which goes back a bit more to a village structure of raising a family rather than everything being thrown onto the shoulders of just two overworked parents; the parallels between the historical Jewish story and the family's Passover seder with the situation in the story; the thought-provoking & unconventional ideas of what family can/could be; the relationships between Judy, her partner, and their alien lover; the hopeful trajectory of the fate of humans using science to advance the development of the human race as well as help restore the Earth's ecosystems.
Overall, I doubt whether I would have been able to finish the book had it not been an audiobook. The first 2/3 were painful to get through and at times infuriating and absurd, but the last 1/3 (if you can make it that far) was enjoyable and it felt like the writing matured as the book progressed.
chuckleszeclown's review against another edition
4.0
Quite enjoyed this. Essentially a first contact story, with a few twists and plenty of climate dystopia. Main characters on both sides were interesting, not your normal cookie cutter sterotypes. Will definitely ruffle the feathers of anyone who's got a "anti-woke" fetish. I thought the diversity and flexibility of all the different cultures added to the interest. A more positive spin on the future of our planet which I find is much needed at the moment
alanacca123's review against another edition
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
grid's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
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? No
5.0
This was beautiful at times, and had a couple of really interesting ideas that were central to its plot. Namely, the dandelion networks – essentially a post-internet decision making software that possibly has DNA from Discord, Reddit, and ai algorithms. Also, the first contact stuff was really well done, and I loved that the aliens were suspect of anyone who didn't bring their kids with them everywhere. I really recommend this one.
vaevin's review against another edition
hopeful
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
This seems like the author was a mother in the SF tech industry processing the ethics of raising children in a world of climate change, capitalism, and misogyny and their solution was to write a story about a culture beyond those things being challenged in their new beliefs and structures. The story is slow and reads more like a manifesto for their desired world, but from a defensive position. I almost didn’t finish it but got more into the story in the second half. The writing isn’t bad, but themes are a bit heavy handed. First contact through a lens of motherhood and gender is good to have in the world.
typewriter's review against another edition
4.0
An interesting political system to ponder, although I would've liked a longer book to further flesh out some aspects of this near-future, like the corporations, that were given a more surface-level treatment.
banjax451's review against another edition
2.0
This isn't a good novel. It is a manifesto disguised as a novel. I found the posited future, given how near it truly is, to be completely unrealistic. It posits a world where crowdsourcing and reddit style small-d democracy just works completely all the time. There is barely any plot to speak of, too many small characters and side-plots that went nowhere and the longer it went, the less interested I was in any of it. It was an absolute pain to finish this.
Funny thing is, I probably (generally speaking) agree with the politics of the author. But the posited future is unrealistic, unwieldly, improbable and poorly defined. I think everything in modern politics and social media over the years since this novel was written would indicate that this idea of the future is impossible.
Funny thing is, I probably (generally speaking) agree with the politics of the author. But the posited future is unrealistic, unwieldly, improbable and poorly defined. I think everything in modern politics and social media over the years since this novel was written would indicate that this idea of the future is impossible.
sweetcaptainlily's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Colonisation
Minor: Sexism, Transphobia, Xenophobia, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, and Deportation