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shadyeglenn's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
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
allie_rose's review against another edition
3.5
The whole games plot line felt very low stakes compared to the whole “centuries spanning conspiracy” so it was super annoying to have both plot lines given equal page time.
edwardshaddow's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
mhockenson's review against another edition
5.0
Loved this book! It gave me the same kind of feelings that The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers gave me. It's like a Slice of Life type Scifi book and sometimes that's all you need. I laughed, I teared up and I cheered throughout the book. Looking forward to seeing what else happens to the crew of Zumas Ghost.
juniperhope's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
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? Yes
4.0
timinbc's review against another edition
3.0
Well, I have figure out who this was aimed at before I can rate it. Is it YA? Is there a genre called "cozy space" that this fits squarely into?
Imagine a Neal Asher book, full of details and how-it-works and explosions and gore. This is the opposite of that. Has anyone used the term "space operetta" yet? Or "soft SF"?
So we have a found-family story here, and everyone who appears for more than a paragraph is Nice. Some bluster, some are shy, but they are all Nice. Snoopy used to read books by Miss Helen Sweetstory, and this is like that.
We get a huge buildup to the Boarding Games, and in the end we get one glimpse in the prelims of what a boarding exercise looks like. It consists of "you go left, I'll go right" and surprising a group of people who are totally expecting them to enter via the room's only door.
We have instantaneous travel and communications. As in "Oh darn, I left my notebook back on Jupiter Station, I'll just pop back and get it" - from Earth. 588,000,000 km at MINimum.
Nah, the story's about Max bonding with her friends. and as such it's fine. But it's so frothy and tension-free (in the mystery world this is "cozy"). We know after ten pages that Max is going to do just fine and the team will win the Games and the bad guy will be nabbed.
Then there's Naki, or Mookie, or Nika or Zika or whatever the heck his name is. He's nice to Max for a few days, then she falls for him via email. Puh-leese.
Still, it's a smooth, flowing read, and maybe just what one needs after an Asher or an Egan.
Imagine a Neal Asher book, full of details and how-it-works and explosions and gore. This is the opposite of that. Has anyone used the term "space operetta" yet? Or "soft SF"?
So we have a found-family story here, and everyone who appears for more than a paragraph is Nice. Some bluster, some are shy, but they are all Nice. Snoopy used to read books by Miss Helen Sweetstory, and this is like that.
We get a huge buildup to the Boarding Games, and in the end we get one glimpse in the prelims of what a boarding exercise looks like. It consists of "you go left, I'll go right" and surprising a group of people who are totally expecting them to enter via the room's only door.
We have instantaneous travel and communications. As in "Oh darn, I left my notebook back on Jupiter Station, I'll just pop back and get it" - from Earth. 588,000,000 km at MINimum.
Nah, the story's about Max bonding with her friends. and as such it's fine. But it's so frothy and tension-free (in the mystery world this is "cozy"). We know after ten pages that Max is going to do just fine and the team will win the Games and the bad guy will be nabbed.
Then there's Naki, or Mookie, or Nika or Zika or whatever the heck his name is. He's nice to Max for a few days, then she falls for him via email. Puh-leese.
Still, it's a smooth, flowing read, and maybe just what one needs after an Asher or an Egan.
no_fun_jon's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
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
4.0
lauralauralaura's review against another edition
4.5
Absolutely perfectly fits the bill for my escapist reading needs. A really competent female leader, a band of misfits who really care about one another and are uniquely suited to rise to a challenge, sex-positive, emotionally intelligent, and all tied up in a neat bow by the end.
carleesi's review against another edition
4.0
I loved the characters and the focus on relationship building. It was also cool to see a world that was seemlessly LGBTQIA+
At times the perspectives confused me, it wasn’t always clear who was the POV of each section until a few paragraphs in. I also felt that some of the conflict built and resolved too quickly to understand why it was significant/ to get a full feel of what was happening.
That being said I love me some space opera so I will absolutely be reading more.
At times the perspectives confused me, it wasn’t always clear who was the POV of each section until a few paragraphs in. I also felt that some of the conflict built and resolved too quickly to understand why it was significant/ to get a full feel of what was happening.
That being said I love me some space opera so I will absolutely be reading more.