leighwilliams's review against another edition
challenging
informative
mysterious
reflective
medium-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? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Blood, Self harm, Sexual content, Death, Incest, Injury/Injury detail, and Murder
ksorianotaylor's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
an interesting take on intergenerational trauma in the form of three eras that add up to the founding of a “utopian” religion. while i didn’t really love any of the characters, the book was definitely a fun/exciting read. definitely scratched that “i want to solve a mystery” itch. i felt like the pacing was great in that it’s slow at the beginning when you’re learning about everything and the events leading up to the main plot are taking shape and by the end it’s racing alongside the journey.
definitely saw some big “twists” coming, but i think that was intentional. and there were enough that i didn’t catch them all. the world building to me was just so-so, but the connections between the three settings were super interesting. one of the books it reminded me of that hasn’t been brought up yet is the fifth sacred thing by starhawk, so people might enjoy that.
i’m rating it a little lower i guess because while i overall enjoyed the book, a lot of it seemed unbelievable to me (which is a dumb reason for a sci-fi book i know). but like leah as a character was boring and kind of stock-y to me (also why didn’t she have a cell phone? in 2012?!) likewise ajul and ixul were the least interesting part of the 1012 era, and ket suffered from weird wise-child syndrome. the 3012 era had the most promise to me but it was super hard for me to believe that a dispersed nomadic society dedicated pluralism would ALL so dogmatically believe in the laviaja/st leah religion. also there was just sooo much unsexy sex. (that i don’t think was intentional.) like i would have expected to see more fun sex stuff happening in 3012 with endless ~future~ possibilities? but instead we got tired twincest and leah. and i think the author could have used more queer/trans input in those relationships. ahh sorry now that i said it leah was so boring!
also the kriol and spanish that people complained about is definitely intelligible/context oriented, i did not have a problem with it at all.
definitely saw some big “twists” coming, but i think that was intentional. and there were enough that i didn’t catch them all. the world building to me was just so-so, but the connections between the three settings were super interesting. one of the books it reminded me of that hasn’t been brought up yet is the fifth sacred thing by starhawk, so people might enjoy that.
i’m rating it a little lower i guess because while i overall enjoyed the book, a lot of it seemed unbelievable to me (which is a dumb reason for a sci-fi book i know). but like leah as a character was boring and kind of stock-y to me (also why didn’t she have a cell phone? in 2012?!) likewise ajul and ixul were the least interesting part of the 1012 era, and ket suffered from weird wise-child syndrome. the 3012 era had the most promise to me but it was super hard for me to believe that a dispersed nomadic society dedicated pluralism would ALL so dogmatically believe in the laviaja/st leah religion. also there was just sooo much unsexy sex. (that i don’t think was intentional.) like i would have expected to see more fun sex stuff happening in 3012 with endless ~future~ possibilities? but instead we got tired twincest and leah. and i think the author could have used more queer/trans input in those relationships. ahh sorry now that i said it leah was so boring!
also the kriol and spanish that people complained about is definitely intelligible/context oriented, i did not have a problem with it at all.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Incest, Blood, and Self harm
beccaand's review
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Self harm, Incest, Sexual content, and Blood
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail and Child death
Minor: Terminal illness
cleo_wylde's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
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
Loved the world the author has conceptualised and how it all comes together. A book that tries very hard to hit lots of points and overall succeeds.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Murder, Self harm, Sexual content, Injury/Injury detail, and Blood
Moderate: Incest, Religious bigotry, and Injury/Injury detail
valentina_legge's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
The right book at the right time.
Long and dense with research and complex world-building, but never too heavy, still a page-turner. Perfect structure. Loved the ending.
Will stay with me for a long time.
Long and dense with research and complex world-building, but never too heavy, still a page-turner. Perfect structure. Loved the ending.
Will stay with me for a long time.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood and Violence
bailey_the_bookworm's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
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
5.0
This book! Wow. It melted my brain in the best way.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Self harm, Violence, Death, and Incest
Minor: Terminal illness
caseythereader's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Self harm, Sexual content, Grief, Incest, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Alcohol, Blood, Child death, Cursing, Death, Drug use, and Gore
Minor: Terminal illness
nikichem's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
informative
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I finished this book and immediately started to reread it. I loved it so much but once you know how it ends you want to go back and enjoy all the Easter Eggs. I have been recommending this book like crazy. In each of the first three chapters, there were things that were shocking. I loved the ending. I loved the beginning and I loved the middle. I am not writer; I am a reader and this is the 1st book I can recall starting to read it again as soon as I finished it the 1st time. If you like speculative fiction, Slipstream, Science-Fantasy, Genre Blending, Visionary, Historical check this out it will change the way you view humanity. This book gave me Octavia Butler vibes and it also reminds me some of Cloud Cuckoo Land only based in Belize and with a span of 2000 years (1012 to 3012).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Self harm, Incest, Sexual content, Torture, and Abandonment
Moderate: Violence, Child death, Gore, Physical abuse, Blood, Classism, and Death
Minor: War, Classism, Cancer, Terminal illness, and Religious bigotry
aclaman's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood
Moderate: Child death, Terminal illness, Suicide, Sexual content, Murder, Incest, and Death
emeraldcityreader's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- 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? It's complicated
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood and Sexual content