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zemightyenby's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Gun violence and Violence
brianneh's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Gun violence, Violence, and Murder
biobeetle'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? No
3.75
Graphic: Gun violence, Violence, Xenophobia, and Abandonment
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail
scifi_rat's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.5
Prose: 4★
Pace: 5★
Concept/Execution: 5★/4.75★
Characters: 4★
Worldbuilding: 4.5★
Ending: 4★
Graphic: Violence and Murder
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Terminal illness, Xenophobia, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Grief, Religious bigotry, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Body horror, Confinement, Cursing, Misogyny, and Colonisation
bookish_hollyx's review against another edition
2.5
Moderate: Death, Violence, and Murder
booksthatburn's review against another edition
- 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 love the opening chapter, it sets up the book's tone in a way that is followed through very well. As the traveler moves around, trying to find something with a signal strong enough to reach space, there are a series of vignette. These snippets build a sense of people's lives in different communities and settlements and the roads in between. So many facets of their lives imply this more complicated whole, without it ever trying to be about any one of them, nor pulling attention from the traveler from space.
The language and word choice is inseparable from the worldbuilding. There seems to be one main religion, a handful of agnostics, and as many ways to interpret the basic tenets as there are characters. The current human inhabitants of Earth are the descendants of a particular religious sect that believed some combination of the Earth being god with climate change as her punishment. These people stayed behind when humanity went to the stars. Now, heir descendants distrust anything that comes from space or is too technologically sophisticated, but what is "like space" or "too much technology" varies wildly from community to community, sheriff to sheriff, religious leader to agnostic nomad.
I loved every page and I want there to be more. This is perfectly paced in its current length but I wish it weren't over.
Graphic: Xenophobia
Moderate: Ableism, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Gun violence, Violence, Blood, and Murder
Minor: Drug use, Vomit, Medical content, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, and War
motaki's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.5
Interesting premise, somewhat flawed execution.
Graphic: Animal death, Bullying, Death, Gun violence, and Blood
Moderate: Violence, Police brutality, and Religious bigotry
sarrie's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Our narrator and all the other characters all felt very genuine and unique to me so this read so well. The setting was easy to picture and imagine, the atmosphere was just cloudy enough to make it easy to fill in the details. This was just overall a well structured and thought out story. The truly wonderful part for me was the hopeful feel of this. Around the 70% there is a shift in the story and by the end I genuinely felt a hope and happiness there. It’s still a desolate earth and there were still terrible people on it but there was also hope, and that’s something rare for me in SF these days.
I would recommend this one for fans of Becky Chambers, and really any SF fans. It’s genuinely one of my favorite books I’ve read so far this year but I don’t want to say too much without spoiling it! I highly recommend this one, it is a fantastic hopeful SF that is going to go on my shelves.
5 out 5 Empty Laser Pistols
Graphic: Religious bigotry
Moderate: Violence and Xenophobia
Minor: Ableism, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, and Vomit
caseythereader's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
- FRONTIER is a fantastic sci-fi western, set among the humans who stayed behind on Earth, adopting a new religion worshiping the planet while also being ruled over by a network of old-fashioned sheriffs.
- I loved the structure of this book. For most of it, we follow the Stranger from the points of view of other people as she travels, giving us short glimpses of the different cities, beliefs, and factions of this world. When we do get to her perspective, her story is a punch to the heart.
- This book is full of gunslinging, witty retorts, inventive worldbuilding, and queer love. I hope you'll seek it out if those things pique your interest!
Graphic: Animal death, Cursing, Death, Gun violence, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Suicide