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bisexualwentworth'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
4.0
A very satisfying conclusion to the duology. I preferred book one as a story, but there was a lot to love here. I liked the multiple points of view, especially the one that starts vague and confusing and becomes clear as the book progresses. Spent the whole book rooting for the gays, of course. The plot just kind of felt like something I'd read before, maybe because it was a probably deliberate (and I think fairly effective) riff on the ending of Ender's Game, maybe because it just felt too paint-by-numbers. The characters were what breathed life into the unoriginal plot, and I loved what Martine did with them. I'm definitely excited to see what she writes next.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Xenophobia, and War
Moderate: Genocide
Minor: Vomit and Injury/Injury detail
nilssjoberg's review against another edition
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
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Xenophobia and War
Moderate: Genocide, Vomit, and Colonisation
Minor: Sexual content
cleo_reads's review against another edition
4.25
I enjoyed it almost as much as the first. Even though it’s quite different - bigger scope, higher stakes, much more ambitious (and the first one was pretty dang ambitious).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Xenophobia, Vomit, and War
Minor: Genocide
nhollie's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body horror, Violence, Xenophobia, Vomit, Medical content, and Colonisation
Minor: Genocide
frogcakes's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, and War
Moderate: Vomit
Minor: Suicide
alexijai98's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Would be 5 stars but the ending slightly irked me
Content Warnings
Graphic: Genocide, Violence, Xenophobia, Vomit, Medical content, Colonisation, and War
Moderate: Sexual content
quarkie's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
As in the first book, a really interesting world and some thought-provoking takes on various concepts, but I was a bit distracted by what I thought to be less-than-stellar writing. I liked this one a bit more than the first one, but I think it was more due to the change in structure rather than a significant change in writing. Rather than the entire book told from a single point of view, this story was told from four distinct viewpoints. This helped avoid repetition of the same topic and thoughts that was present in the previous book, and also allowed readers to better follow the motivations of characters, since they had access to more internal monologues. It also allowed for readers to see characters' thought processes develop over the course of the book.
One thing I really enjoyed was the pacing - while the beginning was s bit slow, the second half had me on the edge of my seat, and made it difficult to put down!
One complaint I have, that is similar to the previous book, is that sometimes plot points "just happened". Meaning that they either seemingly had no lead up to them, or that they happened and didn't actually have an effect on the plot. It left readers hanging in a few cases.
The main topics that I took away from reading this were what the concept of "you" means to various societies, which was explored in the previous book and then expanded even further upon here. It was also an interesting look at how a society that is know for consuming cultures through colonization acts when confronted with a (SPOILER ALERT) society that will much more literally consume them. Finally, this book explored more concretely the ways in which people from these various cultures interact with one another, and how they can be actively doing harm when they are in fact well-intentioned.
One thing I really enjoyed was the pacing - while the beginning was s bit slow, the second half had me on the edge of my seat, and made it difficult to put down!
One complaint I have, that is similar to the previous book, is that sometimes plot points "just happened". Meaning that they either seemingly had no lead up to them, or that they happened and didn't actually have an effect on the plot. It left readers hanging in a few cases.
The main topics that I took away from reading this were what the concept of "you" means to various societies, which was explored in the previous book and then expanded even further upon here. It was also an interesting look at how a society that is know for consuming cultures through colonization acts when confronted with a (SPOILER ALERT) society that will much more literally consume them. Finally, this book explored more concretely the ways in which people from these various cultures interact with one another, and how they can be actively doing harm when they are in fact well-intentioned.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Genocide, Sexual content, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Grief and Alcohol
gardens_and_dragons's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
reflective
tense
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? It's complicated
5.0
This was a sequel that really delivered. The weaving stories of Mahit (and her indigo Yskandr) and the various Texcalaanlitzlim of this world was fascinating.
This book drew together a lot within its pages - predominantly it’s the story of first contact with aliens that the humans here cannot understand. It’s about trying to broker peace when the other side doesn’t see you even as a person because it cannot understand the way you communicate as language.
But this duology is also about colonization of the mind and heart, culture as it pertains to identity, what constitutes personhood, and sometimes how identity is informed by how wide your definition of “you” is. It’s also about loyalty, memory, political machinations, and the line between treason and doing the right thing.
Also, the prose is beautifully crafted. Each POV feels unique, the poetry of the prose itself, but also the poetics of how certain words and actions felt so purposeful and thematic… gosh Martine is an astounding writer.
If you are a fan of political sci-fi, this is a must read.
This book drew together a lot within its pages - predominantly it’s the story of first contact with aliens that the humans here cannot understand. It’s about trying to broker peace when the other side doesn’t see you even as a person because it cannot understand the way you communicate as language.
But this duology is also about colonization of the mind and heart, culture as it pertains to identity, what constitutes personhood, and sometimes how identity is informed by how wide your definition of “you” is. It’s also about loyalty, memory, political machinations, and the line between treason and doing the right thing.
Also, the prose is beautifully crafted. Each POV feels unique, the poetry of the prose itself, but also the poetics of how certain words and actions felt so purposeful and thematic… gosh Martine is an astounding writer.
If you are a fan of political sci-fi, this is a must read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Xenophobia
Moderate: Vomit
Minor: Genocide
nixwithapen's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Xenophobia, Colonisation, and War
Moderate: Death, Genocide, Gore, and Sexual content
Minor: Suicide and Vomit