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prunechips's review against another edition
challenging
dark
hopeful
sad
tense
slow-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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Slavery, Religious bigotry, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Xenophobia, Grief, Death of parent, Sexual harassment, and War
major_tom's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
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? No
2.75
This book has been in my TBR pile for some time and I’m so glad I finally got to it!
At first, I was afraid the lore would be too confusing - I am not very familiar with space-related fiction and never had much interest in it. Here, the story started straight away - I liked how we discovered things along the way, without long and boring history lessons. Each chapter has a short passage before it, which could be a letter, a quote, or other short piece that gave more insight into the world. I love good exposition and, I’m my opinion, Linden A. Lewis here did a great job.
The main character are interesting, flawed and have their own priorities and desires. There are some flaws, but I’ll talk about them later.
I loved how unique this world is. It really stands out with how logical historical development of each nation is.Why the religion is the way it is, or why there is no AI anymore. And guess what? It’s THAT easy to include queer folks! And it only enriches the plot, the world building and everyone’s satisfaction from reading.
However, I got quite disappointed by the end. The ending felt rushed, used mostly explanation rather than exposure, and gave a bit of flat character development. I saw how some things before could be linked to the plot twists, but still it wasn’t satisfactory. I felt that the ending was made that way to create reason for the next book. I am afraid that the next books will turn to obvious conflicts and will greatly worsen in world-building. In my opinion, the book by itself is great as stand-alone (if the ending was changed). I hope I’m wrong, because I still enjoyed it most of the way.
At first, I was afraid the lore would be too confusing - I am not very familiar with space-related fiction and never had much interest in it. Here, the story started straight away - I liked how we discovered things along the way, without long and boring history lessons. Each chapter has a short passage before it, which could be a letter, a quote, or other short piece that gave more insight into the world. I love good exposition and, I’m my opinion, Linden A. Lewis here did a great job.
The main character are interesting, flawed and have their own priorities and desires. There are some flaws, but I’ll talk about them later.
I loved how unique this world is. It really stands out with how logical historical development of each nation is.
However, I got quite disappointed by the end. The ending felt rushed, used mostly explanation rather than exposure, and gave a bit of flat character development. I saw how some things before could be linked to the plot twists, but still it wasn’t satisfactory. I felt that the ending was made that way to create reason for the next book. I am afraid that the next books will turn to obvious conflicts and will greatly worsen in world-building. In my opinion, the book by itself is great as stand-alone (if the ending was changed). I hope I’m wrong, because I still enjoyed it most of the way.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Racism, Slavery, Violence, Blood, War, and Injury/Injury detail
brukneem's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
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? No
4.0
Excellent world building, a realistic society that doesn't focus too heavily on the subjugation of women. It's certainly a plot point, but it's not creepily and suffocatingly detailed. And there is hope and revenge and EXCELLENT plot twists.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body horror, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Sexual violence, Torture, Forced institutionalization, Murder, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail
accidentallyinspace's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
Really solid speculative fiction story that really surprised me with a lot of intelligent character decisions and subverted tropes. The main twist of the story is decently easy to spot a mile off, but that doesn't matter; the rest of the world building and intrigue is more than enough to keep everything interesting. I love the idea that despite being 100 years technologically advanced and "run by scientists", the icarii faction still has serious and glaring issues. I feel like it would have been easy to throw to "scientists are automatically smart and perfect at running things" and that didn't happen here. I will be picking up the next book for sure.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Violence, Xenophobia, Medical trauma, and War
ericadawson's review against another edition
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Actual review is 3.9 stars. The day I'll be able to use any increment I want is the day I'll rejoice.
This review contains spoilers--and my opinion is overall impacted by the fact that I wasn't able to finish this in a timely fashion.
I enjoyed The First Sister, although the triple POV felt off-balance to me as I much preferred First Sister's perspective over Lito's and Hiro's, but we inevitably got more of Lito and Hiro's development than First Sister's.
The plot is enjoyable, and there are many moving parts without those parts colliding and making the reading experience confusing or unclear. I enjoyed the worldbuilding because it didn't feel too large like in some other scifis, but it wasn't contained to just Earth and the Moon like some others. The history was rich without being overwhelming, and the author did a good job of staying focused on the parts of the lore that were actually relevant (although I did forget sometimes that this was a war over resources, first and foremost). I felt Lito's transition to treason was a bit speedy, but both Hiro's and First Sister's plot twists were excellent.
The voice was strong, the pacing good, and the internal and external conflicts felt real. A very enjoyable book.
This review contains spoilers--and my opinion is overall impacted by the fact that I wasn't able to finish this in a timely fashion.
I enjoyed The First Sister, although the triple POV felt off-balance to me as I much preferred First Sister's perspective over Lito's and Hiro's, but we inevitably got more of Lito and Hiro's development than First Sister's.
The plot is enjoyable, and there are many moving parts without those parts colliding and making the reading experience confusing or unclear. I enjoyed the worldbuilding because it didn't feel too large like in some other scifis, but it wasn't contained to just Earth and the Moon like some others. The history was rich without being overwhelming, and the author did a good job of staying focused on the parts of the lore that were actually relevant (although I did forget sometimes that this was a war over resources, first and foremost). I felt Lito's transition to treason was a bit speedy, but both Hiro's and First Sister's plot twists were excellent.
The voice was strong, the pacing good, and the internal and external conflicts felt real. A very enjoyable book.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Misogyny, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, and War
Minor: Sexual content
rtaire's review
adventurous
dark
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? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Violence, Xenophobia, Medical trauma, War, and Classism
Moderate: Misogyny, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence
Minor: Transphobia
studydniowka's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Misogyny, Sexual assault, Transphobia, Medical content, and Trafficking
wellintendedbibliophile's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
reflective
tense
fast-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
Diverse cast and a respectful approach to incorporating characters with disabilities, both mental and physical. This book is dark, but so well-thought out. I loved every character and appreciate how the author humanized each character. This is still a top favorite. I need to read the sequel soon.
Content Warnings
Minor: Bullying, Child abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Sexism, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Religious bigotry, Murder, Colonisation, and War
forthesanityof1's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
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? Yes
5.0
Oh god did I love this book. The premise really caught me in the beginning and I love the way the author engaged with the world-building over the course of the book to build into the plot issues as well. The way the language with the names of the different races was created particularly stood out to me. The plot was super intriguing in a nice mix of political intrigue, war, and personal stakes that made it a page-turner. I loved the writing style along with the three perspectives utilized by the author. First Sister's POV was my favorite but Lito and Hiro's were also really well done. I also appreciated the overall queer-ness of the book and world. I like that the ending especially had a lot of impact with reveals about a certain character and what actually happened. If I wasn't exhausted, I could draw a lot of parallels to issues we see in our world with queer, women, and more specifically trans issues as well. I'm dying to get my hands on the second one once it's out in paperback. If there was one thing for me to criticize, it was that the pacing sometimes reflected the author's intention to set up for the rest of the trilogy in a way that was a touch obvious, but that's being super nit-picky. Also hoping for a poly relationship in the end, so fingers crossed.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Sexual assault, Torture, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Grief, Religious bigotry, Murder, Colonisation, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail
Mental illness specifically refers to the revelation thatpeachmoni's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, and Murder
Moderate: Body horror, Child abuse, Confinement, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Ableism, Bullying, Infidelity, Misogyny, Sexual content, Transphobia, Grief, and Abandonment