cdeane61's review against another edition
5.0
What is there to say about a Kameron Hurley novel, besides "read it".
Her books are not like any I have before encountered, always startlingly original, well written, great stories.
I am now five books in to her worlds, and I continue to be astonished.
Well done, and highly recommended.
Her books are not like any I have before encountered, always startlingly original, well written, great stories.
I am now five books in to her worlds, and I continue to be astonished.
Well done, and highly recommended.
alina_leonova's review against another edition
5.0
I can't even tell you how big an impression this book made on me! But let's start with the basics, as always.
Characters
The main character is Dietz, and since I wasn't sure about their gender until the end of the book, and I don't know if that was meant this way or I just missed it (i totally could have missed it), I won't reveal it here either, just in case. Dietz enlists in the army after losing their family to the Martian attack. They are a bitter but caring person who wants to protect the people they love. The character arc is very compelling, as the reader gets to observe the gradual change of Dietz's beliefs and goals as they discover more and more information about the war. There are also quite a lot of people they serve with, and sometimes I got lost as to who was who, but the author did a great job keeping track of them, considering the nature of the story.
Plot
The plot is so original and fascinating! It's non-linear, all of the events happen out of order as time travel is involved. It requires a lot of skill to pull off something like that, and Kameron Hurley did it brilliantly.
World-building
The world-building is done just right to be immersive. The world is ruled by six big corporations, and people are divided into a class system: citizens, who have the most privileges, access to health care and best living conditions, residents, who have only some of the privileges and ghouls, who basically have no rights. It's possible but extremely tough to move into a higher class, and joining the army is the only way for ghouls like Dietz. Citizenship is, in fact, belonging to a certain corp, not a country. The corps control access to information and posses advanced technology, the most impressive of which is probably their ability to turn people into light and send them anywhere in the world at the speed of light.
Impressions
I couldn't put the book down! There is so much in it that I liked: the plot twists, the complexity and ingenuity of its structure, the clever observations about human nature, the intimate first person narration, the flawed protagonist who gets a chance to grow, the criticism of some of the real-world issues, the originality. It's a great and well-written story, but what made it stand out most was the way it was told.
The book explores the meaninglessness and cruelty of war, poses the questions about inequality, class system, capitalism, exploitation, manipulation and brainwashing. It's gory, which I think is suitable for a story about war, and at the same time human connection and taking care of each other are a crucial part of it. I really enjoyed the author's style and her unique voice.
You might enjoy the book if you like military and time travel sci-fi, mind-bending thrillers, non-linear stories and don't mind gore / violence / death.
Check out my website about sci-fi by women and non-binary authors for book reviews, lists, interviews, short stories and more.
Characters
The main character is Dietz, and since I wasn't sure about their gender until the end of the book, and I don't know if that was meant this way or I just missed it (i totally could have missed it), I won't reveal it here either, just in case. Dietz enlists in the army after losing their family to the Martian attack. They are a bitter but caring person who wants to protect the people they love. The character arc is very compelling, as the reader gets to observe the gradual change of Dietz's beliefs and goals as they discover more and more information about the war. There are also quite a lot of people they serve with, and sometimes I got lost as to who was who, but the author did a great job keeping track of them, considering the nature of the story.
Plot
The plot is so original and fascinating! It's non-linear, all of the events happen out of order as time travel is involved. It requires a lot of skill to pull off something like that, and Kameron Hurley did it brilliantly.
World-building
The world-building is done just right to be immersive. The world is ruled by six big corporations, and people are divided into a class system: citizens, who have the most privileges, access to health care and best living conditions, residents, who have only some of the privileges and ghouls, who basically have no rights. It's possible but extremely tough to move into a higher class, and joining the army is the only way for ghouls like Dietz. Citizenship is, in fact, belonging to a certain corp, not a country. The corps control access to information and posses advanced technology, the most impressive of which is probably their ability to turn people into light and send them anywhere in the world at the speed of light.
Impressions
I couldn't put the book down! There is so much in it that I liked: the plot twists, the complexity and ingenuity of its structure, the clever observations about human nature, the intimate first person narration, the flawed protagonist who gets a chance to grow, the criticism of some of the real-world issues, the originality. It's a great and well-written story, but what made it stand out most was the way it was told.
The book explores the meaninglessness and cruelty of war, poses the questions about inequality, class system, capitalism, exploitation, manipulation and brainwashing. It's gory, which I think is suitable for a story about war, and at the same time human connection and taking care of each other are a crucial part of it. I really enjoyed the author's style and her unique voice.
You might enjoy the book if you like military and time travel sci-fi, mind-bending thrillers, non-linear stories and don't mind gore / violence / death.
Check out my website about sci-fi by women and non-binary authors for book reviews, lists, interviews, short stories and more.
fedak's review against another edition
3.0
Enjoyed the first third or so, reasonable MilSciFi with some heavy borrowing/homage to Starship Troopers
The time travel narrative kinds collapsed under its own weight and the deus ex machina ending seemed like it was rushed. (In the notes, the author admitted to needing a flow chart to keep track of the time travel plotlines, and as a readers we probably needed the same)
The college freshman anti-corporation political manifesto that permeates the whole book was a bit overdone. And the gender reveal gimmick left me somewhat confused prompting me to google what was going on rather than what I presume was an intended "aha" moment of me revisiting my expectations.
The time travel narrative kinds collapsed under its own weight and the deus ex machina ending seemed like it was rushed. (In the notes, the author admitted to needing a flow chart to keep track of the time travel plotlines, and as a readers we probably needed the same)
The college freshman anti-corporation political manifesto that permeates the whole book was a bit overdone. And the gender reveal gimmick left me somewhat confused prompting me to google what was going on rather than what I presume was an intended "aha" moment of me revisiting my expectations.
tsuxis's review against another edition
4.0
this was. good? i enjoyed this? i was confused for 95% of the book and then the last 5% made the confusion all worth it? this slayed? this served cunt? girl idfk, dont ask me
nakedsushi's review against another edition
5.0
I started reading this book because I wanted to read an action-filled science fiction book written by a woman, not knowing what this was really about, so it was a wonderful surprise. Yes, it has action, gore, lots of explosions, and all the science fiction elements I like, but it's also about eerie endgame capitalism and what it does to society, which is what brought this up to a five star book for me. The social commentary about corps and what they were up to was just shy of being heavy handed, which worked in this case.
I sort of got spoiled on the book when I was looking at what other Goodreads readers tagged this book as, so if you don't want to accidentally find out about a major plot point of the book, don't look there! I typically don't like that type of plot point because it's rarely done well, but in this case, it was done *really* well.
I might have missed something in the beginning, but I liked that the gender of our main character was kind of a mystery for most of the book and a non-issue.
Spoilers below:
I sort of got spoiled on the book when I was looking at what other Goodreads readers tagged this book as, so if you don't want to accidentally find out about a major plot point of the book, don't look there! I typically don't like that type of plot point because it's rarely done well, but in this case, it was done *really* well.
I might have missed something in the beginning, but I liked that the gender of our main character was kind of a mystery for most of the book and a non-issue.
Spoilers below:
Spoiler
The book has some surface similarities to All You Need is Kill / Edge of Tomorrow, but has more world-building around it. I especially like the feeling after reading the book that one could go back and read from the beginning and get a better understanding of just what was going on.greyreads's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-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
4.25
Reread.
phaedraismyusername's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-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
4.0
I liked it. It was a little heavy handed with the overall message from time to time but it was smart and fast paced and a generally very good standalone Sci-fi
nittiotvaan's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
tense
fast-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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Child death, Gore, Violence, Xenophobia, Death, Suicide, War, Fire/Fire injury, and Gun violence
Moderate: Classism, Injury/Injury detail, Police brutality, Colonisation, and Torture
Minor: Animal death, Panic attacks/disorders, and Pandemic/Epidemic
raceyburden's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
reflective
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
3.75
literatehedgehog's review against another edition
4.0
Mind-twisting, gritty space scifi! Big on the mind-twisty, big on the gritty, often reads more like a war thriller than science fiction.
cautions
If this were a movie, it would be too gory for me - Hurley skillfully chooses just a few choice words to convey her images and they are starkly illustrated in my mind. If you don't like gore (think battle wounds, intestines, spurting red mist), this may be a bit much for you. Same goes for emotional trauma and virtual reality torture. I normally can't handle that, but I persevered, too invested in the main character. Content warnings for violence, loss, torture, mental illness (no rape, even in a war book! Thank you, Hurley, thank you for some decency in these characters).
great!
The main character goes by their last name (military you know), and it's first person point of view, so you don't really know their gender. There are less than a handful of clues, but it doesn't matter! There are a mix of he/she/men/women soldiers, and they hook up with each other in unpredictable, beautiful bisexual abandon, but without labeling it. Although there are no nonbinary, genderqueer, etc, characters outside the binary.
cautions
If this were a movie, it would be too gory for me - Hurley skillfully chooses just a few choice words to convey her images and they are starkly illustrated in my mind. If you don't like gore (think battle wounds, intestines, spurting red mist), this may be a bit much for you. Same goes for emotional trauma and virtual reality torture. I normally can't handle that, but I persevered, too invested in the main character. Content warnings for violence, loss, torture, mental illness (no rape, even in a war book! Thank you, Hurley, thank you for some decency in these characters).
great!
The main character goes by their last name (military you know), and it's first person point of view, so you don't really know their gender. There are less than a handful of clues, but it doesn't matter! There are a mix of he/she/men/women soldiers, and they hook up with each other in unpredictable, beautiful bisexual abandon, but without labeling it. Although there are no nonbinary, genderqueer, etc, characters outside the binary.