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chrisb913's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
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 was an incredible read. I was hooked from the beginning and enjoyed the ride for quite a while, until the twists started coming one after another and it really transformed the experience. Linden created such a rich world that showcased all the uniqueness life has to offer. But at the same time, did not shy away from the atrocities and hatred committed by man. There were some characters I loved the entire time and others that took me on a rollar coaster of emotions. This is definitely a recommend and I am eager to read the rest of the series.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Medical trauma, and War
Moderate: Body horror, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence
Minor: Rape, Transphobia, and Vomit
jaenee's review against another edition
emotional
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
This is an amazing example of soft sci fi. It is definitely sci fi in its feel but doesn’t over explain technology. The reader is expected to accept that certain things just work. I think the characters are compelling and the story itself is really paced well between multiple, converging POV’s. It also had some great twists and jaw dropping reveals.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Xenophobia, and Colonisation
Minor: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Sexual harassment
I think all the themes are handled well and while they are impactful, nothing was particularly graphic.vivelarevolution's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
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? Yes
3.5
This book felt like a romp through a fun but incredibly dark space opera fantasy. The worldbuilding was probably my favorite part of the book--it's so intricate!--but I loved the characters as well. I definitely had an easier time getting through the First Sister's POV than Lito's, possibly because Lito's scenes were much more oriented around combat? In general, I felt like I really got to know First Sister and get invested in her, but with Lito I felt like I was chasing scraps of intrigue scattered amidst a whole lot of swordfighting. I did not like the first-person audio recordings thing from Hiro much at all other than as a means to glean new information; I wasn't able to connect with Hiro as a character through them.
Despite the limited amount of narration that I specifically enjoyed, everyone and everything felt very well-developed and it was a fun world to get to know. I'll be checking out the second book for sure, but I'm nervous I won't like it unless it has a lot more time and focus on First Sister, Ofiera, maybe Hiro, andEden .
Despite the limited amount of narration that I specifically enjoyed, everyone and everything felt very well-developed and it was a fun world to get to know. I'll be checking out the second book for sure, but I'm nervous I won't like it unless it has a lot more time and focus on First Sister, Ofiera, maybe Hiro, and
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Slavery, Xenophobia, Trafficking, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual harassment, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence
One of the main characters is essentially a sex slave of a religious order, but in the course of this book she is never raped/forced to participate in a sex act. There is an attempt made to force her, but she is able to prevent it. There are mentions of her having been raped & abused previously. There are also descriptions of medical experimentation and torture and the effects of that experimentation and torture. The people who experienced it were selected due to discrimination against their species.aacinonyx's review against another edition
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
I'm not sure where to begin here... spoilers ahead for those of you who care.
This book has split character point of views. There are technically three point of views. The first sister, Lito, and Hiro. I say technically because Hiro's point of view is from a recording they made for Lito. I love the concept! Having whole chapters dedicated to a transcription of this recording of Hiro explaining themselves to Lito is interesting, however, I found that the execution of it was lacking. My main grievance with it is because they speak just like the author's writing. They would say direct quotes and use dialog tags! No one quotes themselves and then says "I demanded".
and Lito oh my goodness. I can not get behind this boy. During the big moment where he's like "if only I knew how awfully they treated the Astors! I would never have allowed that to happen! Yet he quite literally ignored the harassment of an Astor on the bus earlier in the book. Why was this earlier scene included if he felt so strongly about the treatment of astors? Even his excuse for not stepping in to protect the astor from harassment was "not my job". I cannot believe that this is the same character that decided to risk everything to join the rebel astor faction or whatever they call themselves.
My frustration continues with the implants that rapiers and daggers receive. We have just learned that rapiers and daggers have some quasi communication through these implants. Then on the first mission Ofelia and Lito are tasked with, Ofelia takes a little too long for her portion of the mission Lito gets concerned and LEAVES HIS POST TO FIND HER. You can communicate through the implant!!! why are you physically going to find her if you just need to "think" at her?? Lito continues toruin the mission by killing an innocent astor kid he thought was threatening and Ofelia is all pissed about it. We find out later that Ofelia is special because she can control other implant users with her implant... Why did she let Lito kill the kid? Clearly both of these things needed to happen so that the plot could move forward but it it incredibly frustrating that that is the case.
Lastly we come to the First Sister. Hers was the most interesting of the story lines for me. However, I felt blindsided for her sudden love for Ren? They didn't actually have any meaningful conversations that made me feel like they were falling in love. Then in the end when the First Sister discovers the truth about Ren there is no conversation about this? She just lets Ren go? What was the point of this plot line? There could have been something interesting there with the first sister confronting Ren about their "love" in front of Lito and have Lito be like Nahh that's my partner Hiro! Ren/Hiro would have to explain themselves and actually make a decision about who/if they are in love, but no, All we get is "hey i'm not who you thought I was" and the First Sister just is ok with it? how boring.
All in all the book was entertaining enough to read since I finished it, but I don't think I will be continuing the series.
This book has split character point of views. There are technically three point of views. The first sister, Lito, and Hiro. I say technically because Hiro's point of view is from a recording they made for Lito. I love the concept! Having whole chapters dedicated to a transcription of this recording of Hiro explaining themselves to Lito is interesting, however, I found that the execution of it was lacking. My main grievance with it is because they speak just like the author's writing. They would say direct quotes and use dialog tags! No one quotes themselves and then says "I demanded".
and Lito oh my goodness. I can not get behind this boy. During the big moment where
My frustration continues with the implants that rapiers and daggers receive. We have just learned that rapiers and daggers have some quasi communication through these implants. Then on the first mission Ofelia and Lito are tasked with, Ofelia takes a little too long for her portion of the mission Lito gets concerned and LEAVES HIS POST TO FIND HER. You can communicate through the implant!!! why are you physically going to find her if you just need to "think" at her?? Lito continues to
Lastly we come to the First Sister. Hers was the most interesting of the story lines for me. However, I felt blindsided for her
All in all the book was entertaining enough to read since I finished it, but I don't think I will be continuing the series.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror and Violence
Moderate: Sexual assault
kassidyreads's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
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
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Medical trauma and War
Minor: Bullying, Child abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, and Abandonment
katsmedialibrary's review against another edition
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Transphobia, Violence, and War
Moderate: Sexual assault and Medical content
Minor: Ableism
planetesastraea's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Torture, Medical content, Religious bigotry, and Medical trauma
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Medical content, and Medical trauma
Minor: Sexual assault, Slavery, and Toxic relationship
salemander's review against another edition
5.0
comparing this book to the Handmaids Tale does not do it justice. took me a second to get into the authors tone and rhythm but once i did i couldn’t put this shit down. i know it’s not gonna turn out well since this shit is already dark as hell but please i want these characters to have peace so goddamn bad
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Sexual assault, Slavery, Torture, Medical trauma, Colonisation, and War
rtaire's review against another edition
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