Reviews tagging 'Infertility'

A Closed and Common Orbit by Becky Chambers

20 reviews

ratatouilllie's review against another edition

adventurous sad 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? Yes

3.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Abandonment, Cursing, Death, Grief, Blood, Child abuse, Confinement, Colonisation, Violence, Eating disorder, Injury/Injury detail, Animal death, and Child death

Minor: Infertility, Excrement, Panic attacks/disorders, Vomit, Xenophobia, Drug use, Gaslighting, and Gore

dlrosebyh's review

adventurous emotional 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

3.25

Lovelace was previously only an artificial intelligence on a ship. She must start again in a synthetic body in a society where people of her type are forbidden when she awakens in a new body after a complete system shutdown and reboot. Never has she felt so alone.

She is not, however, truly alone. Pepper, one of the engineers who risked life and limb to reinstall Lovelace, is determined to help her acclimate to her new surroundings. Pepper is an expert at beginning fresh, after all.

Avoid making the same mistake I did and read this book without expecting a plot-heavy story because the action doesn't start until the last 5%. Nothing in particular was wrong with it—it brought me all sorts of comfort—but i was just not in the mood for it. As a mood reader, i needed something plot heavy, so it kind of wrecked the experience for me.

This sequel follows an AI and a human with knowledge of AIs. In the first book, we meet them but don't follow them. This book is fantastic if you enjoy reading in-depth character studies and analyses. If you love character driven stories— no plot, just vibes— then this one is for you.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Animal death, and Slavery

Moderate: Confinement, Child death, and Grief

Minor: Infertility and Drug use

karoliiine's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Dysphoria, Slavery, Animal death, Child abuse, Ableism, and Abandonment

Moderate: Blood, Child death, Medical content, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Vomit, Classism, and Grief

Minor: Infertility, Cursing, Colonisation, Gun violence, and Sexual content

charlotteschapter's review against another edition

adventurous emotional inspiring 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child abuse, Slavery, Child death, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal death, Child abuse, Slavery, and Child death

Minor: Drug use, Vomit, and Infertility

athryn's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

A definite step up from the first book in this series. I really enjoyed the intertwining stories of

Spoiler

Sidra and Pepper

are very well done, exploring the world set up in the first book in different ways. The end was pretty touching to me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail and Animal death

Moderate: Forced institutionalization, Slavery, Blood, Child abuse, Confinement, and Death

Minor: Dysphoria and Infertility

andloveistoolong's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring 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

I enjoyed the first book in this series well enough, but this one was definitely a step up. It had a totally engrossing story, characters I fell in love with, basically the whole package.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Physical abuse, Animal death, Slavery, Trafficking, Child abuse, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Gun violence, Violence, Cursing, Panic attacks/disorders, Alcohol, Child death, Classism, Death, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, and Kidnapping

Minor: Dysphoria, Drug use, Medical content, Gore, and Infertility

librarymouse's review

adventurous emotional funny hopeful reflective 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

I sat I my kitchen crying as

Spoiler

Owl told Pepper not to cry and that she was there, and I didn't stop crying till the end of the book, though the tears were for a variety of different emotions. These characters are so easy to love. Sidra learning how to be a person, including her inate instincts and not ridding herself of the unique aspects that are core to her is such a huge and beautiful storyline, which I read as allegorical for neurodivergence. Tak is a great friend, and Owl getting to see Pepper and Blue Shepard Sidra into personhood as she'd done for Pepper was beautiful. Sidra and Owl getting to share digital space is beautiful and I long for a continuation of the story in which AI are granted legal personhood. I know the series continues and god I hope that change in political landscape is a part of it. My heart is full with Owl and her reunion with Pepper; being able to finally hug the girl she's loved and raised for years. My heart breaks for Lovey and what could have been.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Medical content, Sexual content, Child abuse, Child death, Animal death, Chronic illness, Colonisation, Confinement, and Grief

Minor: Deportation and Slavery

novella42's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring 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? It's complicated

5.0

I have yet to find a sci-fi author who handles themes of disability, chronic illness, neurodivergence, and mental health with the same deeply grounded compassion of Becky Chambers. This book is one of the harder reads in this series, but I love it to pieces, I love the characters, I love where it takes you, love the way it makes me feel by the end. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, Slavery, Eating disorder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Chronic illness, Infertility, and Mental illness

Minor: Cancer

Spoiler-level clarification on the eating disorder tag.

Spoiler

The character doesn't have an eating disorder but there's no tag for starvation or extreme malnutrition, and I think that could have a big impact for someone with an eating disorder.

Also, if you have trauma around dogs, this might be a hard read.

ventenne's review

adventurous emotional hopeful slow-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

becky chambers does it once again! and this time, i was crying before the book even finished. lowkey preferred it to the long way to a small angry planet, which isn’t to say that isn’t also a phenomenal book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Animal death, and Blood

Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Medical content, Drug use, and Infertility

Minor: War

innerweststreetlibrarian's review

adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring fast-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

I really enjoyed this one too! I liked the way the book is structured, flipping between the two intertwined stories. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, and Animal death

Moderate: Medical trauma, Alcohol, Panic attacks/disorders, and Slavery

Minor: Infertility, Drug use, and Gore