moni_r's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
3.25
There was great potential here, and much of it left unrealized. Lots of unanswered questions.
catbooking's review against another edition
2.0
I kept reading this book hoping to get to the scary things in space part, but it never happened. The exploration, that hinted at things getting nice and scary wrapped up quite quickly without exploring much. I know that unanswered questions are supposed to give the feel of the mysterious and not known, but in this case it just left me unmoved. I need more than just dead bodies and a mysterious ship.
While I needed more to scare me, I could have done with less religious navel gazing. I kept waiting for there to be a purpose for so much religious focus, but the point never came. Even the religious discussion itself did not offer anything of interest, as it was two people agreeing to one person monologuing. There is no fun of any kind in that. The other thing I could have done without is the romance angle and the sex, which seem to be shoehorned into every narrative nowadays.
To sum up my feeling on the book I was given too much information that had little to do with the plot or general establishment of settings, and not enough to make me emotionally involved or mentally interested in the mysteries. Complete miss for me.
While I needed more to scare me, I could have done with less religious navel gazing. I kept waiting for there to be a purpose for so much religious focus, but the point never came. Even the religious discussion itself did not offer anything of interest, as it was two people agreeing to one person monologuing. There is no fun of any kind in that. The other thing I could have done without is the romance angle and the sex, which seem to be shoehorned into every narrative nowadays.
To sum up my feeling on the book I was given too much information that had little to do with the plot or general establishment of settings, and not enough to make me emotionally involved or mentally interested in the mysteries. Complete miss for me.
circularcubes's review against another edition
4.0
3.5 stars
Space horror! How could it not be fun? This was a bit uneven, some of the unanswered questions frustrated me, and I didn't really buy the setting of the generational ship Argonos, but if you look past those flaws, it's a fun book in a genre that sorely needs more attention.
The middle third of this book was sublime - I felt a genuine sense of unease once the alien ship was discovered, and I loved the wrongness of it, the feeling that the characters were transgressing in spaces not meant for them.
The first third was a bit slow, but the politics & society of the Argonos were fun. Unfortunately, while I got a clear sense of the setting of the alien ship, the Argonos never managed to feel like a real place to me. I couldn't wrap my head around how large it was, or how many people lived on it, or how they managed to be on one spaceship for generations and still find hidden, undiscovered corners. The idea of the nature rooms were fun, but I didn't buy how one could hide out in a desert that's actually just one big room on a spaceship. This is maybe me just being picky, but it was something that bothered me throughout the book.
I also have mixed feelings about the way that evil and religion are discussed in the book. They're interesting topics, but maybe just not entirely my thing.
Finally, I wish the book gave us a clearer sense of what the aliens looked like, or what their motivations were. I don't always mind when books are open-ended, but I had a hard time buying that the aliens were just lil clawed gremlins that liked to torture people and freeze their remains for fun. And what was up with the old woman? Was she ever a real person, or did aliens inhabit her body for fun, and if so, how, and why? Lots of questions.
Space horror! How could it not be fun? This was a bit uneven, some of the unanswered questions frustrated me, and I didn't really buy the setting of the generational ship Argonos, but if you look past those flaws, it's a fun book in a genre that sorely needs more attention.
The middle third of this book was sublime - I felt a genuine sense of unease once the alien ship was discovered, and I loved the wrongness of it, the feeling that the characters were transgressing in spaces not meant for them.
The first third was a bit slow, but the politics & society of the Argonos were fun. Unfortunately, while I got a clear sense of the setting of the alien ship, the Argonos never managed to feel like a real place to me. I couldn't wrap my head around how large it was, or how many people lived on it, or how they managed to be on one spaceship for generations and still find hidden, undiscovered corners. The idea of the nature rooms were fun, but I didn't buy how one could hide out in a desert that's actually just one big room on a spaceship. This is maybe me just being picky, but it was something that bothered me throughout the book.
I also have mixed feelings about the way that evil and religion are discussed in the book. They're interesting topics, but maybe just not entirely my thing.
Finally, I wish the book gave us a clearer sense of what the aliens looked like, or what their motivations were. I don't always mind when books are open-ended, but I had a hard time buying that the aliens were just lil clawed gremlins that liked to torture people and freeze their remains for fun. And what was up with the old woman? Was she ever a real person, or did aliens inhabit her body for fun, and if so, how, and why? Lots of questions.
thatscourtney's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- 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
4.5
This book messed me up in a good way.
wchorak's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
wrensreadingroom's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pandemic/Epidemic, Child abuse, Gore, Abandonment, Colonisation, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Violence, Body horror, Drug use, Medical content, Vomit, Ableism, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Excrement, Forced institutionalization, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Addiction, Genocide, Murder, Physical abuse, Slavery, Suicide, Blood, Child death, Chronic illness, Classism, Grief, Mental illness, Sexual content, and Torture
kimbekaw's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
oilbobble's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
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
4.0
shiny_'s review against another edition
adventurous
dark
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.25
Fun book with cool ideas and good pacing through the first three-quarters or so that squanders itself by providing a non-ending to it all. It's like setting up a bunch of dominoes and then putting them away without ever knocking them down.
chayote's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
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? It's complicated
5.0