tcgoetz's review against another edition
5.0
Best SciFi I've read since maybe the Martian or Seveneves. Great world building. Great characters. Not a page turner. I didn't hurry through, but it provoked a lot of thinking.
jerseygrrrl's review against another edition
2.0
As the blurb says, this book is gripping. It has a great concept and plays with interesting ideas. The legal and policy issues are fascinating and nuanced.
I have a few wishes for this book.
1. I wish some of the plotting was a little more nuanced. Many of the key points, like violence is unheard of in the current society, aren't raised until after violence occurs and the reader is left to wonder why people are so shocked. Yes, it says something about our society that I didn't find the levels of violence in the book terribly shocking. Awful, yes. But not shocking.
Also, the characters' names broadcast their eventual roles. It was easy to figure out that Aryal Morningstar would and that Gabriel would .
2. I wish some of the characters were a little more nuanced. All of the pro slavery people were wholly evil. No saving graces. Almost all of the anti slavery people were angelic. More shades of gray makes the story more complex and interesting.
3. I wish there were more commas! At least once per chapter (often more frequently), I had to reread a sentence because the lack of commas made it difficult to figure out which phrase was being modified.
I have a few wishes for this book.
1. I wish some of the plotting was a little more nuanced. Many of the key points, like violence is unheard of in the current society, aren't raised until after violence occurs and the reader is left to wonder why people are so shocked. Yes, it says something about our society that I didn't find the levels of violence in the book terribly shocking. Awful, yes. But not shocking.
Also, the characters' names broadcast their eventual roles. It was easy to figure out that Aryal Morningstar would
Spoiler
have wingsSpoiler
serve as a messenger2. I wish some of the characters were a little more nuanced. All of the pro slavery people were wholly evil. No saving graces. Almost all of the anti slavery people were angelic. More shades of gray makes the story more complex and interesting.
3. I wish there were more commas! At least once per chapter (often more frequently), I had to reread a sentence because the lack of commas made it difficult to figure out which phrase was being modified.
ursula_fricke's review against another edition
5.0
Deeply uncomfortable read. 5 stars. Sometimes one needs to be pushed out of ones comfort zone.
annelienvan's review against another edition
3.0
I found this book to be quite original in its premise : genetically modified humans, should they get the same status as 'normal' humans?
The story was a bit predictable and easy, though it was very well-written and very well fleshed out, we only saw one side of the story and there were very clear villains and good guys. I would have preferred some ambiguity and more of the political influences.
still, a solid summer read.
The story was a bit predictable and easy, though it was very well-written and very well fleshed out, we only saw one side of the story and there were very clear villains and good guys. I would have preferred some ambiguity and more of the political influences.
still, a solid summer read.
auntblh's review against another edition
2.0
I just couldn't finish this book. I wanted to like it but I just couldn't get into it. I would see it sitting there and I would find other things to do. I found I didn't really care about the characters or what was happening. I finally gave up when the books on my "to read" stack started calling to me louder than my conscience telling me to finish the book before the book group meeting. I am looking forward to the discussion though.
slayingmantis555's review
3.0
I'm not sure what to rate this...I keep going back and forth. I should love this book, based on the pretense and structure...but I don't. I like it...I think. I am hoping the the book club brings some insight into it and I can settle on a rating.
tronella's review against another edition
4.0
Much better than I expected from the summary, somehow. I enjoyed it a lot.
Minor grumbles:
Minor grumbles:
Spoiler
I thought the ending was a bit predictable and rushed. It's annoying to try to read speech written in dialect (Donal). And I thought the author was too squeamish about describing anything violent - considering the violent topics addressed, almost everything that actually happened was left offscreen in a way I found weird. It's not that I particularly enjoy reading gory descriptions, but either write a violent book or don't, you know?howlsmovinglibrary's review against another edition
3.0
I have a lot of conflicted feelings about this book, that make reviewing hard. On the one hand, Gemsigns has a diverse cast, and a really strong science fiction concept that is used to effectively interrogate issues of race and otherness. I want to promote books which engage with social justice on the level that this book does. On the other hand, the incredibly dense writing and detached method of third person narration meant that I struggled to engage with any of the characters, and keep reading.
‘Gems’ are genetically engineered humans that were created to fulfil a need, namely the devastation of the Earth’s population during an epidemic known the Syndrome. From hyperspectral vision, to improved combat abilities, to enhanced childbearing, Gems were designed to help humanity survive. But as humanity gradually recovered, and the Gems became more and more exploited by Gemtechs, no longer in the name of ‘necessity’, they fought for emancipation from their former slave labour. A year on from the Declaration that gave them freedom, anthropologist Eli Walker is given the task of defining the Gems as a species, and therefore heavily influence in the decision as to whether they can become a fully emancipated people.
It’s a pretty complex concept that essentially boils down to one thing: how do you judge humanity, and what do you do with that kind of power? It is clear from the very start that, despite their altered genetic code, Gems are very, very human. But the political and commercial agendas surrounding their existence quickly serve to muddle the picture, and put Eli in a very awkward position.
Immediately, the issue of the Gems’ status identity is analogically linked to racism. They are former slaves, with the Gemtech companies that owned them now arguing that they are the ones that can best accommodate integration and assimilation into the dominant ‘norm’ culture. Furthermore, hate crime is an insistent plot point throughout this book, and the story shows that newly emancipated Gems are perceived encroaching upon the territory of ‘norms’ in a classic “they’re coming over here and taking our jobs” narrative, with the added issue that, in many cases, Gems are genuinely engineered to do these jobs better. Not only does this book use Gems as a vehicle for interrogating race, but also neurodiversity, as the demands of certain functions that Gems have been engineered to do has resulted in a portion of the Gem population being created autistic, as well as also exploring issues of trauma and PTSD that come from being former slaves. It’s a very ambitious and wide reaching concept that can be used to address many of the social injustices of the modern world.
The story is also interesting. You follow Eli Walker as he tries to negotiate the numerous insidious agendas that encroach upon his ‘objective’ report, but also Gaela, a Gem whose hyperspectral sight and synaethesia makes her a valuable, employable asset in the post-Declaration world, and her adoptive son Gabriel, an unusual child who is the centre of his own conspiracy. You also get a sinister glimpse into the ingenious mind of Zackva Klist, a high up employee of Gemtech Bel Natur, who is doing everything she can to skew Eli’s final decision to her advantage. The gradual building of tension and unease is very effective, it makes you feel like you’re on the very edge of revolution or riot. It actually felt very similar to the unease I experience when faced with the political instability in the contemporary world, and its an effective book that can make those kind of feelings real.
And yet. And yet.
I just did not like this book’s writing at all.
I didn’t feel anything for, or from, any of the characters. Eli surveys the scene with very little emotion and acts as a funnel for information, but doesn’t really have a personality, remaining the very picture of ‘objective’. Even characters like Gaela or Aryel, who have very interesting backstories, don’t have much to differentiate their viewpoint from any of the other characters and end up feeling bland. The person I actually enjoyed reading the most was Klist, because the very clinical, detached writing could then be vaguely attributed to her calculating personality and ruthless political machinations, rather than just sapping away any individuality of her voice.
There are moments when Eli, or another character, breaks down in tears in the face of the abominations and cruelty that Gems have endured. And they should have that kind of reaction – a lot of what happens in this book is terrible. But for me it would just cause a weird disconnect, where I would read a character’s emotional breakdown without feeling anything at all or even batting an eye, because I just couldn’t have that level of emotional connection with any of the writing.
In particular, the main time I felt this kind of weird detachment was whenever we inhabited the point of view of a religious fanatic. The writing would mechanically spit out cultist vocab like ‘preacher’, ‘unclean’, 'deceiver' and ‘baptised’, but ultimately remain very impassive – the words would be vitriolic, but the actual writing style would remain mostly unchanged. It was just creepy, and not in a way that felt intentional.
I think this has something to do with my inability to get on with the very information heavy, dense tone of ‘hard’ sci-fi. Large infodumps, a plot rather than character focus (despite the fact that this book deals with the trauma of individuals and the nature of ‘humanity’ itself), and a general tendency to both be over-elaborate in description, and then utterly downplay the emotional impact of large plot revelations, made this book pretty impenetrable for me as a reader. I think – in an ideal world – this novel would’ve benefitted a lot more from either being a series of first person narratives, or at least having a more colloquial tone. You feel like you’re watching everything through a thick, opaque layer of glass that muffles everything, because the narratorial voice is so dense, impassive, and utterly disconnected from anything that is happening on the page.
I'm giving this book 3/5 because I genuinely think the plot was good, and the issues it details are dealt with sensitively. Concept-wise, I think it's 5 out of 5 - but if I was to rate this on writing alone, it would probably be brought down to a 2.
If you like speculative fiction books that cleverly deals with social justice, and the particularly information-orientated 3rd person voice of traditional science fiction, this is definitely the book for you. But for me, this book was like walking uphill – a painful struggle that you know will give you pay off once you reach the top, but still not particularly enjoyable.
‘Gems’ are genetically engineered humans that were created to fulfil a need, namely the devastation of the Earth’s population during an epidemic known the Syndrome. From hyperspectral vision, to improved combat abilities, to enhanced childbearing, Gems were designed to help humanity survive. But as humanity gradually recovered, and the Gems became more and more exploited by Gemtechs, no longer in the name of ‘necessity’, they fought for emancipation from their former slave labour. A year on from the Declaration that gave them freedom, anthropologist Eli Walker is given the task of defining the Gems as a species, and therefore heavily influence in the decision as to whether they can become a fully emancipated people.
It’s a pretty complex concept that essentially boils down to one thing: how do you judge humanity, and what do you do with that kind of power? It is clear from the very start that, despite their altered genetic code, Gems are very, very human. But the political and commercial agendas surrounding their existence quickly serve to muddle the picture, and put Eli in a very awkward position.
Immediately, the issue of the Gems’ status identity is analogically linked to racism. They are former slaves, with the Gemtech companies that owned them now arguing that they are the ones that can best accommodate integration and assimilation into the dominant ‘norm’ culture. Furthermore, hate crime is an insistent plot point throughout this book, and the story shows that newly emancipated Gems are perceived encroaching upon the territory of ‘norms’ in a classic “they’re coming over here and taking our jobs” narrative, with the added issue that, in many cases, Gems are genuinely engineered to do these jobs better. Not only does this book use Gems as a vehicle for interrogating race, but also neurodiversity, as the demands of certain functions that Gems have been engineered to do has resulted in a portion of the Gem population being created autistic, as well as also exploring issues of trauma and PTSD that come from being former slaves. It’s a very ambitious and wide reaching concept that can be used to address many of the social injustices of the modern world.
The story is also interesting. You follow Eli Walker as he tries to negotiate the numerous insidious agendas that encroach upon his ‘objective’ report, but also Gaela, a Gem whose hyperspectral sight and synaethesia makes her a valuable, employable asset in the post-Declaration world, and her adoptive son Gabriel, an unusual child who is the centre of his own conspiracy. You also get a sinister glimpse into the ingenious mind of Zackva Klist, a high up employee of Gemtech Bel Natur, who is doing everything she can to skew Eli’s final decision to her advantage. The gradual building of tension and unease is very effective, it makes you feel like you’re on the very edge of revolution or riot. It actually felt very similar to the unease I experience when faced with the political instability in the contemporary world, and its an effective book that can make those kind of feelings real.
And yet. And yet.
I just did not like this book’s writing at all.
I didn’t feel anything for, or from, any of the characters. Eli surveys the scene with very little emotion and acts as a funnel for information, but doesn’t really have a personality, remaining the very picture of ‘objective’. Even characters like Gaela or Aryel, who have very interesting backstories, don’t have much to differentiate their viewpoint from any of the other characters and end up feeling bland. The person I actually enjoyed reading the most was Klist, because the very clinical, detached writing could then be vaguely attributed to her calculating personality and ruthless political machinations, rather than just sapping away any individuality of her voice.
There are moments when Eli, or another character, breaks down in tears in the face of the abominations and cruelty that Gems have endured. And they should have that kind of reaction – a lot of what happens in this book is terrible. But for me it would just cause a weird disconnect, where I would read a character’s emotional breakdown without feeling anything at all or even batting an eye, because I just couldn’t have that level of emotional connection with any of the writing.
In particular, the main time I felt this kind of weird detachment was whenever we inhabited the point of view of a religious fanatic. The writing would mechanically spit out cultist vocab like ‘preacher’, ‘unclean’, 'deceiver' and ‘baptised’, but ultimately remain very impassive – the words would be vitriolic, but the actual writing style would remain mostly unchanged. It was just creepy, and not in a way that felt intentional.
I think this has something to do with my inability to get on with the very information heavy, dense tone of ‘hard’ sci-fi. Large infodumps, a plot rather than character focus (despite the fact that this book deals with the trauma of individuals and the nature of ‘humanity’ itself), and a general tendency to both be over-elaborate in description, and then utterly downplay the emotional impact of large plot revelations, made this book pretty impenetrable for me as a reader. I think – in an ideal world – this novel would’ve benefitted a lot more from either being a series of first person narratives, or at least having a more colloquial tone. You feel like you’re watching everything through a thick, opaque layer of glass that muffles everything, because the narratorial voice is so dense, impassive, and utterly disconnected from anything that is happening on the page.
I'm giving this book 3/5 because I genuinely think the plot was good, and the issues it details are dealt with sensitively. Concept-wise, I think it's 5 out of 5 - but if I was to rate this on writing alone, it would probably be brought down to a 2.
If you like speculative fiction books that cleverly deals with social justice, and the particularly information-orientated 3rd person voice of traditional science fiction, this is definitely the book for you. But for me, this book was like walking uphill – a painful struggle that you know will give you pay off once you reach the top, but still not particularly enjoyable.
vcallgood's review against another edition
3.0
I was really excited to read this book, but it was kind of a miss for me. I’m giving it 3 stars because I liked the story and loved several of the characters. I think that several of her messages about how society treats those we perceive as “other” were poignant and important. So why only 3 stars? I just couldn’t connect with it. I never got that “can’t put this book down” feeling, and I often felt like I was slogging through it. Maybe it focused too much on the political aspects of the plot for my liking? I can’t pinpoint what it was, but I just didn’t connect with this one.