bookswithbethx's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Pandemic/Epidemic, Gore, Death, Confinement, Blood, Medical content, Chronic illness, Animal death, Violence, Child death, Physical abuse, Vomit, Alcohol, Child abuse, Torture, Slavery, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, and Genocide
roksyreads's review against another edition
- 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
4.75
Graphic: Gore, Death, and Violence
Moderate: Child death, War, and Body horror
Minor: Child abuse
thedinosaurkid's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: War, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Body horror, Cursing, and Death
Moderate: Physical abuse, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Alcoholism, Body horror, Child abuse, Medical content, Medical trauma, Chronic illness, Gun violence, Genocide, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail
xta_07's review against another edition
- 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
4.75
I have heard The Expanse described as Game of Thrones set in space, and I can really see that comparison in this novel. Political power moves, and a mysterious looming threat are the main motif. But, there is an underlying hopefulness here that human kind can do the right thing if we just listen to each other, that I don’t see in GOT.
Graphic: Death and Violence
Moderate: War, Kidnapping, Child death, and Medical trauma
Minor: Child abuse
linneak's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Cursing, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, War, Genocide, Classism, Murder, Violence, Blood, and Medical content
Minor: Alcohol, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Pedophilia, Child abuse, Sexism, Xenophobia, Pregnancy, and Abandonment
joshoonet's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
- Took a while for me to get into it, but then I didn't want to put it down again. Just like the first part!
- Avasarala is kind of incredible, her constant cursing is just hilarious
- Character development: top notch imo
- I love the changing of the protomolecule, it keeps getting more interesting and more high stakes
- The end??? Um I need to continue immediately
- Proper fucking diverse characters
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, War, Cursing, Death, Gore, and Gun violence
Moderate: Alcohol, Blood, Chronic illness, Confinement, Drug use, Murder, Violence, and Child death
Minor: Child abuse, Vomit, Sexual assault, Rape, Physical abuse, Pedophilia, Medical content, Emotional abuse, and Domestic abuse
iono's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Violence, Grief, and Kidnapping
Moderate: War, Racism, Xenophobia, Child abuse, and Cursing
Minor: Child death, Domestic abuse, Vomit, and Pedophilia
how_are_lu's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Minor: Child abuse and Child death
ekcd_'s review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Graphic: Kidnapping, Mass/school shootings, Medical trauma, Medical content, Vomit, Blood, Body horror, Cursing, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Violence, and War
Moderate: Child abuse
Minor: Sexual assault, Alcohol, Cancer, and Suicidal thoughts
mazomazli's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
I enjoyed this, especially seeing where it differs from the show. I think the show did an amazing job of taking this material and making it 5x better. The added bonus of not having to read the words the authors, who suffer deeply from being white men writing sci-fi and fantasy, descriptions.
Seriously they’re awful and REPETITIVE. Prax is constantly referred to as small and tiny in nearly every scene he is in (multiple times). The same goes for Amos and Bobbie being large. Cant forget that ever, okay? Just need to make sure you know at all times multiple times a scene that they are LARGE. and if you forget that Alex is balding, you will be reminded so don’t worry. It also loves to describe skin colors with food words such as chocolate, coffee with cream, and egg brown. Yes. Egg brown. It continues to be weirdly gross about how exotic Naomi is for being multiracial, you just can’t forget that too. The most nauseating comes in chapter 42 where Holden sees Bobbie, a very tall muscular Polynesian woman, and just mentally propels himself into a horny obsession complete with talking about going to the beach just for chances to glimpse a Polynesian like…? Excuse me? Absolutely not. Someone get a hose and spray him with ice cold water. Holden continues to be absolutely a chore to read and even with trying to imagine the show actor in in place I still hate him. It is because of him, where the writing could’ve packed more smack (just based on seeing how the show took it and knowing how much better it could be), and these weird descriptions that I give this a 3 instead of the 4.5 it could’ve been.
Oh and if you want to read that gross scene mentioned before here it is:
Spoiler
During that time, he'd learned he had no desire to be a naval intelligence wonk, really disliked poi, and really liked Polynesian women. He'd been far too busy at the time to activelychase one, but he'd thoroughly enjoyed spending his few spare moments down at the beach looking at them. He'd had a thing for curvy women with long black hair ever since.
The Martian Marine was like one of those cute little beach bunnies that someone had used editing soft-
ware on and blown up to 150 percent normal size. The proportions, the black hair, the dark eyes, everything
was the same. Only, giant. It short-circuited his neural wiring. The lizard living at the back of his brain kept
jumping back and forth between Mate with it! and Flee from it! What was worse, she knew it. She seemed to
have sized him up and decided he was only worth a tired smirk within moments of their meeting.
So yeah.
Moderate: Misogyny, Racism, and War
Minor: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Rape, and Trafficking