Reviews

It had a few interesting sci-fi concepts, I especially like the histories of other colony expeditions, but overall it was unnecessarily drawn out and didn't have much to say philosophically.

Content Warnings

mes0pelagic_fan's review against another edition

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3.25

urgh i thought this was gonna be more fun than it was i was tragically sad when the plot moved from sentient space worms to interpersonal drama inside the space bubble. in terms of actual time spent dealing with what i perceived to be the legitimate plot (space worms)-- maybe 20% of the book. flashbacks, 20%. drama between the mickeys, 30%. weird sexual tension 20%. what i perceived as the actual pinnacle of the dramatic arc

(illicit threesome with clones discovered by religious anti-clone military commander)

, the remaining 10%. that scene lasted a very long time IMO.

urghhhh i think if u like submarine movies this might be fun I was really hoping

mikey's enthusiasm for history

was going to play a more legit role in the narrative but it seemed to be trapped in the author's drafts, relegated to flashbacks and the three moments that out narrator seems to catch a break in. maybe other books in the series will pick up on some of the missed opportunities that kind of jumped out at me, but it felt pretty half-baked and i kinda wished i had dnf-ed. glad i didn't only because i cannot wait to watch the movie and see what kind of crazy stuff happens there

will say that the coolest parts of this book did not happen on screen for our main cast-- the whole

'multiples are historically evil' bit with the dude who took over a whole planet by serial killing everyone and recycling them into copies of himself until he was so in control he blew up the warship sent to kill all of the hims, lasting only until another human polity nuked him from space with a c-speed bullet-- that

was soooooo good and i wished the book had been about that

actually I'm gonna give another half point for the really cool calorie economy-- the worldbuilding was pretty awesome on that front i love the expendable

being only as expendable as the calories and calcium needed to make another body! and the ration-splitting

lent a tension to the narrative that helped make a lot of dumb interpersonal drama more believable (even though i am not a believer 😔) i think this could be super cool adapted to the screen though!

creativeflow's review against another edition

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fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

rcheng99's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted mysterious relaxing tense medium-paced

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

A really nice and interesting book about a human copy machine and expendable bastard that's part of a planet colony.

I decided to pick up the book after watching the movie trailer and I'm glad I did. There are multiple themes and genres which in interested in and the book delivers.

jobby's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted 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? It's complicated

4.75

pretenderjoe's review against another edition

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adventurous dark funny hopeful inspiring mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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