Reviews tagging 'Chronic illness'
The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers
35 reviews
abookwormspov'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
5.0
Graphic: Death, War, Violence, Racism, Racial slurs, Medical content, Gun violence, Medical trauma, Emotional abuse, and Chronic illness
ekcd_'s review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.75
It’s an incredibly slow book, plot wise, and the few plot events we do see dont make sense. The characters have odd reactions - socially and culturally. And god knows Becky Chambers lives to talk about how different all her aliens are. There is a weird fixation on sex and sexual differences in the book which could have been a fun exploration in sexuality if it was done well but instead it felt like she was patting herself on the back for coming up with such sexually diverse races/species. Several times in the book she says outright “yeah XYZ is so different from humans” and like that’s it.
I feel like I read a different book than all the critics (formal and informal) who have such high praise. This read like a YA novel or children’s cartoon that feeds the reader emotions with a spoon. I’m fact, most of the world building in general is fed to the reader with a spoon- it’s explicit and heavy handed OR it’s nonsense words that are never explained or expanded on. It’s clear the author uses letters and characters who are librarians to shoehorn in world building she wasn’t creative enough to build into the narrative. No nuance, no complexity. Just a feel good mill, which I personally do not like. I want moral ambiguity and conflict in my space opera.
Graphic: Chronic illness, Colonisation, Deadnaming, Police brutality, Drug use, Grief, Sexual content, Xenophobia, Cultural appropriation, Cursing, Toxic friendship, Violence, Alcohol, War, Death, Genocide, and Classism
Moderate: Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, and Blood
mxawprince's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
1.5
I'll probably read something more recent from this author to see if it gets better.
Graphic: Ableism, Colonisation, and Cultural appropriation
Moderate: Gun violence, Xenophobia, Genocide, Racism, and War
Minor: Chronic illness, Religious bigotry, Terminal illness, Antisemitism, Gun violence, and Fatphobia
thoseoldcrows23's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Xenophobia
Moderate: Torture, Terminal illness, Chronic illness, Colonisation, Death, Blood, Child death, Grief, Alcohol, War, Vomit, Medical content, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Confinement and Cursing
scifi_rat's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.0
Moderate: Chronic illness, Confinement, Gun violence, Colonisation, War, Death, Xenophobia, Cursing, Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, Terminal illness, and Grief
Minor: Pregnancy, Drug use, Blood, Violence, Sexual content, and Vomit
charlotteschapter's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Death, Grief, Violence, Terminal illness, and Chronic illness
Moderate: War, Racism, Medical content, and Xenophobia
Minor: Drug use, Sexual content, and Genocide
gondorgirl's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5
Minor: Chronic illness, Death, Xenophobia, and Drug use
akincses1992's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.0
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Colonisation, Violence, Terminal illness, Alcohol, and Chronic illness
Minor: Xenophobia, Cursing, and War
neni's review against another edition
- 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
Although it is tecnically scifi set in space (which is still cool on its own), I would describe the plot as relatively slow-paced, and based almost entirely on character studies and character development. Nothing especially adventurous or exciting happens until the end of the book, but each small scene and problem that come up throughout the story serves as a plataform and an opportunity for exploring the characters issues and, most importantly, their relationships with each other.
At first, I wasnt sure how I felt about this model, since I was expecting a fast paced science fiction aventure and thats not at all what this is. However, about half way through I did warm up to it because I started to get attached to the characters themselves and invested in their wellbeing (which is the point I think).
Other positive points I want to mention are:
-the writing style. Its quite simple, nothing extra flowery, but Becky Chambers is quite good at writing dialogue and character interactions in a way that really hits you in the feels
-the world building is fascinating. I found the Aandrisk and Aelon cultures particularly interesting. The exploration of different ways to structure society, families and interpersonal relationships was a joy to read.
That development at the end was so sad, it broke my heart. But it was handled incredibly well.
Also, this is really random, but I cant be the only one that kept picturing Elon Musk everytime Rosemary's shitbag father was mentioned lol
Overall, I enjoyed this and am excited to read the next installments in the series.
Graphic: Medical content, Chronic illness, Terminal illness, Injury/Injury detail, and Gun violence
Moderate: War, Xenophobia, and Violence
Minor: Religious bigotry and Medical content
cookiecat73's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Graphic: Cursing, Gun violence, Torture, Chronic illness, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Terminal illness, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Alcohol, Blood, Confinement, Grief, Medical content, Violence, Acephobia/Arophobia, Death, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Child abuse, Child death, Colonisation, Emotional abuse, Incest, Classism, Drug use, Religious bigotry, Self harm, Vomit, and War