thaliareads'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
I can't express enough appreciation for how cool it was just seeing all of the described species and all of their different cultures and the depth to which they are explored. It's absolutely wild.
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Violence, Gun violence, and Terminal illness
Moderate: Alcohol and Cultural appropriation
I'm behind on reviews, so it's been a couple moths since I read this, and I wouldn't be surprised if I missed a content warning or two.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
annamorgan27's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Moderate: Grief, War, Vomit, Death, Gun violence, Alcohol, Medical trauma, and Sexual content
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
anni_swanilda'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
4.5
Graphic: Racial slurs, Cursing, Death, Gore, Grief, Confinement, Violence, Vomit, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Terminal illness, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Medical content and Blood
Minor: Ableism, Alcohol, and War
eni_iilorak'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
4.5
Graphic: Colonisation, Death, Terminal illness, Police brutality, Confinement, Grief, and Gun violence
Moderate: Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, Racial slurs, Blood, Racism, Violence, War, Medical content, and Xenophobia
Minor: Cursing
lastcomment314'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
5.0
Moderate: Abandonment, Death, Cursing, and Colonisation
Minor: Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Xenophobia, Alcohol, Gun violence, Blood, Classism, and War
cnnr876'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? It's complicated
5.0
Moderate: Grief, Death, Xenophobia, War, and Violence
Minor: Alcohol and Drug use
amphibianwitch's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.0
Sin embargo, sí hay cosas que no puedo pasar por alto. Durante la lectura no me estaba dando la sensación de que el libro fuese muy trans-friendly ni nb-friendly, pero no estaba segura de ello. Desde luego no me ha parecido nada ace ni aro-friendly, y de hecho no se lo recomendaría a una persona arromántica ni asexual. Pero lo que me ha terminado de cabrear es una cosa que pasa casi al final y que se analiza en este artículo (en inglés) mejor de lo que lo podría explicar yo. Me ha parecido dañino y me es completamente imposible reconciliarme con esta lectura tras ello. Una pena.
Graphic: Death, Ableism, Vomit, Acephobia/Arophobia, Terminal illness, War, Drug use, and Alcohol
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