Reviews tagging 'Cursing'

The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers

24 reviews

ekcd_'s review against another edition

lighthearted slow-paced

• 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

The characters are lovable but only because they designed to be lovable. As a result they come off as unrealistic and one dimensional. Even the cantankerous foil to the other sickly sweet personas on board is given a tragic backstory designed to inspire the reader to love him. 

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. 

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Content Warnings

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

analenegrace's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

This was a spectacular story with characters that felt so real it was hard to remember that one of them was essentially a dinosaur! (I would say Lizard but that is a slur in this book.) I look forward to reading the rest of the series. 

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Content Warnings

Minor: Injury/Injury detail, Cursing, Racial slurs, Body horror, Classism, Death, Grief, and War

thoseoldcrows23's review against another edition

adventurous funny hopeful medium-paced

• 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

This is just as wonderful as everyone says it is. This sort of slice-of-life thing in a Sci-Fi setting really works for me, but it's the characters are really that shine here. If you love a big cast you can emotionally invest in, this is the book for you. I can see why some might find it a bit boring, but for me it was damn near perfect. 

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Content Warnings

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

ad_costello's review against another edition

emotional funny inspiring medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

All the characters are just so wonderful. I loved getting to know them all. This novel is a captivating and multi-faceted exploration of the nature of inter-personal connections. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Cursing

Minor: Sexual content

anni_swanilda's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful relaxing sad tense 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? No

4.5

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Content Warnings

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

scifi_rat's review against another edition

adventurous medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.0

Plot: 3.5★
Prose: 3★
Pace: 3.5★
Concept/Execution: 4★/2.75★
Characters: 3★
Worldbuilding: 4★
Ending: 3★

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Xenophobia, Cursing, Confinement, Gun violence, Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, Chronic illness, Colonisation, Death, Grief, War, and Terminal illness

Minor: Blood, Drug use, Pregnancy, Sexual content, Violence, and Vomit

eni_iilorak's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted medium-paced

• 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

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Content Warnings

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

adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective medium-paced

• 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

Join the crew of the Wayfarer on adventures big and small as they make their way through the galaxy on their biggest job yet. The story is told mainly through the eyes of new-to-long-haul-space-travel clerk Rosemary, but gives insights into the lives of the rest of the crew as well. I really enjoyed getting to see snippets of the lives of everyone on the crew, and how it made you sympathetic to all of the characters, even those who are less likeable at the onset. And as the different pieces of their lives interact with each other, the larger things that the story wants to emphasize start to come together beautifully. It's a story that celebrates humanity, but also aliens. It's a story that celebrates diversity, in many wonderful, beautiful flavors. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Abandonment, Death, Cursing, and Colonisation

Minor: Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Xenophobia, Alcohol, Gun violence, Blood, Classism, and War

akincses1992's review against another edition

challenging funny lighthearted slow-paced

• 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

Great characters but too long and not worth the read. Any conflict is resolved too quick and too neat. It’s almost 500 pages and nothing happens. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Colonisation, Violence, Terminal illness, Alcohol, and Chronic illness

Minor: Xenophobia, Cursing, and War

cookiecat73's review against another edition

lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

• 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

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Content Warnings

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