followinglilies's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
curlyheadedone's review against another edition
3.0
“Nebula had always thought of her sister as lightning, not the rain. And if Gamora was lightning, Nebula was thunder, just as powerful but a few second behind. Always behind.”
I really wish I could say I enjoyed this book more but it honestly was just ok.
A few positive notes…I think that Mackenzi Lee did a great job writing both Gamora and Nebula. I think she captured their personality and relationship (disfunction and all) really well. This book can also be enjoyed by casual MCU fans or die hard Marvel fans. There is an addition of a character that MCU fans would not recognize but comic fans would and thankful I knew a little back story thanks to the podcast binge mode and their marvel/MCU binge…so that was helpful.
There were moments in the book that were entertaining but towards the end it just got short of drawn out. And the last 3 chapters felt kind just thrown in really quick. Overall the whole plot/story was just ok.
Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for the digital of this book!
I received an advance reader copy in exchange for a honest review
I really wish I could say I enjoyed this book more but it honestly was just ok.
A few positive notes…I think that Mackenzi Lee did a great job writing both Gamora and Nebula. I think she captured their personality and relationship (disfunction and all) really well. This book can also be enjoyed by casual MCU fans or die hard Marvel fans. There is an addition of a character that MCU fans would not recognize but comic fans would and thankful I knew a little back story thanks to the podcast binge mode and their marvel/MCU binge…so that was helpful.
There were moments in the book that were entertaining but towards the end it just got short of drawn out. And the last 3 chapters felt kind just thrown in really quick. Overall the whole plot/story was just ok.
Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for the digital of this book!
I received an advance reader copy in exchange for a honest review
readingwithkirstyn's review against another edition
2.0
As expected, we do see Gamora and Nebula put against one another in competition (honestly wouldn't feel right if they weren't - right?). This book explores their relationship and the complicated feelings that come with it.
While I think this book may add the ability to understand the sisters and their relationships on a deeper level I am not entirely sure that there's enough new to it for me to care all that much.
.
While I think this book may add the ability to understand the sisters and their relationships on a deeper level I am not entirely sure that there's enough new to it for me to care all that much.
.
bookarina's review
5.0
Disclaimer: I received an ARC of this book in exchange of an honest review, it in no way affected my opinion, my thoughts are my own.
This is a book I was extremely looking forward to, even when I don't love Mackenzi Lee's work, I still enjoy it overall and so when I saw that after Loki we would get Gamora and Nebula I was super excited. I love marvel and this was the perfect read I needed. As per usual her writing style flows and her story telling keeps your attention all throughout the book.
I loved the sister bond, the struggles they faced and how everything unfolded. I loved learning more about how controlled they are by Thanos. I loved all the bits and pieces that made those character more tangible than in the movies, I felt as if I understood their motives more, the way they acted or their thoughts more, which is always the point for me when I read books based on comics or characters that were not the MC's of the story.
The author did a wonderful job at matching the way they acted, the dialogs between them and the story with the original characters. It made them believable, like this is just another aspect of them rather than a whole new set of people. We explore their trauma's and how it changed them, what made them be who we know them as in the guardian of the galaxy movies.
While I preferred the novel about Loki, this is one I really enjoyed and I think a lot of people will love. Fast, fun read that caught my attention from page one !
5/5 stars (more a 4.5)
Bookarina.
This is a book I was extremely looking forward to, even when I don't love Mackenzi Lee's work, I still enjoy it overall and so when I saw that after Loki we would get Gamora and Nebula I was super excited. I love marvel and this was the perfect read I needed. As per usual her writing style flows and her story telling keeps your attention all throughout the book.
I loved the sister bond, the struggles they faced and how everything unfolded. I loved learning more about how controlled they are by Thanos. I loved all the bits and pieces that made those character more tangible than in the movies, I felt as if I understood their motives more, the way they acted or their thoughts more, which is always the point for me when I read books based on comics or characters that were not the MC's of the story.
The author did a wonderful job at matching the way they acted, the dialogs between them and the story with the original characters. It made them believable, like this is just another aspect of them rather than a whole new set of people. We explore their trauma's and how it changed them, what made them be who we know them as in the guardian of the galaxy movies.
While I preferred the novel about Loki, this is one I really enjoyed and I think a lot of people will love. Fast, fun read that caught my attention from page one !
5/5 stars (more a 4.5)
Bookarina.
theuncannydani's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I loved Nebula in this, but she got very little pov chapters compared to Gamora. This book is a very good prequel to the MCU.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Genocide, Injury/injury detail, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, Death, Classism, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Blood, Medical content, Murder, Abandonment, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Gore, and Gun violence
Minor: Religious bigotry, Slavery, Colonisation, and Torture
shieldbearer's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
So I picked this one up entirely on a whim, and have had it languishing on my shelf for a while. I’ll be upfront and say that while Gamora and Nebula are characters I am interested in, they are not characters I am familiar with outside their MCU.
Ultimately, this means I’m forced to judge the book on its own merits, and not on how well it may adapt Gamora and Nebula’s relationship, which has certainly influenced my view of comics novels in the past, though ultimately I don’t know whether that would be any sort of improvement, or damn it further. As it stands, there’s some basic competency and moments I enjoyed so I’ll rate it a 2/5 but there are a lot of things about this book that left a bad taste in my mouth, and surprisingly only about a quarter of them are related to the way abuse is handled in this book, only about a quarter to logistics and plot holes, and a solid half to the setting and worldbuilding.
The things I liked: To some extent, I liked the way the novel built the way the Universal Church of Truth is in bed with the mining corporations, but it kinda fucks itself up on this point later (see below). I liked some of the lines and musings about power and suffering, and honestly I loved the moment when Versa went about her day when Gamora was hiding in the rig and told her point blank “i have a job to do today, not everything I do today is about you”. (A shame this turns out to be a load of bullshit!) The ending. (with caveats)
The things I did not like: everything else
Ok, the big one first: Abuse and emotional payoff. Frankly, I don’t think the development of the relationship with the sisters flowed correctly. Gamora forgave Nebula too quickly for lying about being the champion. I understand this is one of the reasons their promise breaks down in the end, but also Gamora and Nebula both have that thing where they speak to fluently about trauma, abuse and what’s been done to them. They should not have that emotional framework, and some of their internal realizations about what’s been done to them are, frankly, rushed. I understand it serves the story but that whole scene where Gamora yells at Thanos really rang so false even with the ending in mind.
The second: So. Many. Plot. Holes. There were other, more nuanced ways to force this.
Spoiler
The Versa twist makes NO fucking sense, but this one goes more under my main grievance with this book, so I’ll put that below, but I honestly could not believe that Gamora did not realize that stealing the heart of the planet was a BAD thing that was HURTING THE PLANET. The fact that she blames Nebula for “lying” to her makes sense with the context of the story (except the narrative agrees with her so im docking points) but the fact that she did not realize this at all, given all the things that happen when they take the heart out, how the planet reacts, and Gamora’s OWN knowledge- I cannot understand why this was a shock to her. I also do not understand why, before the final duel, Thanos was allowed to speak with Gamora, clearly influencing the outcome given Gamora and Nebula had both publicly vowed not to hurt the other. I also get we’re supposed to see that the Grandmaster thinks that setting Gamora and Nebula against each other is amusing but it feels forced.The thing I hated the most about this novel was the framing around the mining planet, the world building, and Versa Luxe. In some ways I’ll concede that Lee has done her work- the mining planet is very clearly drawing inspiration from Appalachian company towns and the Harlan County labor strikes. Crow is a very clear stand in for coal- organic, toxic dust. The way the whole system works is very close to how company towns worked, which isn’t surprising when I found out Lee also wrote historical fiction.
Except she has utterly failed to capture the heart and spirit of the mining folk. Versa is the primary example of this. is the moment this novel was ruined for me. While it is not unrealistic for there to be people who do defect during labor movements, who break under pressure, or who, as Versa claims in the novel, just don’t want to die like their parents who were shot by gun thugs, the fact this makes up most of Lee’s portrayal of the miners puts a bitter taste in my mouth. Lee describes the sabotage committed by the miners struggling for better wages as “terrorism”, actually putting this word in the mouth of one of the miners, and no one bats an eye even though these are well known, effective and well documented protest techniques. It’s not terrorism when it’s literally survival.
Spoiler
The plot twist reveal of her actually only being in this for herself and not actually caring about her fellow workersMost damning, is the narrative’s insistence that not only do the miners Actually want a better life on another planet away from this, but that being forced to stay on their planet is a fate worse than death. This is reinforced at least twice in the narrative, and it completely misses that the miners are close knit communities that are ultimately trying to look out for each other. There are always selfish people, yes, and historically strikes often did fail, but Thanos being a funder of the strikes and the framing of this as the inferior option to “just leaving!!” puts an extremely bitter taste in my mouth.
I;m disgusted all over again so I’m going to end my review here, but I would recommend anyone who has interest in learning about Appalachia’s rich labor history watch the documentary Harlan County, USA .
libraryofretellingsandstars's review
5.0
I received a early copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for a honest review and I wasn't disappointed. This book was filled strong characters and a wonderful plot line that didn't leave you bored. While I don't normally read comics and this was my first book from this author this book was a wonderful 5 star book that everyone should read.
chasingmrdarcy's review against another edition
4.0
I thought this book was interesting and engaging. I really enjoyed learning more about these two characters, and I think any fan of the MCU will enjoy this book. I like the pacing of the book as well as the plot development, and I feel like it is a stand-out among its peer group of books. The plot was easy to follow, and I liked that the book was easy to read as well. Sometimes the Marvel world can get a little confusing, but this book ensures that no reader is left behind. I love these characters even more now!