cjdavey's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
elizabethvail13's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
roytoo's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
chiefhaole's review against another edition
American authoritarian apologist writes a sci-fi to defend the bombing of Japanese civilians, and to defend police-state style governance.
Trash. Do not read.
Trash. Do not read.
taberiusrex's review against another edition
2.0
Disclosure: I received a copy of this book as the result of a contest on Tor.com.
I really wanted to love this book. On its surface, it seemed incredibly promising, but none of its potential really pans out. The setting was probably the most distracting. Part of the reason I love sf is because it always seems like every story is just one part of a greater world we don't get to see but understand is there. For this book, the world felt flat and limited to the places the story had to go, and nowhere else mattered.
The author tries hard in a few places to build out the universe, but it just comes across as names without texture. Other factions and worlds and events are mentioned, but there are no feelings attached to them. Each character feels adrift on the river of plot, just going where the current takes them.
And the characters never clicked for me. They never felt real until the very end. We're supposed to mourn with one of the viewpoint characters, but we don't get to feel the sharp grief of loss; instead, every so often we're stoically reminded of the absence of someone they once cared for. I understand that the reader does most of the emotional work in feeling what the characters feel, but the author still needs to guide us even if we're the ones walking the path.
By the end you care enough about the characters through their experiences in the book, and the central mystery if pretty compelling. But it takes too long for both things to get where they need to be, and I finished this book by force of will alone.
I really wanted to love this book. On its surface, it seemed incredibly promising, but none of its potential really pans out. The setting was probably the most distracting. Part of the reason I love sf is because it always seems like every story is just one part of a greater world we don't get to see but understand is there. For this book, the world felt flat and limited to the places the story had to go, and nowhere else mattered.
The author tries hard in a few places to build out the universe, but it just comes across as names without texture. Other factions and worlds and events are mentioned, but there are no feelings attached to them. Each character feels adrift on the river of plot, just going where the current takes them.
And the characters never clicked for me. They never felt real until the very end. We're supposed to mourn with one of the viewpoint characters, but we don't get to feel the sharp grief of loss; instead, every so often we're stoically reminded of the absence of someone they once cared for. I understand that the reader does most of the emotional work in feeling what the characters feel, but the author still needs to guide us even if we're the ones walking the path.
By the end you care enough about the characters through their experiences in the book, and the central mystery if pretty compelling. But it takes too long for both things to get where they need to be, and I finished this book by force of will alone.
tpoisot's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
wildhorses's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
azzurro22's review
adventurous
funny
mysterious
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.75
ginnikin's review against another edition
This was quite good. There were a couple of things that should've been caught in editing, but good world-building, characters, and plot.
chickadee2's review against another edition
4.0
The story moved a little slow at first, but got more interesting later. I didn’t really care for any of the characters except maybe the ship. The story is about a ship and crew that are part of an organization to rescue ships in space. The crew goes to rescue a passenger ship that has crashed on a mysterious planet that has several million other ships inside it. They discover the planet contains a massive fleet of ships made by a missing alien race that used to be an organization similar to the crew’s own that would provide safety and stability to the area of the galaxy.