weareinheritors's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
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
4.75
The plot was kinda lackluster and the pacing seemed a little off at times, but the CHARACTERS are where this book shone! Once the characters started interacting with one another, it was difficult to put the book down.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Violence, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Death, Drug use, and Sexual content
thaliareads's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
tense
slow-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
I really enjoyed this book. I don't remember where I read it, but trying to describe this book to a friend, I ran across a review that said that this is more of a people book than a science fiction book. I adored this book and while it had a cool science fiction setting, it was ultimately about the people on the journey, their interactions with each other, and their interactions with other species and crews.
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.
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.
Content Warnings
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.kristinrdub's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
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? It's complicated
5.0
Delightful cozy sci-fi unlike anything I’ve ever read. I love all of the characters very much!
Content Warnings
Graphic: War
Moderate: Gun violence
Minor: Death
abookwormspov's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
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? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, War, Violence, Racism, Racial slurs, Medical content, Gun violence, Medical trauma, Emotional abuse, and Chronic illness
chelseareads's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.25
So much gender, orientation, and relationship structure representation withOUT actual sex scenes (not my thing, personal preference not a judgement)!!! A wonderful ship and crew. Loved that.
The book read like a season of an episodic (with a season-long arc incorporated) sci-fi television. I don't know if that's a good thing as a book or not, but I'd LOVE to watch that show. And now I'm excited to read the tenuously-related Season 2.
The book read like a season of an episodic (with a season-long arc incorporated) sci-fi television. I don't know if that's a good thing as a book or not, but I'd LOVE to watch that show. And now I'm excited to read the tenuously-related Season 2.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Violence, War, Death, Animal death, and Blood
Moderate: Gun violence
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.
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.
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
mxawprince's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
1.5
I know this book was written in 3014, and that it's a first novel, but (amongst many other similar things) there's an autistic-coded character that in the end gets "cured". Blegh.
I'll probably read something more recent from this author to see if it gets better.
I'll probably read something more recent from this author to see if it gets better.
Content Warnings
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
annamorgan27's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
slow-paced
- 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
Content Warnings
Moderate: Grief, War, Vomit, Death, Gun violence, Alcohol, Medical trauma, and Sexual content
kj468's review against another edition
adventurous
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? No
5.0
This book is stunning. It's so wonderfully crafted, and the worldbuilding is truly outstanding -- Becky Chambers paid attention to the small details when creating this future world, and it shows. This was not a quick read for me -- it took me 3 weeks to finish and I read a bit almost every day. Because the world is so richly constructed, my brain needed frequent digesting breaks, which isn't a bad thing (and also might not be true for other people!).
This was definitely a 5-star read for me, & here are a few of the (non-spoilery) reasons why:
This was definitely a 5-star read for me, & here are a few of the (non-spoilery) reasons why:
- All of the interspecies dynamics were AMAZING. It really added to the world-building how individual species had different views on major topics in the book (e.g., politics, interspecies relations/relationships/friendships) and their own cultural customs (e.g., greetings, communication of emotions and thoughts, personal space). Also, the childlike wonder of seeing someone from a completely new species was so pure and so sweet.
- I really like that of all the species in the Galactic Commons, humans are pretty low in the ranks, even considered refugees because they were almost wiped out entirely. It's humbling and a good commentary on the flaws of humanity to read a book full of diverse species where humans aren't the most evolved or mature.
- The plot is so well interconnected. Seemingly small happenings from one chapter show up several chapters later in important ways -- I imagine it would make for excellent rereading!
- Such thorough characterization! Each of the characters on the Wayfarer has such a robust personality, and their actions & thoughts are so consistently in character. This book is chock full of characters, and in the hands of a less talented author, it would easily overwhelm me. But because Becky Chambers has fleshed out all the main (and even many of the side) characters so well, I was able to keep them all straight and never confused their backstories or opinions.
- I really liked the actual structure of the book. There's definitely an overarching plot, and information slowly gets revealed about it leading up to the significant conflict, and most chapters serve the overarching plot in some way. But at the same time, it reads like interconnected short stories or a tv show, with each (often fairly long) chapter having its own rise and fall of action with a resolution to whatever the presented conflict was. As someone with anxiety, I really loved having the assurance that the "side quest" type conflicts would be resolved and (relatively) contained to their chapter -- I didn't have to worry as much about all the things that could go wrong, and could just enjoy the ride more.
---------
pov: third person // #pov: ...8? every main character and a couple side characters take the reins at some point
---------
rep: sapphic relationship, cross-species relationships, chosen family
---------
ratings: adventure: 5 // worldbuilding: 5,000 // funny: 3.5 // romance: 3 // plot: 5 // ease: 2.5 // total: 5
pov: third person // #pov: ...8? every main character and a couple side characters take the reins at some point
---------
rep: sapphic relationship, cross-species relationships, chosen family
---------
ratings: adventure: 5 // worldbuilding: 5,000 // funny: 3.5 // romance: 3 // plot: 5 // ease: 2.5 // total: 5
Content Warnings
Moderate: War
Minor: Gun violence and Terminal illness
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
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