Reviews tagging 'Xenophobia'

The Mars House by Natasha Pulley

11 reviews

woolerys's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious 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

4.5

Writing - 4/5 

Plot - 4/5 

Characters - 5/5 

World-building - 4/5 

Personal tastes - 5/5 

TOTAL: 4.4 

 

Extra points for writing specifically on coming up with so many creative ways to describe feeling completely lost/unmoored, a state the MC finds himself in many times! But, my copy had numerous typos :/ 

January Stirling is a highly likable character, the kind of person you’d like to befriend in real life. Gale is kind of terrifying at first, but intriguing, and only more intriguing as the book progresses. The delicate dynamic between the two was heartwarming without erasing the problems of the power imbalance. 

Parts of the world-building felt like they’d have been better approached through an explicitly disability justice-focused lens. This is not an area where I have much to offer by way of constructive criticism, it’s more like, I can vaguely feel a gap here. On the other hand, I thought the approach to gender in the world-building was great. It took a very particular angle, but as a thought experiment, it was a worthwhile and well-executed one. 

Plot-wise the drama was top-notch. The conflict was complex, without clear good/bad sides. The pacing suffered a bit at the end but was really good for like 80% of the book. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Ableism, Xenophobia, and Murder

Minor: Confinement, Transphobia, Medical trauma, and Deportation

Additional CW for climate apocalypse

ktjames1908's review against another edition

informative 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

A really interesting concept. I liked how none of the characters (with the exception of January) were wholly good or bad, but I think that their motivations could have been more developed at points. The conclusion felt a little rushed and convenient.
I really enjoyed the addition of footnotes to build on the world, but at times of tension they did interrupt the flow of the story.
I've read some reviews that label Gale a fascist (which they are called by rivals in the book), as they're anti-immigration, but I think it's a little more complex than that - to me, the set up of the world read as though Earth is England and Tharsis is a colony of the British Empire that wants independence. This doesn't excuse many of Gale's more radical policies, but I do think that you don't get a real understanding of things until towards the end of the book. Because of this, it is difficult to read at times, and I would warn anyone who might find issues of immigration and refugees being mistreated particularly triggering to maybe give this one a miss.
However, the book also has some real highlights. The details of language and culture are fascinating, and many of the character interactions are fun. While I found some parts difficult to get through, after the halfway mark I was very invested in the story and couldn't put it down. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Xenophobia and Classism

nougatcrunch's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

transphobia 🤝 sinophobia

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Ableism, Body shaming, Gun violence, Hate crime, Racism, Sexism, Torture, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Murder, and Gaslighting

Minor: Eating disorder

rhi_'s review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gun violence, Hate crime, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racism, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Murder, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Deportation

Moderate: Confinement, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Transphobia, Medical content, and Religious bigotry

Minor: Addiction

clarabooksit's review against another edition

emotional mysterious tense slow-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? No

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Violence, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Gaslighting, Colonisation, and Classism

Moderate: Ableism, Death, and Transphobia

Minor: Injury/Injury detail

definestrange's review against another edition

adventurous challenging mysterious tense medium-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? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Xenophobia

Moderate: Gun violence, Police brutality, and Colonisation

Minor: Addiction, Body shaming, Eating disorder, and Injury/Injury detail

ninjamuse's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny lighthearted medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Xenophobia

Moderate: Gun violence, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Police brutality, Medical content, and Stalking

Minor: Child abuse, Eating disorder, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Transphobia, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Colonisation, and Deportation

quinnyquinnquinn's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious reflective 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Xenophobia and Classism

Moderate: Police brutality, Kidnapping, and Murder

Minor: Gun violence

kimzeyk's review against another edition

hopeful mysterious 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

4.0

This was an interesting take on the Mars colony.  I loved the linguistic aspects and footnotes.  The pronoun shift was a little hard to follow at first, but the author does a nice job of avoiding singular/plural confusion without overusing names.  

This book didn’t read as sci-fi to me - it takes place on Mars, but focuses on the refugee experience.  A lot of suspension of disbelief is required, and there are some problematic aspects glossed over.  I had to roll my eyes at the

mammoth heroism and the spontaneous adoption toward the end.

The romance is a stretch - the same ends could have been accomplished if they had just become friends instead, and we don’t see any chemistry outside of January’s admission that

he falls for older men who are nice to him (which seems like a dig at the gay community?)

All that said, I found myself thinking about this book when I wasn’t reading, which is always a good sign.  Overall, if you can take it at face value, it’s a good read.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Gun violence, and Colonisation

Minor: Addiction, Drug abuse, Mental illness, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Kidnapping, and Abandonment

natashaleighton_'s review

adventurous challenging emotional mysterious tense medium-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? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Death, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Genocide, Gun violence, Hate crime, and Xenophobia

Minor: Police brutality and Injury/Injury detail