Scan barcode
weeniesnbeenies's review against another edition
adventurous
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
yeehaw_agenda's review against another edition
3.0
If this book had ended halfway through I would have given it 5 stars! The worldbuilding is exquisite and I wanted a deep dive into Qaanaaq and its consequences. And Miller seemed to be building to that and doing it in ways that enthralled me. But then it all suddenly took a left turn into a contrived fantastical family drama that felt shoehorned into the science fiction techno-capitalist allegory it had been doing so well at. The book tried to do too much and ended up failing on almost all fronts. The characters were poorly developed, the connections between them tenuous, the plot points about nanobonding were lazy, and the best parts of the book got laid to waste for reasons I cannot understand. And it is absolutely chock full of ableism and potentially statutory rape.
aaafton's review against another edition
dark
emotional
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? It's complicated
3.5
ashmeanything's review against another edition
3.0
I'm sure this book hits some people in a special way, but it was just 'okay' to me. It wasn't as cohesive as I prefer stories to be... The number of minor and/or throwaway bits distracted from the overall plot, which was spread out so far that I struggled to find its point. The world of Qanaag is clearly quite complex, yet the imagery fell flat and did not explore much of the details beyond short, scattered mentions. It also ended in a weird place, and it seems more unfinished than open-ended. Cool concept but non-ideal execution, if you ask me.
Used for 2022 r/Fantasy Bingo (urban fantasy); also fits mental health and family matters (hard mode).
Used for 2022 r/Fantasy Bingo (urban fantasy); also fits mental health and family matters (hard mode).
blankpagealex's review against another edition
3.0
I am back and forth between 2 and 3 stars on this one (wish it would let me do 2 1/2).
I appreciated Miller's world-building and thought there were some interesting ideas about Qaanaaq and what society after the downfall of America would look like amid climate collapse.
However, the characters were a little undercooked for me. Even though they come from different backgrounds and are vastly different ages, they all speak mostly the same. Cover the chapter title and you probably wouldn't instantly know whose POV each chapter is from based on style alone.
Also, the climactic rescue did not have the stakes that it probably needed.
I appreciated Miller's world-building and thought there were some interesting ideas about Qaanaaq and what society after the downfall of America would look like amid climate collapse.
However, the characters were a little undercooked for me. Even though they come from different backgrounds and are vastly different ages, they all speak mostly the same. Cover the chapter title and you probably wouldn't instantly know whose POV each chapter is from based on style alone.
Also, the climactic rescue did not have the stakes that it probably needed.
sadiemay7's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
livroses's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
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
5.0
cataphoriccatastrophe's review against another edition
challenging
sad
fast-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
A very interesting distopia. I felt like it was a little muddled at times but the message was interesting.
laindarko2's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
3.0
I've just been having a hard time getting into books lately, so maybe I just wasn't in the right headspace for this. Idk.
Love a lot of the concepts in here, but I think the attempt to include ~4 POV characters that we're meant to emotionally attach to plus the necessary world building in just ~300 pages didn't really work out. The writing style feels very summary-esque, so I never felt immersed in the world or particularly attached to any character. This would have worked better with just 1-2 POVs, or maybe as a series.
This also really gave me the craving to re-read The Golden Compass, so I think it might have been an unfair situation where the entire time I was reading this, I was thinking about a book I preferred.
Love a lot of the concepts in here, but I think the attempt to include ~4 POV characters that we're meant to emotionally attach to plus the necessary world building in just ~300 pages didn't really work out. The writing style feels very summary-esque, so I never felt immersed in the world or particularly attached to any character. This would have worked better with just 1-2 POVs, or maybe as a series.
This also really gave me the craving to re-read The Golden Compass, so I think it might have been an unfair situation where the entire time I was reading this, I was thinking about a book I preferred.
koman's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
sad
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
4.5