Reviews

Machine by Elizabeth Bear

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pseudonymjohnny's review against another edition

adventurous medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

It read like classic Sci Fi to me, if classic Sci Fi had reasonable gender representation. The characters were great, I thought the portrayal of chronic illness was one of the best I've seen, the aliens felt alien, and the plot was compelling. On the other hand, I found the explanations the science unengaging and I didn't enjoy the digressions into the "advancement" of humanity. I consider myself a world building motivated reader, but I could have done with more showing, and less telling.

tsuxis's review against another edition

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3.0

3.5 rounded down
i ended up enjoying this a lot more than i thought i would. the story and world building is very fun. author did a good job at showing how all these species have to compromise and work out how to live together. the shortcomings of this book come from the writing style and pace. i didnt know if the narrator was talking to me, the reader, directly or not... it would go 50-60 pages without hinting at then and then swoop by with it. the plot would have a lot happening in like 8 pages and then you'd just be putzing around for the next 70 or so.
i mean, i liked this in the end. it wasn't a bad sci fi at all.

katybug25's review against another edition

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adventurous hopeful 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

4.5

joannema7's review against another edition

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medium-paced

4.25

ellianderjoy's review against another edition

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

5.0

lauraglovestoread's review against another edition

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adventurous hopeful mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

This was my first Elizabeth Bear novel, and while it's part of a series it did read well as a standalone. This novel follows Dr. Jens, a rescue specialist, who is sent to investigate when an ancient generation ship is discovering moving quickly and off course with an unresponsive contemporary ship attached to it. The novel explores themes of artificial intelligence, medical ethics, free will, and class inequality.

What worked for me: I loved the diverse cast of characters, including many profoundly non-humanoid aliens. I appreciated Dr. Jens as a queer disabled protagonist, and her experiences of chronic pain & pain management felt very relatable and believable to me as someone who's lived with long term injuries. Dr. Jens was a multi-faceted character who is both complex and easy to root for. I liked that the novel's handling of its themes felt deliberate and thoughtful, but not preachy, and I really liked the descriptions of the aliens and the space hospital. The plot moved quickly and kept me engaged, and there were one or two plot developments I did not see coming.

What didn't work so well: The novel was a bit slow to grab my attention -- by around 20% in I was hooked, but before then I was not particularly interested. Some of the action scenes were a bit hard to follow by virtue of the very alien technology involved.

Overall, I'd absolutely read more from Elizabeth Bear based on this novel, which I enjoyed & recommend.

Content warnings: chronic illness, medical content, medical trauma, violence, a few minor instances of homophobic and/or sexist comments

Content Warnings