Reviews with content warning for Body horror - Seven Devils

I absolutely adored this queer space opera! If you are a fan of Star Wars, I definitely recommend giving this series a try. There are so many unique characters and the plot is killer! My favorite plot line was Eris but I won't say much about it because of spoilers. I really loved the idea of the Empire and the fact that all of the "lab-grown" children have to fight to the death to become the heir and the spare! That was brutal and gruesome, but so so interesting to read.

I loved the character development between all of the characters and being able to read a little bit about some of their pasts as well as their presents. I definitely thought the before storylines were good chapters to include!

Also, just....Ariadne. Enough said.

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nakutski's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark funny hopeful tense slow-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

3.75

Mixed feelings about this one! So a 3.75 rating overall from me.

Things I liked:
1) Variety of characters and POVs.
2) The fact that the writers managed to maintain a clear and cohesive narrative despite the many POVs.
3) QUEER REP. All the unashamed queerness and friendship and camaraderie.
4) A very readable writing style.
5) Intricate but not overcomplicated world building.

The pace was a bit hit and miss for me. (I may be in a reading slump.) At times I found it quite slow. At times I also wished for a little more depth and detail, more hooks to really get me in there to connect. I found the first 2/3 interesting but eventually started to think that it was all a bit... too easy? The last third of the narrative really picks up and surges. So on the back of that, I look forward to the second book. I want to see how things unfold.

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olivialandryxo's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional 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

3.5

Though Seven Devils was my introduction to Lam’s work, I was excited to read it after reading and falling in love with May’s The Falconer trilogy. I’m not even a Star Wars fan, but I’ll read nearly anything if it’s sapphic. I haven’t read enough gay space books, and I had high hopes for this one. Unfortunately, it wasn’t as good as I’d hoped it would be.

I will say that I quite liked all of the characters. A few took longer to grow on me than others, but ultimately I was interested in each person’s story. May and Lam did an excellent job developing each character. They also did the found family trope—one of my favorites—justice. The dynamics between the characters in this squad were top notch. I especially liked the way everyone treated Ariadne as a younger sister, and the sweet romance that blossomed between two of the women in the gang.

My favorites in the squad were Eris and Ariadne. Both had extremely rough childhoods but in different ways, for different reasons, and I felt so bad for them. I admired their perseverance, as well as their dedication to both missions and their friends. I really want to give Ariadne a hug.

I also liked the world-building. Or should I say galaxy-building, since this is set in space? Anyway, May and Lam created such an intricate galaxy for their story to take place in. I enjoyed learning about the planets and species and cultures, even if the last two were scarce due to the greedy, vicious Empire. There was no info-dumping or confusion; everything was explained well, and fit together like puzzle pieces. This can be difficult with just one world, one planet, so achieving it in a book set on multiple planets is, in my opinion, quite the feat. Kudos to the authors for that.

This book’s downfall, for me, was the plot. Although the pacing was consistent and the first half of the story intrigued me, that intrigue was absent for most of the second half. I was able to predict all of the major events and reveals, with two, maybe three exceptions. None of it felt very original.

I thought this would be a five star read,
but I was wrong. The plot’s predictability was quite disappointing. If this had been a contemporary or a romance, it wouldn’t matter so much,
given that some books within those genres are a bit formulaic. But a science fiction? That’s a genre I always want to keep me on my toes, as is fantasy, and that sadly wasn’t the case here.

I’m not sure whether or not I’ll pick up the sequel when it’s released. While I’m curious about what might happen, I don’t know if I’m curious enough to read another 400+ page book, no matter how much I like the characters.

Representation

sapphic protagonist with a prosthetic leg
sapphic romance (f/f)
queer characters (includes bisexual, asexual, and trans rep)
some characters of color

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msrichardsreads89's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny reflective tense fast-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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meltingpages's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious fast-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

It had been a while since I picked up a science fiction book, but this one was recommended to me so I decided to give it a shot and it put me in such a science fiction mood!

The galaxy that this takes place in is really interesting. We have the Tholosian Empire, which has expanded and taken over many planets and solar systems, and has an AI that the Emperor (Archon) controls that controls the general population. This AI is called the Oracle. I was both intrigued and confused by the idea of the Oracle/the One, as I’m not sure if they’re the same thing or if one controls the other, but they were usually mentioned with each other or seemingly interchangeably. The Oracle controls all the thoughts and actions of the people who have it implanted, and makes it easy for the Empire to control them. The only exception to this is natural born humans, because in this world most humans are created in vats instead of through pregnancy.

In addition to the Tholosian’s, there are an alien race called the Evoli who have been at war with the empire for thousands of years, and there is also the resistance called Nova that wants to take down the empire. All the characters we follow are part of the resistance.

Seven Devils has 5 different perspectives between the past and the present, and all 5 perspectives are from women, which was really refreshing for a science fiction novel. The five perspectives are Eris, who was formerly known as Princess Discordia, heir to the Tholosian Empire; Cloelia, a genius mechanic and (ex)friend of Eris, before she found out that she is actually Discordia; Rhea, a former courtesan for Eris’ brother, Prince Damocles who has a secret she would much rather stays hidden; Ariadne, a girl who was raised by the AI who controls all the people in the Empire and is a tech genius; and Nyx, a former Tholosian soldier who was deprogrammed and given her own free will back.

I also really loved how diverse the cast of characters was, with a f/f relationship and a trans woman in power, as well as Black characters and a neurodivergent character.

Each of the characters went through a lot to get to where they are now, because you don’t just escape the empire unless you’ve been treated terribly and want something different. I really liked how capable each of these women were, even though they weren’t all fighters they all still had something to offer to the group and didn’t just sit by and let the others fight. I loved that this was a group of women who were fighting back against a patriarchal and genocidal culture and want to help change things and give people their free will back.

The romance in this doesn’t take center stage, although there is a sex scene that is kind of detailed, so if romance isn’t your thing you could easily skip over it and you wouldn’t loose any of the plot or anything like that.

There are quite a few reviews that point out that the pacing felt off, but I personally didn’t think that there was anything wrong with the pacing. I liked the use of flashbacks to help you understand the characters and their motives.

I do however kind of wish that things were a little bit more detailed because I was a bit confused when it came to where things are and how things work, but I would say that this is more focused on the characters and how they interact with the world around them than anything else.

The writing in this was solid. For me, I enjoy a book that the writing doesn’t distract me from what’s going on with the characters and the plot. I will say though that there was a error in one of the chapters for the flashbacks with Discordia where her new name Eris was used instead which was a little confusing since it was before she started using that name, but that’s the only thing I noticed like that.

Overall, I think this was really solid and I enjoyed it a lot! I definitely think I’ll read the next book, especially since this is only a duology. I can definitely see these authors creating more stories in this world, and I would love to see something about Xander and what he was doing!

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