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reenelou's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
There was so much exposition at the begining and it felt like the last part of the book was rushed, the horror element was more implied than gratuitous and gd I wanted to witness the true horror of the surgery, hasta'akala, emillo underwent.
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Cannibalism, Medical trauma, Murder, Pregnancy, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail
mdiffer's review
- 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
4.0
A heartbreaking nightmare that was deeply terrifying to me in unexpected ways. It's about all the ways that "first contact" with alien cultures could go wrong. Intercultural misunderstandings and cultural contamination. But it's also about a Catholic Jesuit finding his god and absolution through a horrible experience.
It was almost cathartic to finish. I'm shooketh.
Kudos to author Mary Doria Russell for writing this horror masterpiece-- you almost scared 'god' into this atheist.
Graphic: Rape, Sexual violence, and Medical trauma
Moderate: Ableism, Mental illness, Slavery, and Violence
Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Trafficking, and Murder
ericaburns1's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Child death, Confinement, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Cannibalism, and Injury/Injury detail
captain_will's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Trafficking, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Medical trauma and Murder
politizer's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
The beginning is slow going. The first third of the book is just getting to know the characters, and the middle third is getting to the planet, which means that you're 1/3 of the way through the book before you start getting spacey stuff and very far into the book before you're meeting aliens. The actual events around which the whole book hinges aren't made clear until the final few pages. I understand why the long setup was necessary -- you need to love the characters in order to feel something when they all die tragically, and Russell successfully accomplishes that. It just made it hard for me to get into the book early on.
The actual misunderstanding that happens on Rakhat is very unique and well set-up, and telegraphed in a way that doesn't give everything away too early but that allows you to look back later and realize the clues were there. It's excellently done.
---
My main beef with the book is how the mystery plays out. There's very little in-universe reason why the details of the events should be withheld from the reader for the whole book.
To explain this beef better, I need to clarify that there are two mysteries in the novel: the mystery of what everyone thinks happened on Rakhat, and the mystery of what actually happened. At the outset, the reader doesn't know either; we just know that Emilio Sandoz returned to Earth from Rakhat and that there had been a tragedy and that he had done something very bad. About halfway through the book, we finally get an explanation of that mystery; Emilio is brought before a sort of inquest which spells out what the allegations are. But there's no reason why we should have to wait that long; all the characters from whose perspectives these chapters are told are characters who already know all this stuff, so it seems like it was hidden from the reader [even though all the characters know it] just to keep us turning the pages.
That's the first mystery. At the same time this one is wrapped up, the book also reveals that what really happened is more complicated than that. That one isn't resolved until the end of the book, when Emilio finally opens up about what happened. In this case, there is an in-universe reason why this information is being withheld from the reader -- Emilio is the only person who knows it, and he's dealing with multiple kinds of emotional trauma that are preventing him from being ready to speak out about it. But in the end, he does eventually spill his beans, and it didn't really feel earned to me; I can't really identify what the turning point was or what in the story justifies his being ready to talk now when he wasn't earlier. It felt more like it just had to happen because the book was nearing the end.
So the upshot of these two things is that I felt a bit cheated or played with, both when the book withheld information from me and when it gave information to me.
Graphic: Rape and Sexual violence
Moderate: Violence
decapode's review against another edition
- 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
4.25
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Genocide, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, and Murder
cattails's review
- 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
Graphic: Death, Rape, Torture, Medical content, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child death, Sexual violence, and Trafficking
feelsattack's review against another edition
- 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
4.75
Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence
wckedmara's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Sexual violence
gracieniems's review
- 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
5.0
Moderate: Body horror, Child death, Death, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Violence, Medical trauma, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail