Reviews with content warning for Medical trauma - Some Desperate Glory

Reviews tagging 'Medical trauma'

Some Desperate Glory by Emily Tesh

2 reviews

thecriticalreader's review against another edition

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adventurous dark inspiring 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? Yes

3.75

Context:

I borrowed Some Desperate Glory by Emily Tesh from my library through the Libby App.

Review:

Just to get it out of the way: Some Desperate Glory is billed as a “queer space opera,” but that’s not really what this book is. So, if that’s why you picked up the book, you might want to adjust your expectations. In fact, I would recommend letting go of a lot of expectations even as you start the book because the plot takes a giant left turn at around the 30% mark.

That being said, there is a lot about this book that impressed me. Tesh writes the main character, Kyr, as despicable and deeply unlikable at the beginning, but manages to give her a convincing character arc throughout the story. The side characters, too, are well-written and fascinating. The overall plot hooked me, and I found the ending section to be riveting.

One of the biggest issues I have with Some Desperate Glory is the worldbuilding technological mechanism that allows the plot and character development to occur: it’s baffling—nonsensical, even. The more I try to think about how and why such technology might work, the more my brain hurts. The author even admits that it’s nonsensical in the book’s acknowledgments! Furthermore, Tesh uses this fantastical “technology” to create an unnecessary deus ex machina ending. If I didn’t like the core storyline and the characters so much, this flaw would have ruined the book for me.

In terms of the thematic elements of the book, I liked that the book used its (quite dark and disturbing) dystopian elements to condemn fascism, misogyny, homophobia, etc. There are a few missteps here and there—

for example, I found it impossible to root for a character, who, in a slightly different timeline, casually committed mass genocide of trillions of people

—and some lack of nuance as Tesh focuses on developing the story and characters. However, I couldn’t help but cheer on Kyr as she grows as a person and fights to save the world and the people she cares about.

The Run-Down:

You will probably like Some Desperate Glory if . . .

· You want to read a story with flawed, complex characters

· You like time travel/multiverse fiction

· You want a gripping sci-fi story that keeps you on the edge of your seat

You might not like Some Desperate Glory if . . .

· You are sensitive to the triggers listed at the beginning of the book—seriously, things get dark!

· You don’t want to read from the perspective of someone who is truly a garbage human being (at least to start)

· You want to read about a lesbian romance (there is little to no romance in this book)

· You hate when science fiction worldbuilding makes no sense

A Similar Book:

Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card. Similarities include:

· A young, genetically engineered protagonist who is trained and groomed to fight in a war between humans and aliens

· Discussions surrounding genetic engineering/eugenics, military propaganda, and genocide

Content Warnings

analenegrace's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional hopeful tense medium-paced

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

4.5

This fantastic one-off "social science fiction" captured so many moral dilemmas in it. Kyr as a character was written fantastically, unlikeable, yet the necessary person for this role. Tesh is able to capture what is so dangerous about fascism, fanaticism, and bio-essentialism while also giving the reader a space opera. It captured so many elements of sci-fi that I enjoy.

The feminism of this book is so important as it takes a character who is a staunch believer in her bio-essentialist community and learns to see the amazingness of the women around her and the women who came before her; especially those who beared children for their community.

An important line that stood out to me was, “She wasn’t Earth’s child. She was Elora Marston’s and Yingli Lin’s and Ursa’s, and she owed her duty not to some abstract unknown planet but to the women who’d come before her.”

Often we not only forget the women who came before us, but forget the women around us, forced to live a bio-essentialist life. This book is an important reminder, especially in a post-Roe world, the importance of who we consider when we discuss feminism, intersectionality, and bio-essentialism.

Content Warnings

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