bean_7088's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Oof... that was a rough one.
Wanna be sad about the human race? Wanna feel fairly hopless? This one is for you!
It does end on a hopeful note... but like that hopefulness is somewhat undercut by the way the character speakin treated.
This one had a lot of tense scenes I wanted to hide from. I had to stop a lot and explain what was going on to my roommate so I could get those jitters out. Like, a televised "discussion" between two different sides of the alien personhood debate. A hearing where unknown evidence comes up.
Anyways, it was still really good.
I'm not sure how I felt about Kaveh. And I'm not sure if it was how he was written or just his voice actor 😅 I'm sure the guy is normally fine, but the main voice actor Stephanie Willis is so incredible that switching to him is quite jarring.
Waring that Cora goes through a lot, this poor kid traumatized over and over. And Stephanie Willis will make you feel it. Listening to Cora's Panic attacks was very distressing.
The ending left on such a wild note I am excited to see where the 3rd book will go. Now I just have to wait 7 months 🥲
Wanna be sad about the human race? Wanna feel fairly hopless? This one is for you!
It does end on a hopeful note... but like that hopefulness is somewhat undercut by the way the character speakin treated.
This one had a lot of tense scenes I wanted to hide from. I had to stop a lot and explain what was going on to my roommate so I could get those jitters out. Like, a televised "discussion" between two different sides of the alien personhood debate. A hearing where unknown evidence comes up.
Anyways, it was still really good.
I'm not sure how I felt about Kaveh. And I'm not sure if it was how he was written or just his voice actor 😅 I'm sure the guy is normally fine, but the main voice actor Stephanie Willis is so incredible that switching to him is quite jarring.
Waring that Cora goes through a lot, this poor kid traumatized over and over. And Stephanie Willis will make you feel it. Listening to Cora's Panic attacks was very distressing.
The ending left on such a wild note I am excited to see where the 3rd book will go. Now I just have to wait 7 months 🥲
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Gun violence, Racial slurs, Racism, Islamophobia, Grief, Gore, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Suicide, Death, Hate crime, Medical trauma, Self harm, Police brutality, and Suicide attempt
Lindsay Ellis does a big Content Warning before everything starts. At least in the audio book.leakeycauldron's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- 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
ferris_mx's review against another edition
5.0
Explores some of the same ideas as 3BP, but with much greater emotional depth and fully realized characters.
callmegoddess618's review against another edition
5.0
I loved this book. Axioms End was great, don't get me wrong, but this book.....this was something else all together. It was beautiful and tragic. I loved the way the author takes on the heavy concepts of xenophobia and trauma and PTSD. The way she described PTSD alone is so real and raw. It's a wonderful book.
katiedoodle's review against another edition
4.0
I have often complained that science fiction tends to sacrifice the emotional journeys of individual characters in favor of a broader exploration of society. In this series, both are critical to the plot, and in my opinion, that is as it should be. Let us understand how individual experiences influence society-level changes. Let us explore how culture informs individual reactions and decisions. This story does this to great effect by introducing multiple perspectives of extraterrestrial visitors, showing not only how their civilization would view humanity, but also how different members of their civilization contrast in personal opinions of the same. Similarly, both individual and group dynamics of humanity are explored in their reactions to alien life and how to classify non-human intelligence.
Though I praise this balance, I will say that this novel spent a significant amount of time focusing on trauma and mental health struggles. This is realistic and contextually appropriate given the events of the story, but it meant large portions of the story were not particularly enjoyable. As an arc of characterization, it was important, but it did slow my progress somewhat because it was depressing. I also found that Cora's character felt significantly meeker and less competent when viewed through Kaveh's eyes, but made strong decisions with agency when reading her perspective. Certainly this is not unrealistic; everyone looks different to themselves than to others. But it was hard to see Cora as anything other than overwhelmingly passive to a point of frustration during Kaveh's points of view.
A central topic of this story is one of my favorites: that of personhood as distinct from humanity. What makes someone a "person?" By what metric should an individual qualify for "human" rights? Perhaps this is why it does such an excellent job of balancing the macro and micro elements of society. We must connect with individuals on a personal level to really understand their "personhood," and we must examine the community as a whole to see what this classification would mean for the world.
Though I praise this balance, I will say that this novel spent a significant amount of time focusing on trauma and mental health struggles. This is realistic and contextually appropriate given the events of the story, but it meant large portions of the story were not particularly enjoyable. As an arc of characterization, it was important, but it did slow my progress somewhat because it was depressing. I also found that Cora's character felt significantly meeker and less competent when viewed through Kaveh's eyes, but made strong decisions with agency when reading her perspective. Certainly this is not unrealistic; everyone looks different to themselves than to others. But it was hard to see Cora as anything other than overwhelmingly passive to a point of frustration during Kaveh's points of view.
A central topic of this story is one of my favorites: that of personhood as distinct from humanity. What makes someone a "person?" By what metric should an individual qualify for "human" rights? Perhaps this is why it does such an excellent job of balancing the macro and micro elements of society. We must connect with individuals on a personal level to really understand their "personhood," and we must examine the community as a whole to see what this classification would mean for the world.
lsaare's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
diananoriega's review against another edition
4.0
I remember liking Axioms End but also feeling a little underwhelmed at the end, the exact opposite happened with this installment. I was thoroughly engaged with the story and the characters from beginning to end, even though at some point is was actually kind of hard to read because of the themes and situations explored. I was heartbroken by the end but I am so excited to read the third book
mapelti's review against another edition
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
Some of this might be my fault because I read the first book over a year ago but I found this so confusing. I get there was more political messaging in it than the first one but I was truly lost in the plot and the relationships were really strange to me.
elireadsbook's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0