exlibriscass's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-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? No
5.0
Sometimes the real Philosophers Stone are the friends we made along the way.
Seriously, I adored this book. Sean is such a wonderful protagonist. I mean a linguist with 0 self preservation skills is forced to go to an abandoned space ship next to an imminently imploding star - what more can you possibly want? Adventure ensues as he runs around facing not just the horrors and mystery that are hidden in the ship but also in his own past.
The characters and the plot were great but I also loved that for a long sci-fi book it was an easy, fun read. Sean isn’t scientifically inclined so he used very simple language (like spinny gravity). The action also just kept coming so it was impossible to put the book down! I do believe everyone deserves a nice long nap and relaxing week off after the events on Nameless but I like that that book started at a fast pace of action and that stayed consistent throughout.
Absolutely has become one of my new favorite books and I am already patiently(ish) awaiting the sequel!
Seriously, I adored this book. Sean is such a wonderful protagonist. I mean a linguist with 0 self preservation skills is forced to go to an abandoned space ship next to an imminently imploding star - what more can you possibly want? Adventure ensues as he runs around facing not just the horrors and mystery that are hidden in the ship but also in his own past.
The characters and the plot were great but I also loved that for a long sci-fi book it was an easy, fun read. Sean isn’t scientifically inclined so he used very simple language (like spinny gravity). The action also just kept coming so it was impossible to put the book down! I do believe everyone deserves a nice long nap and relaxing week off after the events on Nameless but I like that that book started at a fast pace of action and that stayed consistent throughout.
Absolutely has become one of my new favorite books and I am already patiently(ish) awaiting the sequel!
melinatl's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
pensivepossum's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
tense
fast-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
4.25
_reese__'s review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
It’s a fun read; mostly just for entertainment though brings up some interesting ethical questions. Overall I’m happy to have read it but nothing to rave about and I’m not on the edge of my seat for the next book despite the cliff hanger.
A few things:
1) It’s a pet peeve of mine when authors take things exactly as they are from the real world and insert them into sci-fi without changing much besides the name. I understand taking inspiration from the real world but I’d like to see a bit more creativity. For example, in this book the religion centered on “The God who shed Blood for Us”…so basically Catholicism. And Kystrene seems to just be Irish.
2)
3. Someone else mentioned this in another review but the editing of this book could have been better. I caught a character referring to “degrees Kelvin”…. Just “Kelvin” is the unit of temperature. You only say degrees for Celsius, Rankine, or Fahrenheit. This is the kind of simple thing I expect to be right in sci-fi, especially if the author got a degree in physics.
A few things:
1) It’s a pet peeve of mine when authors take things exactly as they are from the real world and insert them into sci-fi without changing much besides the name. I understand taking inspiration from the real world but I’d like to see a bit more creativity. For example, in this book the religion centered on “The God who shed Blood for Us”…so basically Catholicism. And Kystrene seems to just be Irish.
2)
Spoiler
The budding relationship between Sean and Indigo was interesting but after finding out Indigo was the general that lead the battle/mass murder on Kystrom that wiped out Itaka (the largest city on Kystrom and Sean’s home) , it was kind of ruined for me. The author seems to try to make this ok by having Sean kill Benny so Sean and Indigo together made the people of Itaka extinct (Sean literally says this at the end of chapter 84) but the scale of murder committed but Indigo (it’s literally referred to as a genocide at some point) is no where near comparable to Sean’s killing of Benny. This is especially true considering Sean has repeatedly shown a distaste for killing of any kind (even the monsters that are trying to kill them on the ship) and only kills Benny (unintentionally at that) because he was going to destroy the data needed to save an entire population (the Ministers).3. Someone else mentioned this in another review but the editing of this book could have been better. I caught a character referring to “degrees Kelvin”…. Just “Kelvin” is the unit of temperature. You only say degrees for Celsius, Rankine, or Fahrenheit. This is the kind of simple thing I expect to be right in sci-fi, especially if the author got a degree in physics.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Child death, Death, Gore, Cursing, Violence, Gun violence, and Grief
emmascc's review against another edition
5.0
I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review
PLEASE READ THIS IT WAS EXCELLENT!
Hands down, this is the best sci-fi novel I have read in over a year. Everything about it was excellent, the pacing was great and fast without neglecting character development or the relationships between the characters. And the relationship between the three main characters was one of the best parts of this book. Enemies stuck on a ship full of monsters and forced to work together? Sign me up! I also liked how this book handled the exposition. It never felt very exposition heavy, introducing things as you went along and with flashbacks/stories showing important events from the past. A really exciting book and I hope it gets a sequel! Definitely an author I will be keeping an eye on in the future.
PLEASE READ THIS IT WAS EXCELLENT!
Hands down, this is the best sci-fi novel I have read in over a year. Everything about it was excellent, the pacing was great and fast without neglecting character development or the relationships between the characters. And the relationship between the three main characters was one of the best parts of this book. Enemies stuck on a ship full of monsters and forced to work together? Sign me up! I also liked how this book handled the exposition. It never felt very exposition heavy, introducing things as you went along and with flashbacks/stories showing important events from the past. A really exciting book and I hope it gets a sequel! Definitely an author I will be keeping an eye on in the future.
jmy's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
jerseygrrrl's review against another edition
4.0
Fun page turner! I loved that Sean was tall, but unable to throw a punch; criminal, yet empathic; geeky and talkative. I can't wait for the sequel.
titusfortner's review against another edition
3.0
I had a weird experience with this one just because I kept getting distracted while listening to it. I don't think it reflects on the story or the narrator, but perhaps it's why it didn't resonate with me as much as it could have. I do plan to read any sequels.