purplepenning's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
Hope isn’t about predicting the future; it’s about how you approach it.
A blend of hard science fiction, philosophy, and ethics that can be read as either hopepunk or horror — much like the great classic science fiction stories.
Chambers is one of my favorite authors, but this is probably my least favorite of their writings. It has the well-written, quietly thoughtful characters and situations that I love, but there's also some sort of vaguely melancholy and threatening personal academic association with it that kept me from really connecting. Obviously, authors can't account for a reader's vague, personal associations, so that's entirely on me.
It is difficult to give thought to the stars when the ground is swallowing you up.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders and Confinement
sproutedpages's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death and Confinement
Moderate: Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt
Spoiler
Not necessarily a suicide attempt as one might imagine on Earth, and also not a clear suicide attemptsektaufeis's review
adventurous
emotional
reflective
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? No
4.5
Ich habs wieder mal geliebt - wie alle Becky Chambers Bücher. Sehr wholesome und toller Stil, gutes world und character building. (:
Es geht auch mehr um Wissenschaft, was ich toll fand!
Warnung abstrakter Spoiler als content note : Stimmung wird sehr negativ ab bzw. vor allem in, es geht dabei auch um
Es geht auch mehr um Wissenschaft, was ich toll fand!
Warnung abstrakter Spoiler als content note : Stimmung wird sehr negativ ab bzw. vor allem in
Spoiler
Kapitel 3Spoiler
Depression, Suizidgedanken
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Confinement
Minor: Alcohol
gracek67's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
inspiring
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts and Confinement
Moderate: Sexual content and Animal death
eatingbrains's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Listened to this as an audiobook during a road trip and it kept me engaged the entire time. I don't think that this will be enjoyed by all since for a sci-fi it focuses more on the crew and slice-of-life moments, rather than the planets they explore, and the discoveries they make.
It does bring up the topic that there is a lot to be said about the ethics of science and experimentation. I think it all can be boiled down into something along the lines of having good intentions does not inherently guarantee that anyone/thing remains unharmed in the end or even in the midst of the process. This is true for the scientists themselves and/or their subjects.
Becky Chambers has done an excellent job of making distinct and memorable characters that feel real because the book runs the gamut of human emotions. There's quite a bit of existential dread, and it can be rather heavy at times, but it also has it's moments of fun, enchantment, excitement, joy, and happiness.
It does bring up the topic that there is a lot to be said about the ethics of science and experimentation. I think it all can be boiled down into something along the lines of having good intentions does not inherently guarantee that anyone/thing remains unharmed in the end or even in the midst of the process. This is true for the scientists themselves and/or their subjects.
Becky Chambers has done an excellent job of making distinct and memorable characters that feel real because the book runs the gamut of human emotions. There's quite a bit of existential dread, and it can be rather heavy at times, but it also has it's moments of fun, enchantment, excitement, joy, and happiness.
Content Warnings
Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Colonisation, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Abandonment, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Eating disorder, Excrement, Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, and Suicide attempt
twistykris's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
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
A very thought-provoking novella from Becky Chambers! There is curiosity, joy, fear, hope, despair, grief, and introspection. It it not filled with excitement and adventures through space; it's the day-to-day, week-to-week studies of extraterrestrial life and the mission to "catalogue, not to colonise."
I thoroughly enjoyed the audiobook, as it truly felt like listening to Ari's field notes and recordings.
I thoroughly enjoyed the audiobook, as it truly felt like listening to Ari's field notes and recordings.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death and Confinement
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Grief
verinvaldez's review against another edition
adventurous
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
A beautiful novella about the wonders of scientific discovery, hope and depression. I will miss reading about these characters.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement and Animal death
Minor: Cursing
t_higgsreviews's review against another edition
adventurous
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.75
4.75 Stars
CAWPILE = 8.82
CAWPILE = 8.82
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide attempt, Confinement, Grief, and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Animal death
Minor: Vomit
eegekay's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
reflective
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? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Confinement
Minor: Sexual content
brittni_in_ink's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
This book deserves so much more attention! I was really moved by the story of this crew going out into space and facing the challenges of each planet they visit. The narrative structure is solid from beginning to end, and the idea of changing humans to suit other planet environments is fascinating to see play out. The book feels like a response to the popular portrayal of the lone space explorer/survivor as seen in works like The Martian - Chambers' story is about a collective effort to learn about other planets, with the highest priority being leaving the alien environments as untouched as possible. The crew dynamics are engaging, although not the key component of the story. There's trans, bi, and asexual rep, which was wonderful to see. This was definitely one of my favourite reads this year.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement
Minor: Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Death, and Blood