cookiecat73'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
4.75
Graphic: Gun violence, Confinement, Cursing, and Medical content
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Animal death, and Grief
Minor: Blood, Death, War, Death of parent, Dysphoria, Alcohol, Excrement, and Sexual content
lynxpardinus's review against another edition
4.5
Moderate: Gun violence, Animal cruelty, Medical content, Suicide attempt, and Animal death
Minor: War and Ableism
Suicide attempt warming is just in case.karmapen's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Moderate: Animal death, Pandemic/Epidemic, and Medical content
eatingbrains's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
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.
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
thoseoldcrows23's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Graphic: Animal cruelty and Animal death
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Medical content, and Grief
Minor: Death, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Cursing, and Sexual content
brittni_in_ink's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Confinement
Minor: Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Death, and Blood
beccaand'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? No
5.0
Graphic: Animal death, Confinement, and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Suicide attempt and Grief
Minor: War, Medical content, Sexual content, and Death
purplatypus'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
5.0
Graphic: Cursing
Moderate: Animal death
Minor: Medical content and Sexual content
maeverose's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
TL;DR — Themes/Features:
-s c i e n c e
-planet exploration
-little alien creatures
-discussions on humanity
-lgbtq rep (ace, bi/pan, trans)
-non monogamous relationship
This is a book about humanity, our relationship to science, and as always with Becky Chamber’s books it touches a bit on politics and ethics, which I love.
It’s also a book about a group of astronauts looking for and studying life on other planets. Lots of descriptions of different kinds of environments and the creatures that live there.
If you’re a space or biology nerd I think you’d love this book. It has a decent focus on the science, definitely more than Becky Chamber’s other books. On the other hand it’s not inaccessible on that front either. I’m fascinated by science but not very knowledgeable on it and I understood everything perfectly fine. It’s explained in a very accessible way.
Some of my favorite quotes:
“We walked for a time, our footsteps echoing in all directions. Had there been such echoes in this canyon before? I wondered. Was the air here accustomed to carrying sounds beyond those it created on it’s own?”
(On leaving no trace:)
“What if the exact place where your craft landed is where two bacteria of separate species met for the first time, and what if their meeting would have resulted in a symbiosis that would have led to the emergence of a new species, and you, you bastard, just wiped out that entire reality?”
(Followed a moment later by:)
“At some point, you have to accept the fact that any movement creates waves, and the only other option is to lie still and learn nothing.”
“The walls were made of thick glass, and behind it was the dense network you find below every forest. Roots interlocking like fingers, with gossamer fungus sprawled symbiotically between, allowing for the peaceful exchange of carbon and nutrients. Worms traversed roads of their own making. Pockets of water and pebbles decorated the scene. This is what a forest is, after all. Don’t believe the lie of individual trees, each a monument to it’s own self-made success. A forest is an interdependent community. Resources are shared, and life in isolation is a death sentence.”
Graphic: Animal death, Animal cruelty, and Confinement
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Cursing, Grief, and Suicide attempt
Minor: Alcohol, Sexual content, Blood, and Medical content
Detailed descriptions of moth metamorphosis, descriptions of animal and human internal anatomy in a scientific way (I didn’t find it to be gory, and I really don’t like gore so it’s probably fine but it’s there jsyk)booksthatburn'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? No
4.5
Ariadne has strong bonds with her other three crewmates, singly and collectively. Their personalities come through very well and her interactions with them are a delight. They're all affected differently by certain plot events, despite being generally in the same situation as each other, and by the time things get stressful I had a enough of a sense of them to resonate with their reactions. The science explanations are just a much a part of the narrative as Ariadne's conversations with her team. Everyone's enthusiasm for their work makes this a delight to read.
Graphic: Animal death and Grief
Moderate: Medical content and Death
Minor: Ableism and Suicidal thoughts