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foxclcves's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Police brutality
Moderate: Animal death and Cursing
Minor: Drug use, Genocide, Racial slurs, Racism, Terminal illness, Violence, Xenophobia, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail
mobymaize'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? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Animal death, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Genocide, Gun violence, Racial slurs, Racism, Terminal illness, Torture, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Medical content, Grief, Religious bigotry, Outing, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Child death and Blood
melodyseestrees'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? Yes
5.0
There is an upsetting but realistic terminal illness scene towards the last 20% of the book where one character is actively dying, the others are pressuring them to forsake their culture in order to live, and ultimately another character forces the choice upon them in misguided well-meaning. This is met with anger and indignation but ultimately treated as a good thing as the healing character decides to stay with the crew regardless of what their culture dictates they should do.
I do wish three of the characters had been a little more present throughout the whole story but two of them become way more involved at the end of the story. The other one is removed entirely after an event and while I understand why I do wish they had been able to stay.
The ending of this story is solid enough you could treat it as a standalone, even though it is part of a series.
Graphic: Death, Violence, and Grief
Moderate: Physical abuse, Terminal illness, Xenophobia, Medical content, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Drug use, Genocide, and Sexual content
bookwormdystopian2'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? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Death and Grief
Moderate: Xenophobia
Minor: Genocide
puckeverlasting's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Moderate: Chronic illness, Death, Genocide, Gun violence, Racism, Xenophobia, Colonisation, War, and Classism
gardens_and_dragons'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
4.0
If this had a bit more plot, and less lesson-of-the-week 90s sitcom feeling, I would have rated it higher. Felt a bit disconnected plot wise, but overall it was charming.
Graphic: Violence and Xenophobia
Moderate: Genocide and Terminal illness
ekcd_'s review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.75
It’s an incredibly slow book, plot wise, and the few plot events we do see dont make sense. The characters have odd reactions - socially and culturally. And god knows Becky Chambers lives to talk about how different all her aliens are. There is a weird fixation on sex and sexual differences in the book which could have been a fun exploration in sexuality if it was done well but instead it felt like she was patting herself on the back for coming up with such sexually diverse races/species. Several times in the book she says outright “yeah XYZ is so different from humans” and like that’s it.
I feel like I read a different book than all the critics (formal and informal) who have such high praise. This read like a YA novel or children’s cartoon that feeds the reader emotions with a spoon. I’m fact, most of the world building in general is fed to the reader with a spoon- it’s explicit and heavy handed OR it’s nonsense words that are never explained or expanded on. It’s clear the author uses letters and characters who are librarians to shoehorn in world building she wasn’t creative enough to build into the narrative. No nuance, no complexity. Just a feel good mill, which I personally do not like. I want moral ambiguity and conflict in my space opera.
Graphic: Chronic illness, Cursing, Deadnaming, Death, Drug use, Genocide, Sexual content, Violence, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Grief, Cultural appropriation, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, and Classism
Moderate: Gun violence, Physical abuse, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
mxawprince's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
1.5
I'll probably read something more recent from this author to see if it gets better.
Graphic: Ableism, Cultural appropriation, and Colonisation
Moderate: Genocide, Gun violence, Racism, Xenophobia, and War
Minor: Chronic illness, Fatphobia, Gun violence, Terminal illness, Antisemitism, and Religious bigotry
novella42'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
5.0
Graphic: Death, Terminal illness, Violence, Xenophobia, and Grief
Moderate: War
Minor: Animal death, Drug use, Genocide, and Sexual content
lycheeteareads'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
4.25
Graphic: Death, Violence, and Grief
Moderate: Terminal illness, Xenophobia, and War
Minor: Drug use, Genocide, and Sexual content