A review by fatsopandah
Beholder's Eye by Julie E. Czerneda

challenging slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

For the most part, Beholder's Eye was a competent sci-fi about a shapeshifting alien and her trials in space. There were interesting ideas of alien physiology, and how such a shapeshifting race may conduct themselves for the best chance at survival, but that was somewhat left behind in favor of a mediocre plot and a lot of okay worldbuilding (or galaxy building, as it were). There were some excellent moments of genuine connection between Esen and Ragem, but so often the dialogue felt like it was in service of moving forward. Connections with Esen were few and usually poorly executed. It was hard to read at times. 

Spoiler

I think one of my biggest problems was that the nonlinear style of storytelling made understanding difficult, and didn't really draw me in. Besides that, characters being killed off is generally supposed to be more impactful, and that impact comes from spending time with the characters left behind, or in building up that character beforehand. As a result, despite an effort to make Esen alone, the emotional hit behind this just didn't really occur.

Spoiler

That being said, I think that near the end, there was sufficient stakes to be exciting, and the book ended in a way that made me satisfied. It felt deserved, even if the book spent too much time in the weeds of mostly wasted exposition. On the whole, I doubt I'll read it again, but it was worth a read once.