A review by venti
Aetherbound, by E.K. Johnston

dark sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.75

low rating for pregnancy trope 🏃🏻‍♀️ was too squicky for me tbh. i thought the worldbuilding was great!! was very reminiscent of warhammer 40k for me, loved the grimdark aspects etc but no the fact that pendt

Spoiler

had to get pregnant, and through natural means no less *shiver* it felt like the opposite of what would suggest character growth in her situation (and by character growth i mean not doing the thing she has always been terrified of)

way too short. wish it was longer and explained everything more because things that were rarely mentioned (the empire, the stations, the gene locks) were all very interesting.

also hot take this this wasn’t that queer! very herero in fact 😨 vaguely shoehorning in a trans character when there is so much room in your world for trans people and the implications of trans people in such a society is just lazy to me. johnston could have done so much with

Spoiler

fisher

as a character and he was just left to be the love interest as opposed to his own character. i’m salty because this could have been amazing but idk ymmv

pretty cover tho