A review by lucerez
Exo by Fonda Lee
2.0
Not sure what to think of this one. Aliens rule the Earth and humans are subjects in their colony, viewed as a second tier of intelligent life. The alien rulers are extremely condescending and patronizing, treating humans like misbehaving children. Humans are not quite slaves, but are forced into a degrading and subservient role. The pacing was good and the premise was interesting, and being made uncomfortable as a reader is not a bad thing, especially when the author is making intentional choices.
There was a pretty cliched and predictable choice made about an absent parent; I think I've encountered that trope in every book where a parent is mysteriously absent. The insta-love was not convincing as a plotline. Also, I was frustrated by the main character at times, especially because
This is a pretty dark read and much is left unresolved.
There was a pretty cliched and predictable choice made about an absent parent; I think I've encountered that trope in every book where a parent is mysteriously absent. The insta-love was not convincing as a plotline. Also, I was frustrated by the main character at times, especially because
Spoiler
after being captured and not giving in to torture, he starts immediately giving away information like it was no big deal after they start treating him better. However, later in the book it is revealed that the original loyalty the character displayed may have been artificially generated. It's clear that the aliens have some sort of "medical treatment" that manipulates their human allies to be loyal to them, but the implications of this is not fully explored. So, it's possible that his neurologically manipulated loyalty might have started wearing off in captivity, but because the narration is unreliable, this is not made explicit.This is a pretty dark read and much is left unresolved.