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A review by vivelarevolution
The First Sister by Linden A. Lewis
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
This book felt like a romp through a fun but incredibly dark space opera fantasy. The worldbuilding was probably my favorite part of the book--it's so intricate!--but I loved the characters as well. I definitely had an easier time getting through the First Sister's POV than Lito's, possibly because Lito's scenes were much more oriented around combat? In general, I felt like I really got to know First Sister and get invested in her, but with Lito I felt like I was chasing scraps of intrigue scattered amidst a whole lot of swordfighting. I did not like the first-person audio recordings thing from Hiro much at all other than as a means to glean new information; I wasn't able to connect with Hiro as a character through them.
Despite the limited amount of narration that I specifically enjoyed, everyone and everything felt very well-developed and it was a fun world to get to know. I'll be checking out the second book for sure, but I'm nervous I won't like it unless it has a lot more time and focus on First Sister, Ofiera, maybe Hiro, andEden .
Despite the limited amount of narration that I specifically enjoyed, everyone and everything felt very well-developed and it was a fun world to get to know. I'll be checking out the second book for sure, but I'm nervous I won't like it unless it has a lot more time and focus on First Sister, Ofiera, maybe Hiro, and
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Slavery, Xenophobia, Trafficking, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual harassment, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence
One of the main characters is essentially a sex slave of a religious order, but in the course of this book she is never raped/forced to participate in a sex act. There is an attempt made to force her, but she is able to prevent it. There are mentions of her having been raped & abused previously.
There are also descriptions of medical experimentation and torture and the effects of that experimentation and torture. The people who experienced it were selected due to discrimination against their species.