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nettleviolet's review
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.75
It's really hard to review this book. I really loved the aliens. I loved the construction of the world, and the world building. I loved the concepts of individuality, of how we construct a mostly harmonious society, of free-will vs community wellness, gravity as a force that we can control etc etc. This book made me think a LOT and I think those explorations were good. If I were reviewing the themes explored it would be 5 stars. Super interesting themes explored in great ways.
However, this book took me FOREVER to finish. I found the writing was just jarring. It is a first person narrative of a kinda sassy main character who has two cats, whose best friends are an AI and a slutty, mischievous man. However, all the world building and complex physics and political structures are described in this first person narrative and I feel like it was a really jarring shift. It was very hard to get into the narrative and the world-building from the first person, because the constructs of this universe were really complex -- especially the explorations of creating and navigating through gravity. But it was worth it to get through it, because the ideas are really great.
It's hard to strike a balance, in sci-fi, of creating a world with none of the same rules that we live in (ie: in space, with a massive multi-alien empire) and also create loveable and relatable characters. This balance wasn't there in this book but it was still worth reading.
However, this book took me FOREVER to finish. I found the writing was just jarring. It is a first person narrative of a kinda sassy main character who has two cats, whose best friends are an AI and a slutty, mischievous man. However, all the world building and complex physics and political structures are described in this first person narrative and I feel like it was a really jarring shift. It was very hard to get into the narrative and the world-building from the first person, because the constructs of this universe were really complex -- especially the explorations of creating and navigating through gravity. But it was worth it to get through it, because the ideas are really great.
It's hard to strike a balance, in sci-fi, of creating a world with none of the same rules that we live in (ie: in space, with a massive multi-alien empire) and also create loveable and relatable characters. This balance wasn't there in this book but it was still worth reading.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore and Suicide
Minor: Genocide
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