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quarkie's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
What I liked: I really liked the characters. I think they were all interesting, with unique points of view, backstories, and motivations. They were all multi-dimensional, and their actions matched with their characterizations. They all had their strengths as well as their flaws, and they kept the story interesting while being believable. The world itself is fascinating - it's (what I earnestly hope is) a pretty pessimistic view of the (again, hopefully) far future, when global warming has drastically changed the world order. I would have liked to be able to learn more, but maybe this is something that is more of a focus of the main novel.
What was good but could have been better: I really liked the author's writing style. For me, it was very rhythmic, and matched the tone of the story well. Unfortunately the rhythm didn't quite match up with the rhythm that I read with, and I found myself having to go back and reread large passages, which disrupted the flow a bit.
What I didn't like: I think there were a number of plot holes. They were extremely minor, meaning that they had no actual impact on the plot, but they were distracting, causing me to go back and re-read sections. For example, a character would be handling a closed box, and then the author would go on the describe the sound the box made as it closed, leaving me confused on the state of the box. So nothing major, but enough to be annoying. Everything was also pretty fast-paced, meaning that there were also a number of plot points that I thought could have been explored further, but maybe that is something that is left for the main novel.
My take-aways: Overall, this book was an interesting examination of a way that modern-day slavery could occur. There were many allusions to dangerous trips across the Atlantic, well-meaning bystanders doing nothing to stop the atrocities that occur around them, and the role that corporations and governments have in upholding unjust systems that benefit them.
Overall, I thought it was a good book and I enjoyed it, but there was nothing that made it particularly stand-out for me.
Graphic: Physical abuse, Violence, Child abuse, Police brutality, War, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Gaslighting, Torture, Body horror, Slavery, Confinement, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Genocide, and Murder
Moderate: Kidnapping, Racism, Abandonment, Cancer, Emotional abuse, Gore, Grief, Medical trauma, Pregnancy, Gun violence, Islamophobia, Medical content, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Sexual content
Minor: Sexism, Xenophobia, Excrement, Misogyny, Suicide, Terminal illness, and Trafficking
mandkips's review against another edition
- 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
3.75
Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, and Death
Moderate: Death of parent, Child death, and Child abuse
Minor: Sexual content and Cancer
macknificent's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Moderate: Body horror, Child death, Child abuse, Colonisation, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Genocide, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Medical content, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Slavery, Suicide, Torture, Violence, and War
Minor: Sexual content
bluejayreads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
- The other book by Nnedi I read this year, Remote Control, also featured a glowing alien seed in a box that may or may not have granted magic powers to the protagonist and ended up planted beneath a shea tree. The two books are otherwise very different so it’s weird that they were so similar in this one plot point.
- The sex scene made me a little uncomfortable. Phoenix may have the body and mind of a 40-year-old, but she’s only been alive for three years at that point. Plus she enjoys what’s happening but explicitly does not know if it was sex or not. I’m not sure where that falls in terms of informed consent but it definitely fell in my personal “I’m not entirely comfortable with this” zone.
I hadn’t originally planned to read Who Fears Death, but I think I might now. I know that book follows a completely different set of characters and is set after the events of this book, but I liked this one so much that I want to read Who Fears Death anyway.
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Confinement, Body horror, Torture, and Death
Moderate: Suicide, Child abuse, and Death of parent
Minor: Cancer and Sexual content
aconfundityofcrows's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Ableism, Violence, Xenophobia, Vomit, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Self harm, Racism, Murder, Medical trauma, Medical content, Hate crime, Gun violence, Grief, Gore, Genocide, Forced institutionalization, Emotional abuse, Death, Confinement, Body shaming, Body horror, Blood, and Misogyny
Moderate: Excrement, Child death, Child abuse, Slavery, Torture, Islamophobia, Death of parent, and Mental illness
Minor: Animal cruelty, Cancer, Infertility, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, and Kidnapping
ejb44's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Genocide, Gun violence, Murder, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, and Violence