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tregina's review against another edition
3.0
In short, I liked the ideas behind this, I loved the way gender was handled and the use of the feminine as default feels very welcoming to me. The exploration of identity and what it means to be a person, what it means to be a human, is maybe the best thing about it. But I felt like the actual plot felt short of how much I really liked those aspects of the universe, and the entry point to the novel feel a little bit unnecessarily difficult; there was no reward to the gradual reveal of the basic functioning of this world relative to the frustration of knowing you were working without all the information.
crico's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
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
4.5
p25n's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
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
4.25
oxnard_montalvo's review against another edition
3.0
A great kick off to the series- bags of potential and sweep. Lots of things under the surface.
A handful of moments I didn't believe within the context of the world's that have been created, but ultimately an enjoyable ride.
A handful of moments I didn't believe within the context of the world's that have been created, but ultimately an enjoyable ride.
tpoisot's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
whatthesquids's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
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
4.5
alawrence's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
What a wonderful and bizarre novel. Utterly unique in premise and execution. Never read anything like it. Phenomenal!! 4.75/5 stars
cecile87's review against another edition
3.0
I didn’t have trouble with “she” being the default pronoun, and I did enjoy the last third more than the rest. At times, I couldn’t follow—mostly because I’ve been putting down and picking up the book since May 2023. I kept picking up other books to read and I have to keep up with my book club’s picks. All the exotic names and histories got away from me. The summations towards the end helped me pull it together.
Murderbot, one of my favorite series, was evoked by some people here. I just might move on to the next in this trilogy for that reason—Breq did make me think of Murderbot.
As for the premise questioned by some here—revenge on a handful of uncountable cloned tyrants—the truth is that life and revenge and politics are messy. You do what you can to mitigate evilness. You do it so that you can feel good about yourself—that you didn’t roll over and let evil go unaccountable. I think of our current politics in the US. There are many would-be tyrants waiting in the wings no matter what happens to the one who inspired the insurrection against democracy here. I do my small part, because I’m an idealist and to be complacent would be horrible.
What’s missing here in the reviews I’ve read, and it was more subtle than anything, is the reverence given to darker skin colors. Skiaat was described early on as darker. Somewhere in the first third there was some mention of darker skin having more status. And much later, or I noticed it later, is that Breq is in a darker-skinned body.
Unfortunately, I guess the movie makers, using a Natalie Portman, decided to go with a white-bodied actor. Too bad.
In summary, I found this story interesting enough to finish. The notion of an unknowable number of tyrant clones fighting each other fascinating. It held my interest and I did try to make the best of it by plowing on to the end. Can’t wait to read the next Murderbot, however.
Murderbot, one of my favorite series, was evoked by some people here. I just might move on to the next in this trilogy for that reason—Breq did make me think of Murderbot.
As for the premise questioned by some here—revenge on a handful of uncountable cloned tyrants—the truth is that life and revenge and politics are messy. You do what you can to mitigate evilness. You do it so that you can feel good about yourself—that you didn’t roll over and let evil go unaccountable. I think of our current politics in the US. There are many would-be tyrants waiting in the wings no matter what happens to the one who inspired the insurrection against democracy here. I do my small part, because I’m an idealist and to be complacent would be horrible.
What’s missing here in the reviews I’ve read, and it was more subtle than anything, is the reverence given to darker skin colors. Skiaat was described early on as darker. Somewhere in the first third there was some mention of darker skin having more status. And much later, or I noticed it later, is that Breq is in a darker-skinned body.
Unfortunately, I guess the movie makers, using a Natalie Portman, decided to go with a white-bodied actor. Too bad.
In summary, I found this story interesting enough to finish. The notion of an unknowable number of tyrant clones fighting each other fascinating. It held my interest and I did try to make the best of it by plowing on to the end. Can’t wait to read the next Murderbot, however.