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fedak's review against another edition
2.0
Went into this one with high expectations given the awards and high reviews, came away fairly disappointed
- There is little in the way of character development, backstory, or arc. You learn nothing about the protagonist beyond her childhood dream of wanting to travel to the capital. The supporting characters are similarly one dimensional and the romance subplot is undeveloped.
- This is billed as a "world building" narrative- but there is absolutely nothing interesting about the setting. It could easily have been set in the capital city of any other historical or fictional empire.
- While this doesn't pretend to be hard sci-fi- there's numerous items that push the bounds of plausibility of a society that has mastered interstellar travel. Communication by physical mail. Medical screening at the port that would miss a brain implant. Encryption by cipher. Etc. (And all of those have material impact on the plot)
- The one interesting plot device (having the protagonist be able to access the memories of her predecessors) is abandoned in the first few chapters. The murder mystery that is teased (i.e. having the protagonist solve the murder with a stale copy of the victim's memories floating around in her head) is never developed and would have made for a much better story.
- And this bothered me more than it probably should have: but almost every dialog with the protagonist results in the other person commenting on or praising her for what a master orator/diplomat she is- when she has barely mumbled more than 3 sentences since meeting the person.
- There is little in the way of character development, backstory, or arc. You learn nothing about the protagonist beyond her childhood dream of wanting to travel to the capital. The supporting characters are similarly one dimensional and the romance subplot is undeveloped.
- This is billed as a "world building" narrative- but there is absolutely nothing interesting about the setting. It could easily have been set in the capital city of any other historical or fictional empire.
- While this doesn't pretend to be hard sci-fi- there's numerous items that push the bounds of plausibility of a society that has mastered interstellar travel. Communication by physical mail. Medical screening at the port that would miss a brain implant. Encryption by cipher. Etc. (And all of those have material impact on the plot)
- The one interesting plot device (having the protagonist be able to access the memories of her predecessors) is abandoned in the first few chapters. The murder mystery that is teased (i.e. having the protagonist solve the murder with a stale copy of the victim's memories floating around in her head) is never developed and would have made for a much better story.
- And this bothered me more than it probably should have: but almost every dialog with the protagonist results in the other person commenting on or praising her for what a master orator/diplomat she is- when she has barely mumbled more than 3 sentences since meeting the person.
meera01's review against another edition
challenging
medium-paced
- 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? No
3.0
spannalou's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Brilliantly written space opera. Love the world building and language and culture. Complex politics and fast paced adventure.
forestfeline's review against another edition
5.0
This book took me just over two months to read, but not because it wasn't good! A friend recommended this to me and I'm so glad he did- it's really something special.
The writing style is absolutely gorgeous. Every word feels like it was selected for a specific reason and it has a weight to it that I find myself struggling to accurately describe. The characters are interesting and you can't help but feel for them, and by the end of the book I found myself longing for the same things Mahit does.
I just want to tell everyone I know to read this book. Once you get through the prologue and the descriptions of how their tech and political structures work, you just get sucked into the culture of the Empire and the real human connections between Mahit and her allies.
The writing style is absolutely gorgeous. Every word feels like it was selected for a specific reason and it has a weight to it that I find myself struggling to accurately describe. The characters are interesting and you can't help but feel for them, and by the end of the book I found myself longing for the same things Mahit does.
I just want to tell everyone I know to read this book. Once you get through the prologue and the descriptions of how their tech and political structures work, you just get sucked into the culture of the Empire and the real human connections between Mahit and her allies.
yivyiv's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
helenmelonn's review against another edition
5.0
Think Star Wars TV series Andor's subplot with Mon Mothma for linguistics nerds, but with more queer yearning.
meta_grrrl's review against another edition
2.0
Some interesting ideas and an interesting world that the book takes place in. BUT there are some serious holes an illogical actions in the main character, considering that she’s meant to be an Ambassador. The writer didn’t do good research for this and it hurt my ability to enjoy the book.
deussaxmachina's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- 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
jasmineting's review against another edition
4.25
took a second to get used to the world building but tbh i thought it was done well. i ate this up plot-wise, it was exactly what i was hoping for & more 🤭 immediately going to read the 2nd book
chucklebuck's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.75