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malreynolds111's review against another edition
4.0
This book was a slow start, however I really like where the author took the book and am eagerly anticipation the next novel in the series.
I received an ARC from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.
I received an ARC from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.
tangleroot_eli's review
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
I ran hot and cold on this one. I read 60+ pages the first day, 10 the second, and none for a week after that. Sometimes I couldn't put it down; other times I couldn't bring myself to pick it up.
Cameron's done a lot of clever things here. She's also done a fair number of pointless things that only seem to exist to prove that she's done the worldbuilding. Except that in many ways she hasn't done the worldbuilding. The narrative bops between planets and space stations on a spaceship that, for many people, will be the only home they'll ever know. And yet I never got a sense of a culture having developed in any of those places. I called the character diversity complicated because there's sure a lot of it, but most of it feels painted on.
Also, I'll own it: I'm a pedant. Poorly edited books stick in my craw. This one has misspellings galore (including the publisher's own URL), whole chunks of sentences missing, characters called by the wrong names (including a hilarious moment where a character named Quinley Sly is referred to as "Quinley Quinley"), and, most egregiously, nonbinary characters misgendered not by other characters, but by the narration itself. Dear Entangled Press (or Entanged Press, if your back cover is to be believed), please do better.
Cameron's done a lot of clever things here. She's also done a fair number of pointless things that only seem to exist to prove that she's done the worldbuilding. Except that in many ways she hasn't done the worldbuilding. The narrative bops between planets and space stations on a spaceship that, for many people, will be the only home they'll ever know. And yet I never got a sense of a culture having developed in any of those places. I called the character diversity complicated because there's sure a lot of it, but most of it feels painted on.
Also, I'll own it: I'm a pedant. Poorly edited books stick in my craw. This one has misspellings galore (including the publisher's own URL), whole chunks of sentences missing, characters called by the wrong names (including a hilarious moment where a character named Quinley Sly is referred to as "Quinley Quinley"), and, most egregiously, nonbinary characters misgendered not by other characters, but by the narration itself. Dear Entangled Press (or Entanged Press, if your back cover is to be believed), please do better.
Content Warnings
Graphic: War
Moderate: Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Death of parent, Grief, and Death
Moderate: Misgendering_belle's review
challenging
emotional
inspiring
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
*squeals* Yesss! 5 stars :D
Oh my goodness where to start, I loved every part of this book.
I loved the setting (space - yes!), particularly the ship itself, I am a huge sci-fi fan. I loved the story, and I loved the character/world building. Most especially, I loved the way this book made me feel! Everything just felt so real.
The bond between the characters, the camaraderie, the trials they experienced, the loss.. it was all so believable and I felt every bit of it with them. I found this book so emotional, it tugged on all the right heartstrings. I had absolutely no problem connecting with every single character and empathising with every single situation and decision. Fantastic writing.
I won't lie, the addition of the 'ze' pronoun tripped me up in the beginning.. but my brain eventually adjusted the more I kept reading and I ending up finding it quite fitting.
Absolutely loved it :D
Oh my goodness where to start, I loved every part of this book.
I loved the setting (space - yes!), particularly the ship itself, I am a huge sci-fi fan. I loved the story, and I loved the character/world building. Most especially, I loved the way this book made me feel! Everything just felt so real.
The bond between the characters, the camaraderie, the trials they experienced, the loss.. it was all so believable and I felt every bit of it with them. I found this book so emotional, it tugged on all the right heartstrings. I had absolutely no problem connecting with every single character and empathising with every single situation and decision. Fantastic writing.
I won't lie, the addition of the 'ze' pronoun tripped me up in the beginning.. but my brain eventually adjusted the more I kept reading and I ending up finding it quite fitting.
Absolutely loved it :D
annarella's review against another edition
3.0
I think this a good attempt at writing a hard sci-fi novel but I found it a bit confusing and I wasn't impressed by the world building which seemed to be more oriented to be inclusive that creating a specific sci-fi environment.
There's potential but I think there should be some more effort in the world building part and less confusion with the pronouns.
The romance was interesting but it wasn't easy to root for the characters.
Not my cup of tea.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.
There's potential but I think there should be some more effort in the world building part and less confusion with the pronouns.
The romance was interesting but it wasn't easy to root for the characters.
Not my cup of tea.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.
annarella's review
3.0
I think this a good attempt at writing a hard sci-fi novel but I found it a bit confusing and I wasn't impressed by the world building which seemed to be more oriented to be inclusive that creating a specific sci-fi environment.
There's potential but I think there should be some more effort in the world building part and less confusion with the pronouns.
The romance was interesting but it wasn't easy to root for the characters.
Not my cup of tea.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.
There's potential but I think there should be some more effort in the world building part and less confusion with the pronouns.
The romance was interesting but it wasn't easy to root for the characters.
Not my cup of tea.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.
llamareads's review
4.0
Content warnings: descriptions of people killed by bombing, description of child abuse, violent death
I’m not really sure how to define this book. The general plot – Pax ships are losing contact, and the Novis may be next – reads like a thriller, but the pacing is very slow. As an example, the book starts out with notes from a board meeting and a few sections from the Pax ship charter. The chapters are told from the point of view of either Cira, an ensign and the daughter of the captain and head of engineering, and Riston, one of the stowaways Cira has brought on to the ship, interspersed with documents like communication transcripts and news articles. Both characters are very introspective – Cira’s constantly conflicted about whether she’s done the right thing by bringing the stowaways on board and risking the lives of the rest of her crewmates, and Riston’s worrying about remaining on the ship and taking care of the younger stowaways – which I think also slowed down the narrative.
Of the two main characters, I liked Riston the best. Though ze struggled at times with being the honory zazi (nonbinary mom/dad) to the other four stowaways, I loved zir relationship with zir found family. Ze was optimistic, but grounded. Though ze understood that becoming an actual crew member on the ship was impossible, ze still wished to stay to be close to Cira. All of the stowaways have suffered various forms of trauma, from seeing their homes and families destroyed in a war to child abuse, but were generally trying to make the best of it on the Pax Novis. In contrast, Cira came off as too idealistic and rigid, despite the fact that she was the one committing treason to harbor the stowaways. Her family and her ship are basically her whole life, and she’s convinced she doesn’t have room for anything else, including her crush on Riston. She was very quick to jump to believing the worst of the stowaways on the most minor of evidence, which left a general bad taste in my mouth. I think she redeemed herself as the book went on, but her initial reaction stuck with me.
The one thing I really loved about the book is that it’s very queer. Riston is nonbinary and uses the ze pronouns, Cira has two moms, and there’s a few other references to non-cishet relationships. It’s considered normal, when introducing yourself, to also give your pronouns. Cira also identifies as asexual, so, as would be expected, there’s very little sexual contact – the most that happens is a few kisses and handholding. There is a bit of romance, but it’s very mild and more of the pining-from-afar sort. Cira also has a cybernetic arm as a result of a birth defect, and while it comes up a few times in the plot, it’s never something that makes her seen as lesser. Another thing I liked about the book was the world building, despite the fact that I think some of the info dumps negatively affected the pacing. I found the idea of the Pax fleet and its humanitarian mission, in direct contrast the rest of the warmongering quadrant, intriguing, but there was a bit too much philosophizing on whether what they were doing was right.
Overall, while I enjoyed the book, the pacing definitely affected my experience, so I’d rate this more of a 3.5 stars. It picked up a bit in the last 100 pages or so, though, so I’m interested enough to probably pick up the next in the series. I would recommend this if you’re looking for a teen scifi book and don’t mind a slower pace.
I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
I’m not really sure how to define this book. The general plot – Pax ships are losing contact, and the Novis may be next – reads like a thriller, but the pacing is very slow. As an example, the book starts out with notes from a board meeting and a few sections from the Pax ship charter. The chapters are told from the point of view of either Cira, an ensign and the daughter of the captain and head of engineering, and Riston, one of the stowaways Cira has brought on to the ship, interspersed with documents like communication transcripts and news articles. Both characters are very introspective – Cira’s constantly conflicted about whether she’s done the right thing by bringing the stowaways on board and risking the lives of the rest of her crewmates, and Riston’s worrying about remaining on the ship and taking care of the younger stowaways – which I think also slowed down the narrative.
“Ze wasn’t losing anything except a safe place to live. Ze’d never had anything else to lose, not here.
Well, ze corrected with a glance at the other four, that isn’t entirely true. There were things to lose here; ze was simply planning on taking most of them with zem.”
Of the two main characters, I liked Riston the best. Though ze struggled at times with being the honory zazi (nonbinary mom/dad) to the other four stowaways, I loved zir relationship with zir found family. Ze was optimistic, but grounded. Though ze understood that becoming an actual crew member on the ship was impossible, ze still wished to stay to be close to Cira. All of the stowaways have suffered various forms of trauma, from seeing their homes and families destroyed in a war to child abuse, but were generally trying to make the best of it on the Pax Novis. In contrast, Cira came off as too idealistic and rigid, despite the fact that she was the one committing treason to harbor the stowaways. Her family and her ship are basically her whole life, and she’s convinced she doesn’t have room for anything else, including her crush on Riston. She was very quick to jump to believing the worst of the stowaways on the most minor of evidence, which left a general bad taste in my mouth. I think she redeemed herself as the book went on, but her initial reaction stuck with me.
The one thing I really loved about the book is that it’s very queer. Riston is nonbinary and uses the ze pronouns, Cira has two moms, and there’s a few other references to non-cishet relationships. It’s considered normal, when introducing yourself, to also give your pronouns. Cira also identifies as asexual, so, as would be expected, there’s very little sexual contact – the most that happens is a few kisses and handholding. There is a bit of romance, but it’s very mild and more of the pining-from-afar sort. Cira also has a cybernetic arm as a result of a birth defect, and while it comes up a few times in the plot, it’s never something that makes her seen as lesser. Another thing I liked about the book was the world building, despite the fact that I think some of the info dumps negatively affected the pacing. I found the idea of the Pax fleet and its humanitarian mission, in direct contrast the rest of the warmongering quadrant, intriguing, but there was a bit too much philosophizing on whether what they were doing was right.
Overall, while I enjoyed the book, the pacing definitely affected my experience, so I’d rate this more of a 3.5 stars. It picked up a bit in the last 100 pages or so, though, so I’m interested enough to probably pick up the next in the series. I would recommend this if you’re looking for a teen scifi book and don’t mind a slower pace.
I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
acocab_blog's review
3.0
Pax Novis is a fun and thrilling space adventure set far into the future. Earth isn’t the only planet that contains lifeforms, so it was really cool to see how Cameron designs the future. I loved the overall setting and the character representation in Pax Novis, as well as the main plot behind the story.
Erica Cameron provides just enough information to make the reader aware of the world surrounding the ship, Pax Novis, which is where most of the book takes place. There were some instances where I felt there was information overload, but as the story progressed, I understood why so much was revealed at once; it was necessary to know that information for the future of the story. And I loved how everything pieced together by the end of the story!
Even though I did enjoy this science fiction story, I was a little thrown off by the slow plot. I felt that it took awhile for any action to really take place and set the story in motion. It did pick up for the last 100 pages or so, but I was hoping for more of an action-packed science fiction adventure. Those aspects are present, just not throughout the whole book, mainly the adventure part. But the mystery part was fun; I’m all for a good mystery and I loved how this one came together in stellar fashion.
It did take a few chapters before I got used to the writing and identification. One character does not identify as he/she but rather as the ‘Z’ pronouns, which I haven’t read a book yet that did that, so it was really nice to see that take shape. Even though it took a few chapters for me to get acquainted with the use of those pronouns, I thought it added a nice representation to the storyline and character. When it comes to the main two characters, I found them to be well-written and beautifully flawed, yet strong and brave. That’s what I love in characters: that characters are meant to come across as strong, but also highlight their flaws. That’s what makes them human, and Cameron does a wonderful job portraying those traits.
Overall, I enjoyed this thrilling science fiction adventure and I found it to be an entertaining and light read for the YA genre.
Erica Cameron provides just enough information to make the reader aware of the world surrounding the ship, Pax Novis, which is where most of the book takes place. There were some instances where I felt there was information overload, but as the story progressed, I understood why so much was revealed at once; it was necessary to know that information for the future of the story. And I loved how everything pieced together by the end of the story!
Even though I did enjoy this science fiction story, I was a little thrown off by the slow plot. I felt that it took awhile for any action to really take place and set the story in motion. It did pick up for the last 100 pages or so, but I was hoping for more of an action-packed science fiction adventure. Those aspects are present, just not throughout the whole book, mainly the adventure part. But the mystery part was fun; I’m all for a good mystery and I loved how this one came together in stellar fashion.
It did take a few chapters before I got used to the writing and identification. One character does not identify as he/she but rather as the ‘Z’ pronouns, which I haven’t read a book yet that did that, so it was really nice to see that take shape. Even though it took a few chapters for me to get acquainted with the use of those pronouns, I thought it added a nice representation to the storyline and character. When it comes to the main two characters, I found them to be well-written and beautifully flawed, yet strong and brave. That’s what I love in characters: that characters are meant to come across as strong, but also highlight their flaws. That’s what makes them human, and Cameron does a wonderful job portraying those traits.
Overall, I enjoyed this thrilling science fiction adventure and I found it to be an entertaining and light read for the YA genre.
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