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ismildlypoetic's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
hopeful
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
4 stars = I loved it!
This is one of the most unique books I've ever read. If you like science fiction, I recommend it, way more for the plot structure. If you're looking for a romance, although it's a main element in this story, I would choose a different book.
Oh my God where do I start? So I usually don't read sci-fi, because I don't like the idea of something not based in reality, but I always tend to enjoy it a lot more than I think I will. I got this book out of a little free library during a trip to San Fransisco because I needed something to read on the plane home, so I went in with very little to zero expectations.
Starting with Ambrose and Kodiak 1.0 (2.0? the one we meet at the beginning), I thought the characters were so funny, and I was excited about a classic enemies-to-lovers slow-burn plot, but it just happened in outer space. This, to my surprise, did not happen. They died about 40% of the way through the book, and I had absolutely zero hypotheses for what was going to happen next.
The mystery of the clones, whether OS was evil, if Minerva was alive, and where we were headed was such a great story and the author did an incredible job of pacing it out in a way that felt natural for the audience. However, after the first set of clones, I feel we lost the Ambrose and Kodiak we loved (i mean, we did), but I never was able to reattach myself to whatever version we saw next. I found myself caring for the original back on Earth more than whoever I saw in front of me. Part of this has to do with the romance. The first set of clones was great, loved it. However, with the second incarnation, the author never built up the love again; just said "here, date" and threw them together. And I never found the spark after that. It seemed like they were only together because they were both gay, and there was no one else around, not for any actual chemistry, which was a shame.
All that being said, I thought this book was great, and I'm very excited to read the sequel when it comes out in October.
This is one of the most unique books I've ever read. If you like science fiction, I recommend it, way more for the plot structure. If you're looking for a romance, although it's a main element in this story, I would choose a different book.
Oh my God where do I start? So I usually don't read sci-fi, because I don't like the idea of something not based in reality, but I always tend to enjoy it a lot more than I think I will. I got this book out of a little free library during a trip to San Fransisco because I needed something to read on the plane home, so I went in with very little to zero expectations.
The mystery of the clones, whether OS was evil, if Minerva was alive, and where we were headed was such a great story and the author did an incredible job of pacing it out in a way that felt natural for the audience. However, after the first set of clones, I feel we lost the Ambrose and Kodiak we loved (i mean, we did), but I never was able to reattach myself to whatever version we saw next. I found myself caring for the original back on Earth more than whoever I saw in front of me. Part of this has to do with the romance. The first set of clones was great, loved it. However, with the second incarnation, the author never built up the love again; just said "here, date" and threw them together. And I never found the spark after that. It seemed like they were only together because they were both gay, and there was no one else around, not for any actual chemistry, which was a shame.
All that being said, I thought this book was great, and I'm very excited to read the sequel when it comes out in October.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Violence, Death, Confinement, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Gaslighting, Suicide, Terminal illness, Vomit, Medical content, and Grief
Minor: Abandonment, Cancer, Excrement, Fire/Fire injury, and Sexual content
The main charactersfillen04's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
The first time in all my 20 years of consuming media and fiction, I actually cried. The plot was beautiful and so carefully crafted, every foreshadowing and callbacks felt real. The relationship between Ambrose and Kodiak is something i would could never describe without ruining the book integrity. I have never experienced something so raw and real as this book, it made me reflect on the struggles of the earth and just made me feel. For the first time I am feeling, and only feeling. Thank you world for giving me this opportunity to read this book, thank you.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Mental illness, Excrement, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, and Death
Minor: Blood and Body horror
ghostlyprince's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Xenophobia, Cancer, Child death, Death, Gaslighting, Terminal illness, and Vomit
Moderate: Abandonment, Bullying, Medical content, War, Sexual content, Suicide, Murder, and Suicide attempt
Minor: Grief, Addiction, Excrement, and Blood
hoax_meal's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-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? No
5.0
This book is devastating but hopeful. If you're looking for a light read, this isn't it. It deals with extreme existentialism. But that's sci fi for you. That aside it's a very well written romance. Probably my favourite book I've read so far this year.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Grief, Confinement, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Injury/Injury detail, and Death
Minor: Gaslighting, Genocide, Kidnapping, Medical content, Classism, Excrement, and Homophobia
kaz_brekker1's review
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Blood, Injury/Injury detail, and Murder
Minor: Excrement
five_rats_in_a_trenchcoat's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Death, Grief, and Murder
Moderate: Blood, Confinement, Gaslighting, and Cancer
Minor: Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Sexual content, Panic attacks/disorders, War, Excrement, and Medical content
This book was an emotional roller coaster, I'm going to have to sit with it for a bit and when I'm done orocessing I can't wait to reread it. The big plot twist was perfectly executed, you get the exact amount of information to be able to guess, but not enough to fully know what's coming, it was a perfect mix of "Oh shit, I think x is what's happening" and "what the fuck is going on". If you like sci-fi thrillers with horror elements I highly recommend this book, what an amzing read. I listened to the audiobook and if that's your cup of tea you should give it a listen, the narrator did an amazing job voicing the main characters and his imitation of different robot voices made me giggle a couple of times! Beware of the warnings though, this book can get very heavy at times and has some content that could be triggering. The ending was absoluoltely worth the tears I cried though, 5/5 starsannikaa's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Body horror, Death, Grief, Suicide, Vomit, Excrement, Cancer, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Physical abuse, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Terminal illness, Violence, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Xenophobia and War
Minor: Misogyny
welgan's review
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
Spoiler-free review
This book is BRILLIANT. It was well-crafted, met all my expectations and went beyond it, even while not meeting my usual cosy preferences. I will need a bit of time to let it sink and mature in my heart, I can't skip to something else immediately.
If you consider reading it, please do not read reviews. Prevent yourself from getting spoiled, it's an experience best consumed while knowing nothing. I'll do my best to review its qualities without spoiling its content.
I was looking for a sci-fi book with characters isolated in a station in space, and it delivered over my expectations. The feeling of space and of isolation is stellar. The wordsmithing is clever and really made feel it, feel the danger, alienness and distant, icy beauty of space.
I was looking for feelings, and it delivered that with brilliance too. The way how the developpement of the two main characters' relationship was explored was amazing. It was tense, emotional, and it took time to explore so many different angles.
The characters are lovable, human, and you can feel their training in their interactions (especially training in psychology and communication when isolated in space, through Ambrose's narration).
As a personnal opinion, I enjoy when characters from different cultures interect and this was nice. It was also a bit strange for my asexual self to read the horny main character Ambrose is, but felt it was very well managed. It goes so well with the rest of development I wouldn't want it other wise. Also reading him made me fear the sexual content would be a bit too present, but it is definitely not. Intimacy scenes are subtle and often very emotional.
The first and second parts of the book were tense, packed with mystery and powerful feelings, with incredibly emotional and tense conclusions, reaching a peak at the end of part 2.
The third part was brutal. Definitely brutal.
In the last parts, the build-up tension changes as the mystery of the first parts makes place to resolving the situation. It gradually unravels the plot and the book ends with calm and peacefulness, leaving me tranquil, fullfilled with my reading. Which is rather amazing for a book about two spacefarers alone in space featuring so much emotional tension.
Last but not least, I'd like to say that the author managed a trope he used very cleverly.
Read under spoiler for more details (still as vague as possible, but we enter in spoiler zone) :
The problem with tropes needing to narrated the same parts again, such as timeloops or what happens in The darkness outside us, is that it can be boring to re-read the same thing several times, to undo all progress and redo it. Here, it is very well managed. The "redo" part goes quickly, with only some key passages being retold, and as readers, we fill in the blank by memory, until we reach a point were stories diverge. Each part is so different at core, each relationship exploring a different angle, it's amazing.
This book is BRILLIANT. It was well-crafted, met all my expectations and went beyond it, even while not meeting my usual cosy preferences. I will need a bit of time to let it sink and mature in my heart, I can't skip to something else immediately.
If you consider reading it, please do not read reviews. Prevent yourself from getting spoiled, it's an experience best consumed while knowing nothing. I'll do my best to review its qualities without spoiling its content.
I was looking for a sci-fi book with characters isolated in a station in space, and it delivered over my expectations. The feeling of space and of isolation is stellar. The wordsmithing is clever and really made feel it, feel the danger, alienness and distant, icy beauty of space.
I was looking for feelings, and it delivered that with brilliance too. The way how the developpement of the two main characters' relationship was explored was amazing. It was tense, emotional, and it took time to explore so many different angles.
The characters are lovable, human, and you can feel their training in their interactions (especially training in psychology and communication when isolated in space, through Ambrose's narration).
As a personnal opinion, I enjoy when characters from different cultures interect and this was nice. It was also a bit strange for my asexual self to read the horny main character Ambrose is, but felt it was very well managed. It goes so well with the rest of development I wouldn't want it other wise. Also reading him made me fear the sexual content would be a bit too present, but it is definitely not. Intimacy scenes are subtle and often very emotional.
The first and second parts of the book were tense, packed with mystery and powerful feelings, with incredibly emotional and tense conclusions, reaching a peak at the end of part 2.
The third part was brutal. Definitely brutal.
In the last parts, the build-up tension changes as the mystery of the first parts makes place to resolving the situation. It gradually unravels the plot and the book ends with calm and peacefulness, leaving me tranquil, fullfilled with my reading. Which is rather amazing for a book about two spacefarers alone in space featuring so much emotional tension.
Last but not least, I'd like to say that the author managed a trope he used very cleverly.
Read under spoiler for more details (still as vague as possible, but we enter in spoiler zone) :
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Death, and Terminal illness
Moderate: Vomit and Sexual content
Minor: Excrement
annieisawesome's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
This book was so good! Coming into it I assumed it was just a queer space romance, but it’s so much more! It’s very well thought out and the mystery behind it is phenomenal. It’s got a lot of 2001: A Space Odyssey vibes, only for a new era.
Content Warnings
Minor: Death, Gore, Murder, and Excrement
paulawind's review
adventurous
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.25
It’s perfectly average sci-fi, getting brownie points for trying to be diverse. Nice spot in the ya genre but I guess I’m-too seasoned in sci-fi genre to find any of the plot points here novel.
I liked how they pondered upon different reactions the clones would have upon discovering that they are clones but existential dilemmas are the backbone of sci-fi so I could predict most of the action and plot twists. Was it still an enjoyable read? Yeah but I’m not going to rave about it. Maybe I’m too old for this? Or too “polsci grad” for the mentioning of Plato’s allegory of the cave to seem nuanced? I liked how it asked the questions what should our fate be as individual humans in history. Felt like this book learned a bit too much into being American selfish no matter what because let’s be honest - the fact that the humanity wasn’t doomed after they killed all but the last pair of clones is sheer luck. Just because they wanted to live few extra years they almost made humanity die out. Typical neoliberal propaganda
Content Warnings
Graphic: Terminal illness, Mental illness, Vomit, Violence, Suicide, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Self harm, and Excrement