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voxvenati's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I don’t know if there’s anything to say beyond that I’m obsessed.
Khaw delivers another gruesome, gorgeous work dripping with viscera and purple prose where love is at the center of everything. The characters are flawed and delightful. The Minds are fascinating. Pimento….my beloved.
I love this world. I wish I had more time in it. This is an absolute reread for me.
Khaw delivers another gruesome, gorgeous work dripping with viscera and purple prose where love is at the center of everything. The characters are flawed and delightful. The Minds are fascinating. Pimento….my beloved.
I love this world. I wish I had more time in it. This is an absolute reread for me.
inthebelljar's review
2.0
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review.
I liked a lot of the ideas and concepts goings on in this book, but the execution was really lacking. I didn't feel like I understood the characters or their motivations, nor did I have a total handle on the world this took place in by the end. I'm more than okay with being thrown into a story and trying to figure out what's going on, but this, ultimately, felt very lackluster and confusing. So many things ended feeling unresolved and there were multiple times throughout the book where I felt like, "okay, so why is this happening?" or "what's even the end goal here?"
There was also this pervasive feeling of being told what I should think of the characters (i.e., Rita is manipulative and charismatic) instead of just...being shown how those characters act. I really had trouble buying into why any of these characters had ever bonded with one another, let alone trusted each other for this final mission.
A lot of Cassandra Khaw's works sound promising to me, but after this and Nothing But Blackened Teeth, I just don't think their writing is for me, unfortunately.
I liked a lot of the ideas and concepts goings on in this book, but the execution was really lacking. I didn't feel like I understood the characters or their motivations, nor did I have a total handle on the world this took place in by the end. I'm more than okay with being thrown into a story and trying to figure out what's going on, but this, ultimately, felt very lackluster and confusing. So many things ended feeling unresolved and there were multiple times throughout the book where I felt like, "okay, so why is this happening?" or "what's even the end goal here?"
There was also this pervasive feeling of being told what I should think of the characters (i.e., Rita is manipulative and charismatic) instead of just...being shown how those characters act. I really had trouble buying into why any of these characters had ever bonded with one another, let alone trusted each other for this final mission.
A lot of Cassandra Khaw's works sound promising to me, but after this and Nothing But Blackened Teeth, I just don't think their writing is for me, unfortunately.
remibaker's review
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Good read. Pretty faced pace. Quite descriptive in the environment - it can be a bit overwhelming/confusing trying to keep track of everything going on, but I enjoyed the plot
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Suicide, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, and Medical content
chrispy_mac's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
There was potential here but the book as it is, is a mess. I liked the themes, I think the world could have been interesting with some more development... but the characters were shallow and the plot mostly boring. Khaw's visceral prose couldn't punch its way out of a flimsy plot. But, it shows promise and I'll be interested to see what they write in the future.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Grief, Death, and Toxic relationship
kleonard's review
5.0
A heist? In space? With near-indestructible people and regeneration vats? With a group of former merc teammates with long and difficult histories between them? AI? Yes! This is so many things: a space opera romp, a meditation on loyalty, a collection of amazing fight scenes, and a great story about doing right by your crew. It's full of inventive and evocative language and scene-making, and the characters are well-defined and clearly very individual. Being inside the collective thoughts of the AI and their hijackers is clever and fun, and the whole thing is a fast, twisty, joyride of a book.
hexillith's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
medium-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? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Toxic relationship, Violence, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Death, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Grief
Minor: Suicide and Suicidal thoughts
invisibleninjacat's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
fast-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? Yes
4.0
This was hard to rate, because it was incredibly well done but also a little darker than I really wanted to read. The language is rich and poetical while also being incredibly brutal and coarse. The book also takes the found family trope and asks, what if the family you found makes everyone worse, actually?
acanthae's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
tense
medium-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? Yes
3.0
You can see how Khaw will go on to write The Salt Grows Heavy in the writing style of this book, even if it doesn't work so much in this novel.
Also, you can tell Khaw used to be a tech journalist by the way she writes tech in her novels. It's not wrong, just shallow and boring.
Also, you can tell Khaw used to be a tech journalist by the way she writes tech in her novels. It's not wrong, just shallow and boring.
willow1113's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
fast-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
anomieus's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5