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foxclcves's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Police brutality
Moderate: Animal death and Cursing
Minor: Alcohol, Racial slurs, Violence, Xenophobia, Terminal illness, War, Medical trauma, Genocide, Drug use, Suicide attempt, Racism, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, and Grief
mobymaize's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Cursing, Religious bigotry, War, Xenophobia, Chronic illness, Death, Racial slurs, Racism, Alcohol, Gun violence, Outing, Animal death, Classism, Colonisation, Drug use, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Genocide, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Terminal illness, and Torture
Moderate: Blood and Child death
the_reading_wren's review against another edition
- 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 wasn’t expecting it but I liked the episodic style of storytelling because it made every chapter satisfying. I could tell this was Chambers’ debut novel due to pacing and some lack of clarity in the messages (which in her more recent books are more honed), but the fact I still gave it 5 stars shows just how much I love her world building, and the wisdom she shares through her characters.
Graphic: Gun violence, Grief, and War
Minor: Blood, Murder, Ableism, Vomit, Confinement, Drug use, Racial slurs, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Panic attacks/disorders, Pregnancy, Religious bigotry, Torture, Alcohol, Child death, Classism, Colonisation, Deadnaming, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Police brutality, Slavery, and Violence
yikeslou's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Xenophobia, Police brutality, and Terminal illness
Moderate: Medical content, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, War, and Grief
tsukk's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Terminal illness, Blood, Alcohol, Classism, Death, Police brutality, Violence, Drug use, and Xenophobia
arinheck's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Grief, Terminal illness, and War
Moderate: Gun violence, Xenophobia, Chronic illness, Violence, Racial slurs, and Medical content
Minor: Ableism, Colonisation, Drug use, and Alcohol
thaliareads's review against another edition
- 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 can't express enough appreciation for how cool it was just seeing all of the described species and all of their different cultures and the depth to which they are explored. It's absolutely wild.
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Violence, Gun violence, and Terminal illness
Moderate: Alcohol and Cultural appropriation
I'm behind on reviews, so it's been a couple moths since I read this, and I wouldn't be surprised if I missed a content warning or two.ekcd_'s review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.75
It’s an incredibly slow book, plot wise, and the few plot events we do see dont make sense. The characters have odd reactions - socially and culturally. And god knows Becky Chambers lives to talk about how different all her aliens are. There is a weird fixation on sex and sexual differences in the book which could have been a fun exploration in sexuality if it was done well but instead it felt like she was patting herself on the back for coming up with such sexually diverse races/species. Several times in the book she says outright “yeah XYZ is so different from humans” and like that’s it.
I feel like I read a different book than all the critics (formal and informal) who have such high praise. This read like a YA novel or children’s cartoon that feeds the reader emotions with a spoon. I’m fact, most of the world building in general is fed to the reader with a spoon- it’s explicit and heavy handed OR it’s nonsense words that are never explained or expanded on. It’s clear the author uses letters and characters who are librarians to shoehorn in world building she wasn’t creative enough to build into the narrative. No nuance, no complexity. Just a feel good mill, which I personally do not like. I want moral ambiguity and conflict in my space opera.
Graphic: Chronic illness, Colonisation, Deadnaming, Police brutality, Drug use, Grief, Sexual content, Xenophobia, Cultural appropriation, Cursing, Toxic friendship, Violence, Alcohol, War, Death, Genocide, and Classism
Moderate: Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, and Blood
annamorgan27's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Moderate: Grief, War, Vomit, Death, Gun violence, Alcohol, Medical trauma, and Sexual content
thoseoldcrows23's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Xenophobia
Moderate: Torture, Terminal illness, Chronic illness, Colonisation, Death, Blood, Child death, Grief, Alcohol, War, Vomit, Medical content, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Confinement and Cursing