A review by motherbeetle
Ancestral Night by Elizabeth Bear

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

So I have a lot of mixed feelings about this book. The world building, the hard science, Haimey’s arc, and how it handles heavy concepts made it an easy 5/5. But the rest of the novel felt… empty. I didn’t feel like it really started until it was almost over. It was very slow even for me, an enjoyer of slow books. I enjoyed the end once there was something happening. I felt like some of the characters could have been explored more. I did find the book immensely entertaining outside of the times that dragged though. Still having really complicated feelings about it all haha! I would recommend it, especially if you’re someone who loves hard science in science fiction or if you’re someone who likes heavy concepts (free will, conditioning, moral issues) in your sci-fi. 
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