You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Scan barcode
fionamclary's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Some things that would have improved this book:
-a map
-consistent spelling of Tangata/Taangata/Tāngata
-not saying "it was the worst pain she ever felt" every time Yat experiences some kind of magical injury
Otherwise, there was a lot of inventive world-building that sometimes held together only with vibes but was nonetheless engaging. I liked the inspiration from Maori culture and hope that SFF only sees more influence and authors from various world cultures.
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Death, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Police brutality, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Ableism, Addiction, Animal cruelty, Biphobia, Cursing, Misogyny, Self harm, Blood, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, and Lesbophobia
Minor: Confinement, Sexual violence, Suicide, Vomit, Acephobia/Arophobia, Outing, Alcohol, Colonisation, and War
wordsareworlds'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? Yes
5.0
The politics were there but pretty light-handed, the book focuses more on what we see through our PoV characters and how their understanding of the world, which changes as they learn through the course of the plot. I adored Yat, for all her flaws, and loved how her anxiety was portrayed throughout the book. Her powers are not a magic cure for it, but she does gain tools to manage and use it, and it was a perspective I appreciated a lot.
The ending was satisfying while also leaving a major AHHHHH moment for the last few pages that makes me want the next book RIGHT NOW. I can't wait to see the ripple effects of what happened in this book play out, and see more of all these characters.
Highly recommend for anyone looking for a queer, action-heavy, weird as hell bio-punk story that knows exactly how to draw you in and make you want more RIGHT NOW.
Graphic: Biphobia, Body horror, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Police brutality, Grief, Religious bigotry, Murder, Lesbophobia, War, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Ableism, Drug use, Sexual content, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
sophiesmallhands's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gun violence, Violence, Police brutality, and Murder
Moderate: Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual content, Blood, Vomit, Religious bigotry, Lesbophobia, and Classism
Minor: Addiction, Drug abuse, Drug use, Suicidal thoughts, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Outing, Alcohol, and War
bibliomania_express's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
This book sucked me in, confused me, intrigued me, and made me keep reading. Yat is a bisexual constable living in a world where any queerness is punished. She is demoted and drugging herself to dull the pain and protect herself from her own memories. Then she ends up stumbling upon a sinister plot, murdered, resurrected by a god, and given new powers to see and interact with life threads. But there's still that sinister, government corrupting, spore-wielding plot to stop, so she doesn't have much time to figure anything out.
At times I found myself confused by exactly what was happening. The narration became purposefully disjointed, with snippets of dialogue breaking in. This was something Yat was experiencing, but since it was so hard to know what was happening, it pulled me out of the story.
I did like that the narrative moved betwern Yat and Sen, with a bit from Ajet and Sibbi to give some of the broader scope. There are also some direct-to-reader style chapters from one of the gods, which were intriguing but also mystifying. This book explores systems of power, corruption, sexism, homophobia, religious zealotry, police brutality, poverty, and what it means to be a hero. It's not subtle about its themes, but it weaves them together well.
I do wish there had been a bit more of Yat and Sen working together, and a bit more of the worldbuilding, especially the religion/magic system, explained up front. A lot of the book rushes along at a breakneck pace, so that coupled with the narrative style made it hard to absorb all the worldbuilding.
The setting, however, was fantastic. I loved the whole botanical engineering aspect, and how it tied into the Weaving magic and the dangerous spores.
Graphic: Addiction, Death, Drug use, Slavery, Violence, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Gaslighting, War, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Biphobia, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Gun violence, Suicidal thoughts, Transphobia, Blood, and Religious bigotry
Minor: Ableism, Self harm, Medical trauma, Death of parent, and Sexual harassment
jessereadsthings's review against another edition
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Body horror, Gore, and Police brutality
Moderate: Ableism, Homophobia, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Transphobia, and Xenophobia
Minor: Animal death and Suicide
onegalonelife27'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? Yes
4.0
Yat is an former street kid turn officer, trying to help make her town a better place yet finds herself demoted for “life style choices” aka being bisexual when the head religion says no to that-bleh. However, encountering a dead body and two strange officers leads to her death and subsequent resurrection with new magical powers. Now Yat finds herself involved with pirates, ancient gods, and a conspiracy that may just lead to the destruction of her home.
The characters are all intriguing and combined with the interesting world building make for a more surreal mystery that keeps you going. I was satisfied with the end and intrigued by the epilouge given, making me eager to see how the rest of the series goes.
I do have to admit, there were some parts of the plot I’m not sure were necessary since they didn’t really move Yat’s story along. However, given that this is actually part a series, it might be setting up for things to come. I also had a bit of a hard time keeping track of the countries/factions mentioned in the series and one reveal felt a bit off since it contradicted something said earlier and there’s no information to explain the contradiction.
Also somehow I managed to read two books about corrupt police departments in the same week. Funny how that happens.
Graphic: Biphobia, Body horror, Police brutality, and War
Moderate: Death, Gun violence, Transphobia, and Violence
Minor: Religious bigotry and Death of parent
kell_xavi's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Body horror, Homophobia, Police brutality, and Murder
Moderate: War
fox_at_the_circus'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? No
4.25
in general this book has a lot of really cool and new/rare story elements; the mythology and the way the gods and minor deities interact with the world is something i've never read before, and there were some nice twists on genre tropes like "coming back from death" and the heroine coming into their power and changing/growing though that.
i really liked the heroine. we get thrown into the story and this world without knowing anything and there's this great feeling of "what the eff is going on here?!", but since the heroine, too, feels that way and is learning and discovering new things, as a reader i never felt left behind and it was just a mystery to solve together.
i also really enjoyed the short inbetween chapters, where someone obviously more knowledgeable is talking. it adds to the sense of mystery and a bigger story line / backstory to it all. and some of them are just so poetic and rip your heart out.
also the representation and social commentary in this book is amazing. there is a super queer pirate found family and also a cat, that helps safe the day/heroine. and really what more could you want from a book?
Graphic: Addiction, Biphobia, Body horror, Death, Drug use, Homophobia, Misogyny, Violence, Police brutality, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Drug use, Transphobia, Grief, Suicide attempt, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail
augustar14'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
4.25
Spoiler: The only thing I didn't get was
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Sexual content, Violence, Police brutality, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Addiction, Biphobia, Sexism, Suicide, Blood, and Religious bigotry
Minor: Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, and Outing
kumquats87'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? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Gore, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Violence, Police brutality, Death of parent, Lesbophobia, Outing, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Addiction, Cancer, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Misogyny, Self harm, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Transphobia, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Gaslighting, and War