Reviews and Comments

It was going to be 4 stars, but it was gay so I gave it a bump.

The political intrigue is more interesting than the philosophical questions about identity brought about through memory transplants. I'm not a huge fan of the main character's position on Empire towards the end, but I took away a lot of thoughts from how they portrayed the Imperial Core vs the periphery that I am happy with.

I couldn't finish it. I just really don't like David Wong (the character who is also the narrator) and while I didn't hate the plot up to where I got it just wasn't engaging enough to compensate for David being a pretty boring guy.

This series feels like the book equivalent of a TV show, and I'm binging it.

I almost finished it, but my library loan expired and this one was pretty stale. There's an emotional twist that came out of nowhere and would only make sense to a straight person. No idea if Martha Wells is straight or not, but... the twist was jarringly ooc

They gave a perfectly good murder robot social anxiety. 5 stars.

I didn't finish this book, but I got about 20% of the way through it. The characters drop the f-slur, derogatory statements are made about autistic people, and I was trying to force myself through, telling myself that the author was making the characters intentionally unlikeable. He may have been. What broke me was when one of the officials explains that the government doesn't stop the Witch because it would result in "over 3000 deaths, as many as who died in 9/11"... the soul crushing reminder of pre-Covid naivete, compounded with the fact that I hate all the characters, was just too much.

I enjoyed the lesbian romance, and the story was entertaining from start to finish, but I just didn't enjoy it at more than a 4 Stars level. The characters kind of felt like high schoolers, even though they were adults. And I simply can't enjoy a book as much with a veteran main character (one of them) with absolutely no reflection on war itself, especially not when the book was very unsubtle with its themes of justice and sacrifice. (The themes were good; the narrow focus when there were plenty of opportunities for deeper analysis was irksome.) This time, the real monster was white privilege and old money.

I listened to the audiobook, which was very well done. I enjoyed the sfx a lot. The book was overall enjoyable, even after I realized what the ending would be. Unfortunately, there was pretty much zero character growth or accountability for anyone other than Edward, assuming being incinerated counts as accountability. Learning to accept that burning a man alive as a child was a mistake the protagonist has to live with but that she can be a better person wasn't really growth, since her anxiety was almost entirely about getting caught. A family that covers up murders gets off the hook, and the protagonist both loves them and does not ever put two and two together: they're filthy rich and get away with murder ... and capitalism is the real monster.

Often predictable and frequently cliche, this book was still quite enjoyable to read. A cononicaly autistic lesbian as one of the protagonists certainly didn't hurt.

I enjoyed the book, but I don't really like Mira Grant's insertion of excerpts from in-universe books and documentaries. I thought that was a shtick that was exclusive to Parasitology, but it features here as well. Unfortunately, the ending was spoiled early on by these asides, and I don't think knowing the ending did the story any favors. This appears to be a prequel, so maybe I should have already known the ending.

This book was a wild ride, and I enjoyed it a lot. It is character focused, with the plot developing slowly. It really lets you get to know the characters, and they all feel very real. It's refreshing! And the plot continues to build up until it crescendos, a thrilling climax, and then a satisfying deceleration to a satisfying conclusion.

There are ethical quandaries posed, and while some of them are cliche (can an AI be a person?) some of them are more relevant and real (should a person be allowed to let themself die?). I can't say I liked the conclusions the narrative seems to draw in all cases, but the themes of love and friendship were strong and good.

If I could give it 4.5 stars then I would, but I think it deserves to be rounded up to 5.

I'm enjoying this series, but not enjoying how the LGBT characters are portrayed, nor am I particularly a fan of what seems to be the main moral quandary of the series: do fetuses have the right to be born at the expense of their host? Or, should we harvest the organs of the comatose to save the life of another person? Very Philosophy 101 Utilitarianism questions, the angle of which seems to imply a forced-birth conclusion. I doubt it's intentional.

There are some deeper philosophical questions arising, but I'm at a point where I kinda just want the series to be done so I can read something where the LGBT characters aren't all dead or evil.

Capitalism is the real monster. Except, maybe a zealous pursuit of science for the sake of science is the real monster. Or maybe parasitic brain worms are the real monster.

I read this when it first came out, but had forgotten most of it. Rereading it was worth it. Themes of what it means to be human, the importance of agency and self determination, and cute dogs.