onespaceymother's reviews
869 reviews

Record of a Spaceborn Few by Becky Chambers

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adventurous emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

5.0

Of all the Wayfarers books, this one got me emotional. I was initially worried about how many different storylines and characters we were following, but quickly fell into it and sorted them out in my mind. 
The Startup Wife by Tahmima Anam

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challenging dark emotional funny reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This was a nuanced look at business, tech, and gender politics. No one was untouchable or infallible.
A Closed and Common Orbit by Becky Chambers

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adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful reflective sad medium-paced
  • 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

5.0

I have rapidly become a Becky Chambers fan girl. She manages to take dense science fiction concepts, like how we defined sentient beings and the ethics of artificial intelligence and labor, and make them feel like a conversation about humanity and individuals. She is a master of characters and such a gift to this genre.
Veridian Sterling Fakes It by Jennifer Gooch Hummer

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emotional funny medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

I feel like this may be needed a little more development? The big twist felt a little haphazard, and the buildup felt mismatched to the reveal. I also found I didn’t like our main character very much. She just seemed… I don’t know… annoying. 
Poor Things by Alasdair Gray

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challenging dark

4.0

… this … made me feel deeply weird. Planning to watch the film tonight and process.
The Emperor and the Endless Palace by Justinian Huang

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emotional

3.75

This was much more depressing than I expected, and less whimsical
Escaping Exodus: Symbiosis by Nicky Drayden

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challenging emotional hopeful sad

4.0

I appreciated how the sequel explored more of the other factions and tribes and asked people to question cultures and norms. I didn’t quite fall into this one as much as I did the first one but really enjoyed it.
The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin

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challenging dark reflective sad tense slow-paced

3.75

As a feminist Science Fiction fan, I always feel a bit ashamed that I haven’t read more Le Guin and that (frankly) I don’t enjoy her work more than I do. I found the first 2/3 of this book relatively tedious to get through but the final third was engaging. It’s a lot of politics. I also understand that her interest in exploring gender and sex was revolutionary at the time, and admire and respect that, but in modern reading, the constant discussion of the technicalities  gets a little old.
Glorious Exploits by Ferdia Lennon

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dark funny reflective

4.0

This was unexpected and extremely creative. It was so sad but also so straightforward veering into dry humor. The tone was really unique.
Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree

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hopeful lighthearted

3.75

I am admittedly, a little done with the whole dungeons and dragons characters outside of combat novels, this is sweet and charming and well written. Not a ton of substance here, but it was cozy.