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salemander's review against another edition
5.0
this book was so fucking WEIRD but so COOL. wasn’t a fan of everything that happened, seeing as the characters are literally children they made some real dumbass choices lol, but the world building was just so unique and i literally never knew where the story was going next.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Child death, Slavery, and Classism
Minor: Racism
nessynoname's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Some incredible worldbuilding and intriguing sociopolitical circumstances with a really irritating central character.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Body horror, Death, Gore, Pregnancy, and Classism
Moderate: Sexism, Sexual content, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, and Grief
Minor: Drug use, Racism, Vomit, and Trafficking
Almost the entirety of this book takes place within a living organism, which the humans surgically exploit for their livelihood. Body systems/functions are explicitly described and manipulated often to the harm of the creature. If bodily description/body horror is not your thing you really need to sit this one out. Furthermore, there is a sequence later on that does intersect with the whole parasite/pregnancy/tentacles trope but its... not played for horror per se? Its supposed to be unsettling but its purpose in the plot is not harmful or disturbing to the character it happens to and they are fine after the situation is dealt with. The society that primarily features in the book is matriarchal and numerous characters including the main character until she gets character development, think of men as lesser. Class struggle, whether it be sexism against men, or the upperclass oppressing the working class are strong themes in this book. Additionally, the main character becomes engaged to a man and struggles with her fear of consummating that relationship, as she seems to have exclusive preference for women partners. This never culminates in any kind of sexual assault but the main characters anxiety about the pressure to be sexually involved with her fiance is a recurring topic.laurareads87's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
I've had Escaping Exodus on my 'to read' list for quite a while, so I was thrilled when it was chosen for the #Blackathon2022 readathon's Team SFF group book!
The story follows two alternating POV characters: Seske, who is of the most privileged social class and next in line to inherit the throne, and Adalla, her friend and romantic interest who is a member of the lower beast-worker class (a skilled manual labourer). Their society has caught yet another of the space-dwelling creatures who they've learned to live inside of, and are in the process of extensively altering the insides of the creature and setting up their home (which they must do every so many years because, unsurprisingly, these animals don't live forever when they have thousands of humans inside). Of course, many things go wrong. The story is, at its heart, an exploration of rigidly unequal power relationships (of class as well as gender), extreme reproductive inequalities and restrictions (articulating important critiques of so-called 'population control'), and the possibilities of building meaningful relationships across difference. While I was several times very frustrated while reading by what to me was almost totally unbelievable naïveté on Seska's part -- like, how is it that you're just learning very basic information about how your society functions? -- I also feel like this is a valuable reflection of how privilege makes so many realities of a society harder to see + one must do the work of (un)learning to understand the injustices that one benefits from that are naturalized within a society. I'm looking forward to reading more from Nicky Drayden, including the sequel!
The story follows two alternating POV characters: Seske, who is of the most privileged social class and next in line to inherit the throne, and Adalla, her friend and romantic interest who is a member of the lower beast-worker class (a skilled manual labourer). Their society has caught yet another of the space-dwelling creatures who they've learned to live inside of, and are in the process of extensively altering the insides of the creature and setting up their home (which they must do every so many years because, unsurprisingly, these animals don't live forever when they have thousands of humans inside). Of course, many things go wrong. The story is, at its heart, an exploration of rigidly unequal power relationships (of class as well as gender), extreme reproductive inequalities and restrictions (articulating important critiques of so-called 'population control'), and the possibilities of building meaningful relationships across difference. While I was several times very frustrated while reading by what to me was almost totally unbelievable naïveté on Seska's part -- like, how is it that you're just learning very basic information about how your society functions? -- I also feel like this is a valuable reflection of how privilege makes so many realities of a society harder to see + one must do the work of (un)learning to understand the injustices that one benefits from that are naturalized within a society. I'm looking forward to reading more from Nicky Drayden, including the sequel!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Drug abuse, Gore, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Sexism
Minor: Racism
zombiezami's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- 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? Yes
4.75
This book was fascinating. I love the way that it unfolded. The worldbuilding was imaginative and engaging. My only complaint is that there were some moments where the author did more telling than showing.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Death, Gore, Miscarriage, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Child death, Chronic illness, Drug use, Genocide, Sexual content, Slavery, Terminal illness, Vomit, and Death of parent
Minor: Racial slurs, Racism, and Sexism