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nilssjoberg's review against another edition
fast-paced
- 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
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Genocide, Sexism, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Torture and Murder
Minor: Racial slurs, Sexual content, Terminal illness, and Death of parent
rorikae's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
'Escaping Exodus' by Nicky Drayden is a creative science fiction novel that tells of a matriarchal society living aboard a large space beast.
We follow Seske and Adalla, two girls within this society. Seske is air to the matriarchal society while Adalla is a beast worker, who helps excavate and prepare the beast. From two separate stations, they begin to fall in love as they learn more about the truth of their society and their host.
Drayden has created a fascinating world that hinges on the parasitic relationship between a matriarchal society and the beast that they call home. The world building in this book is fascinating and incredibly unique. Drayden pairs this with a dual perspective that weaves between two very different characters. By following the heir to the throne and a beast worker, we get to see different parts of this world and the inequality that is inherent with it. Through the matriarchal society, Drayden makes the inequalities and harms of our patriarchal society stand out as the society in the book holds many of the same issues, just gender swapped.
This book is rife with body horror elements and bodily fluids, which I think is crucial to know going in. Drayden balances the more nauseating elements of this world with their evocative prose to create the engaging world. I am fascinated to see where this story goes next and I will definitely be checking out more of Drayden's work.
We follow Seske and Adalla, two girls within this society. Seske is air to the matriarchal society while Adalla is a beast worker, who helps excavate and prepare the beast. From two separate stations, they begin to fall in love as they learn more about the truth of their society and their host.
Drayden has created a fascinating world that hinges on the parasitic relationship between a matriarchal society and the beast that they call home. The world building in this book is fascinating and incredibly unique. Drayden pairs this with a dual perspective that weaves between two very different characters. By following the heir to the throne and a beast worker, we get to see different parts of this world and the inequality that is inherent with it. Through the matriarchal society, Drayden makes the inequalities and harms of our patriarchal society stand out as the society in the book holds many of the same issues, just gender swapped.
This book is rife with body horror elements and bodily fluids, which I think is crucial to know going in. Drayden balances the more nauseating elements of this world with their evocative prose to create the engaging world. I am fascinated to see where this story goes next and I will definitely be checking out more of Drayden's work.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Violence, Blood, and Medical content
Moderate: Slavery, Death of parent, and Pregnancy
albernikolauras's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
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
4.5
This book was the squishiest of sci fi from the very beginning, and it was great. Such an interesting and well-built out world, my favorite kind of likable characters that make very questionable decisions, and a plot that progresses very rapidly. Definitely a book for those who enjoy sci fi and space travel outside the realm of technology. The ending went from fast to blink-and-you'll-miss-it, and was a little too quickly wrapped up for it to become a new favorite. One of the easiest books I have read to fall into.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty and Body horror
Moderate: Gore, Sexual content, Violence, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
bookcaptivated's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- 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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Body horror, Child death, Blood, Murder, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Death, Sexism, Sexual content, Slavery, Death of parent, Alcohol, and Classism
Minor: Misogyny
allisonwonderlandreads's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
reflective
fast-paced
- 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
"All throughout our history, we sing of two kinds of women... those born into power and those who disrupt power. I intend on being the latter."
Even more than the space-faring beasts that the people live inside in this science fiction, I was intrigued by the society in this book. They live in ten-person family structures with polyamorous groups of 3 (two women and a man) combined with two other triads and one child shared amongst them all. It's a matriarchal society, and men face similar sexist experiences to the women of our world. But that doesn't mean I wasn't amazed/shook/occasionally grossed out by the living ship as the characters navigate through organs, build homes from organic matter harvested from the beast, and even crawl through sphincters (seems inadvisable but).
The plot centers on a youthful revolution, bringing to mind many issues in our world, but especially environmental concerns regarding how we can preserve/stop destroying our planet for future generations. And that requires a social, economic overhaul because these are the systems that drive us towards a dying home. Our protagonists are Seske, heir to the matriarch of the clan, and Adalla, a lower class but specialized worker in the beast's heart, one of the most important jobs for everyone's survival. They're star-crossed lovers who thrive on curiosity, trouble, and overall pluck. Both have different pieces of the puzzle regarding how their society is collapsing. They will grow in leaps and bounds and separately work at bringing the whole thing down. I flipped back to the beginning to check a few things once I had a real grasp on the society, and I realized that both girls were even more ignorant and at times cruel in the beginning than I first registered. It makes their development that much more impressive.
As a brief but imperative aside, there's a "what does the fox say?" reference buried in a masquerade ball, which A) made me laugh out loud at the delightful absurdity and B) I challenge you NOT to have it stuck in your head somehow again after all these years. In general, the humor here is weird, silly, and greatly appreciated by this reader.
I look forward to reading more about this world, even when there are specific images brought to mind that I wish I could mentally unsee. This story is over-the-top yet relevant, and I recommend this as an underhyped science fiction with all kinds of strange and majestic on offer.
Content Warnings
Minor: Abortion, Death of parent, and Pregnancy
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
ohlhauc's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Vivid, imaginative world building that made it easy to imagine yourself within the body of the Zenzee/beast the society was living in (note: If you dislike graphic depictions of bodily functions and organs, this is not for you). The development of the physical environment was hands-down the best part. Unfortunately, we didn't get as much detail on the social structure and culture of the society itself, and I would have liked more discussion of this to better understand the actions of several plot points.
The character development was hit or miss for me. I adored the characters of Adalla and Laisze, and felt their growth, motivations, and reactions were clear and well done. They were also two of the only characters who seemed to think ofother characters whereas the others were more selfish, which made the others hard to root for. The other characters were either highly unlikable or underdeveloped.
Another thing that didn't work for me is that it felt some scenes were rushed over, especially the plot which went by so quick. I would've liked to see a slower pace and more detail into the psychologies of the characters so it felt like what was happening had more consequences and impact.
The character development was hit or miss for me. I adored the characters of Adalla and Laisze, and felt their growth, motivations, and reactions were clear and well done. They were also two of the only characters who seemed to think of
Another thing that didn't work for me is that it felt some scenes were rushed over, especially the plot which went by so quick. I would've liked to see a slower pace and more detail into the psychologies of the characters so it felt like what was happening had more consequences and impact.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Body horror, Death, and Death of parent
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexism, Slavery, Blood, and Murder