Really interesting premise, I don't mind that it's character-driven rather than plot driven examining the psychological aspects of going on a 23yr space voyage to unchartered territory (though the premise had potential for a ripper plot driven book...). But something is missed in execution. The characters seem too dysfunctional to believe they were sent on this trip having extremely unlikable character(s) in a character driven plot is a bit of a killer (Harry), especially when the characters don't really mature past their poor behaviour or overcome their personal mental challenges throughout the book so much as miraculously become "normal" offscreen and suddenly. Very slow pacing until the very end then ridiculously fast and capped off with a deus ex machina to deal with any plot devices too difficult to address. It did keep me listening and excited to listen though, (waiting for something to finally happen). Great premise, enjoyed the prelaunch bits, the rest just didn't really grab me.

I ended up really loving this book. For a book so invested in destiny, spirituality, and isolation (mental health), Temi Oh was able to toe the line between science and spirituality. As a born and bred atheist, my scientific upbringing has driven me towards stories like these, that accept the science we do know, and pontificate on the science of the wider universe, and mankind’s relationship to it. Despite my usual aversion to books with heavy Christian undertones, I thought that this book left the truth of the world as open ended as reality.

You can find a more in depth discussion here: https://youtu.be/Jh49levakXg

A very introspective and slow-burning story about possibility, hope, the pain of loss, and thinking towards the future. This isn't a flashy, alien-filled, space battle scifi book, it's much more grounded in reality and focuses on the feelings and thoughts of each of the 6 main characters. Although I was expecting something different, I ended thoroughly enjoying the character-driven narrative and Oh's wonderful writing style.

Definitely a surprising book. Structure and pacing is more like a French art house film vs a more standard science fiction novel. The alternative history UK is a bit off-putting currently, pressed up against the reality of what a disaster Brexit and an independent Britain really is. It took a long time for the book to make me care, but in the end it mostly did.

I found this book really hard to rate, because there were a lot of things I really liked and some things that I really didn't. I'll start with what I didn't, because I don't think it's that much.

Temi Oh's writing has the strangest mixture of show and tell, because in one paragraph she's showing me a character's feelings in their actions and then immediatly in the next paragraph it'll say something like: Jesse was sad. Like, okay? I kinda figured that out already. Another thing is that the book has a lot going for it, but in the most dull sort of way. There's so many things going on with the character's emotions and outside forces driving them nuts, but it reads in a really slow and boring in a lot of parts.

Like, it's not a lot to dislike about a book, but it's enough to kind of make me not want to finish, because it's... you know... boring.

BUT, there's a lot I did like about the book. I think the character development is really well done. There were characters I hated in the beginning that I ended up liking in the end and characters I kind of liked in the beginning that I didn't like by the end. I think Temi Oh is really good at writing characters, but when it comes to an overarching plot, it's not nearly as good as it could've been.

I think to really enjoy this book, one would have to go in knowing that it revolves mostly around the characters over the actual plot of going to a new planet. Originally, I was excited to read a book about going into space and finding a new planet that was grounded in reality and not some epic space adventure with aliens and such. However, this book-while grounded in reality-the plot took a backseat. Yeah, there's some struggles here and there, but it's mostly about the characters being stuck on a ship for twenty-some odd years, but I wanted there to be a little more. I felt like there wasn't much happening until the very end of the book.

Overall though, I did enjoy the story as a whole. I would like to read another book by the author when she releases something else.