Reviews tagging 'Medical trauma'

Cantique pour les étoiles by Simon Jimenez

22 reviews

emk5's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad

5.0

What....and I must really emphasize this: the fuck!??????????????
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handove's review against another edition

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slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

fumiko was the most interesting character by far and even then i just wanted them to fucking do something & the plot to move on the entire time
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chris_reads's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional reflective medium-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

4.0

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metanav's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional sad tense slow-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

4.5

patience is necessary—i nearly dnf this book but i persevered and it paid off. i didn’t start to enjoy it until the story leaves the first planet, but the imagery and characters were beautiful and the sci-fi world building felt familiar but also fresh. pacing is slow at times but it gives you time to really get to know the characters and it definitely made me emotional near the end

just keep in mind content warnings, i added what i could remember but it probably isn’t all exhaustive. 
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bangarangbec's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious reflective medium-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

4.25

Beautiful sci-fi narrative. This cast was endearing and following them through these many, many years was so worth it. I would've read twice as many words about them and all the things they did and all the ways they grew together. 
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dlrosebyh's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional slow-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

5.0

Simon Jimenez, I was not familiar with your game. 

I am not the same person pre-TVB and post-TVB. I’ve been hesitant to read The Vanished Birds because a lot of reviews said it was boring, and for me, no, it really wasn’t. And yes, it might be slow, and the chapters are long, but the pacing made perfect sense.

A lot of people compare The Vanished Birds to the Wayfarers series by Becky Chambers. And if you know me, you know I loved that series. While that series is healing and comforting, this book will tear your heart into pieces, throw it against the wall, run it over by a truck, break it even more with a hammer, and pierce it with a sword. I was expecting a simple space found family moment, but noo, Jimenez had to break my heart a million times. My heart broke for every character in this story.

This book is so rich in many ways. The characters, the plot, the world building, the atmosphere, everything. I was so shocked to find out that this is Jimenez’s DEBUT NOVEL. Only a mastermind can do such. I loved how he used scientific explanations for the progression and the effects of capitalism. Those footnotes really intrigued me.

Character wise, I have a question for you, Mr. Jimenez. Did you somehow go through my brain while writing Nia? Because why is she SO ME. The way she tries to protect everyone and is willing to give up anything just to keep everyone safe made me sob so hard. I loved how she treated Ahro, and Ahro, my baby, I will protect you with everything I have. And don’t even get me started on DanaFumiko because I cried over them so many times.

In short, please read this book. Any bad mouth against it shall fall.
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avocadosocks's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.25

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s_teichman's review against another edition

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challenging dark reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.75

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bookgrrl's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-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

5.0

The last 1/4 of this book broke my heart
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laurareads87's review against another edition

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adventurous reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

Beautiful, devastating, and brilliant. The Vanished Birds has a lot that I love: strong character development, an interesting multi-POV structure, and a clear anti-capitalist spirit.  This does not read like a debut novel; I can't wait to read more from Simon Jimenez.
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