A review by obscurepages
Some Desperate Glory by Emily Tesh

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

 This whole book was a surprise 😭 I mean I had an idea I would like it, yes. But somehow I didn't know just how much it would affect me and throw me in a roller coaster through space.

I love the world-building and all the details the author put in this story. Those passages from books/journals/accounts about human race, the wars, even the insertion of philosophy and humanity? They all helped build and set the tone of the story, as well as the history and foundation.

I love the both the familiarity and surprise of the storytelling and the plot. Like it got me feeling I know what's going to happen next and that I've seen it before (naive soldier realizes how fucked up the system is and realizes not everything is what is seems). But then the author throws you into some sort of deep end and suddenly you're caught unawares. Several times I wanted to rip my hair out because of the plot twists and details, but oh I loved it.

And perhaps one of the best parts of the book is the main character herself, Kyr. She's so annoying. Well, I guess, not anymore. Because in those 400+ pages, she has annoyed me, frustrated me, confused me, made me sympathize with her, made me understand her, touched my heart, made me root for her. She made me love her. Kyr is such a complex and compelling character, and I just loved being on this journey with her.

Overall, Some Desperate Glory was an incredible and expansive book. If you give it a try you might like it too. 

CW: death, genocide, murders, mentions of rape/sexual harassment, homophobia, transphobia/queerphobia 

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