Emily's Reviews > Some Desperate Glory

I had a great time reading this book, because there is so much PLOT! I really enjoyed how fast-paced and interesting it was, even though many of the threads of the book felt like they had been done before (this reads like Ender's Game crossed with Gideon the Ninth crossed with every YA dystopia of the last 20 years). Honestly, I thought the strength of the book was its willingness to forcibly move the plot forward, because the characters can feel somewhat two-dimensional. But if you like space operas, you'll probably like this book.

Some thoughts: (view spoiler)[

- I'm really surprised by how many reviewers cite Kyr's perspective as a deterrent for the book. Kyr is obviously unlikeable. I enjoy reading books where the protagonist has to slowly learn that their world is off-kilter in some way, and there's so little nuance to the Kyr/Gaea arc that I'm surprised this was an issue. I found the Val perspective to be much more interesting. (How do you write someone who has been brainwashed in a more "civilized" way?)

- Characterization was reaaaaaally tough in this book, mostly because Magnus and Kyr's relationship supposedly drives much of the plot. It's laughable that Magnus thinks that Kyr would be okay with her assignment to Nursery, to the point where it's clear he's never thought about the world from her perspective at all. The opposite of course is also true (Kyr interprets Magnus's eternal laziness differently than he does), but the read was just so bad that it threw me off of their entire relationship. Kyr also has to radically change over the course of the novel and it feels like a complete 180 from her previous beliefs in a short time. I'm not sure the book convinced me.

- The start of this book makes it seem like Gaea has been in existence for generations, and then later you find out that it's only been around for what ... thirty years? This makes sense (especially from Kyr's perspective) but it still surprised me.

- There's some tumblr writing happening in this book ... a lot of italics, a lot of emphasis where questions end with periods as punctuation. I don't think this is particularly obvious. It just struck me as interesting.

- It feels unique that humanity physically dominates and becomes a large, scary predator. I think many space operas I've read assume that the aliens are scarier. The idea that aliens quail before the huge specter of a human was so funny. Humans ARE a crazy and warlike species! What's going on with us!!

- I really liked the Wisdom and the appearance of a young Priest. Yiso was a great character. I almost wish that Tesh had gone for it and killed Kyr and Yiso at the end. Is that crazy?? (hide spoiler)]