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The Genesis of Misery
Goodreads Choice Award
Nominee for Readers' Favorite Science Fiction (2022)An immersive, electrifying space-fantasy from Neon Yang, author of The Black Tides of Heaven, full of high-tech space battles and political machinations, starring a queer and diverse array of pilots, princesses, and prophetic heirs.
This is the story of Misery Nomaki (she/they) – a nobody from a nowhere mining planet who possesses the rare stone-working powers of a saint. Unfortunately, these saint-like abilities also manifest in those succumbing to voidmadness, like that which killed Misery’s mother. Knowing they aren’t a saint but praying they aren’t voidmad, Misery keeps quiet about their power for years, while dreaming and scheming up ways off their Forge-forsaken planet.
But when the voice of an angel, or a very convincing delusion, leads Misery to the center of the Empire, they find themself trapped between two powerful and dangerous factions, each hoping to use Misery to win a terrible war.
Still waiting to be convinced of their own divinity and secretly training with a crew of outlaws and outcasts, Misery grows close to a rebel royal, Lady Alodia Lightning, who may know something of saints and prophecy herself. The voice that guides Misery grows bolder by the day, and it seems the madness is catching…
This is the story of Misery Nomaki (she/they) – a nobody from a nowhere mining planet who possesses the rare stone-working powers of a saint. Unfortunately, these saint-like abilities also manifest in those succumbing to voidmadness, like that which killed Misery’s mother. Knowing they aren’t a saint but praying they aren’t voidmad, Misery keeps quiet about their power for years, while dreaming and scheming up ways off their Forge-forsaken planet.
But when the voice of an angel, or a very convincing delusion, leads Misery to the center of the Empire, they find themself trapped between two powerful and dangerous factions, each hoping to use Misery to win a terrible war.
Still waiting to be convinced of their own divinity and secretly training with a crew of outlaws and outcasts, Misery grows close to a rebel royal, Lady Alodia Lightning, who may know something of saints and prophecy herself. The voice that guides Misery grows bolder by the day, and it seems the madness is catching…
432 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 27, 2022
About the author
Neon Yang
16 books585 followersNeon Yang, formerly J.Y. Yang, is a Singaporean writer of English-language speculative fiction. Yang is non-binary and queer, and uses they/them pronouns.
Yang has written a series of "silkpunk" novellas, and has published short fiction since 2012. Their novella The Black Tides of Heaven was nominated for the 2017 Nebula Award for Best Novella, the 2018 Kitschies Golden Tentacle and the 2018 Hugo Award for Best Novella.
Yang's work revolves around "the human body as a vessel for storytelling", and is based on their background as a molecular biologist, journalist and science communicator.
Yang has written a series of "silkpunk" novellas, and has published short fiction since 2012. Their novella The Black Tides of Heaven was nominated for the 2017 Nebula Award for Best Novella, the 2018 Kitschies Golden Tentacle and the 2018 Hugo Award for Best Novella.
Yang's work revolves around "the human body as a vessel for storytelling", and is based on their background as a molecular biologist, journalist and science communicator.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 564 reviews
September 4, 2022
This book was described as Joan of Arc in space but let me take that a little further. This is Joan of Arc meets Gideon the Ninth with a touch of Pacific Rim thrown in as a treat. A mind-blowing rollercoaster ride of a space opera, propulsive and strange in the best way. The story twists tropes and challenges expectations, all while maintaining an impressive balance of lyrical and cutting-edge prose. And the religion/chosen one/messiah vibe? Like it was made for me. I loved it and cannot wait for book two.
September 30, 2022
4.00 Stars. Queer Joan of Arc meets ‘Pacific Rim’. I was really excited to read this book. I love anything with mechs, and I have wanted to read something by Neon Yang, who used to write under JY Yang, so this looked like the perfect fit for me. It’s heavy sci-fi with a mix of fantasy and maybe military fantasy and I found myself quite drawn into this world Yang created and was happy to go along for the ride.
I’m a little late on this review. I actually started reading this book on Sunday, thinking I would finish on Monday and post my review when it released Tuesday, but that was in error since I finally finished last night (Friday) because this book ended up being a slog for me. I know that when you normally say slog and book in the same sentence that it means a bad thing but it doesn’t really here, it just means the truth. While this book had some great action moments, it was a slower read. I read Iron Widow, another mech book this year and I flew through it as it was mostly just entertainment. This book was pretty hardcore sci-fi and you had to read things carefully so you could catch everything that was going on. It’s not one of those books that you have no idea what you are reading, I understood everything but I had to read carefully.
Another issue that I think slowed down the pace of reading for me was the third person narrative form of storytelling from a character that is not the main character. Coming from someone that actually loves first person and close psychic distance to the main character, this type to faraway feeling from the main character would really irk me at times. Sometimes Yang could get you close enough so you would feel what Misery was feeling, other times I was too far away and I was only being told what Misery was experiencing instead.
The book was wonderfully queer. Misery she/they is the main character. I noticed that some people didn’t care for this but because of computer chip implants, everyone’s pronouns are always introduced when new characters are introduced to each other. I saw that some readers didn’t like reading all the pronouns but I thought it was interesting since I have never seen so many used in the same book. Sexuality is very fluid and it is not even spoken about with any issues. Misery sleeps with people with he/him pronouns but has her main relationship with someone who uses she/her. I’m being vague on purpose because I don’t want to say who it is because Misery’s relationship with this person, that she has real feelings for, is one of the only real relationships that she has in the whole book so it is too important to give away.
In this book, people believe that Misery is the messiah they’ve been waiting for and that she will help the religious faithful in the mech war against the heretics. Misery, doesn’t believe in any of it and while she has a few powers, she thinks she is going crazy so she doesn’t mind pretending in hope of escaping The Crown who doesn’t seem to be happy of her arrival anyway. This right there is where the book really shined. It was a great premise and when Misery was her snarky but badass self, were some of my absolutely favorite parts. There were still parts that I really enjoyed later on, but I think besides the character of Misery’s partner, most of the secondary characters just needed a little more character building. They were all close but just not quite there. And while the book was decent size already, the time jumps took away from precious character building time that was needed with other characters. Adding some extra page length to a book like this would have been fine and welcomed for that issue.
TLDR: This was a pretty hardcore sci-fi book. I had some definite issue with it, but in the end, I’m a sucker for badass women and nb characters and mechs so this was still any easy 4 stars for me. This book is a slower read, it took me 3-4 times what I expected, but because I read carefully, I found I was able to understand almost everything. This is NOT one of those ‘WTH did I just read’ books, it’s just not an easy read. I don’t know if this is the end of Misery or not. With the ending Yang really left it either way but I would absolutely read a second book because I believe Misery has some unfinished business to attend.
A copy was kindly given to me for an honest review.
I’m a little late on this review. I actually started reading this book on Sunday, thinking I would finish on Monday and post my review when it released Tuesday, but that was in error since I finally finished last night (Friday) because this book ended up being a slog for me. I know that when you normally say slog and book in the same sentence that it means a bad thing but it doesn’t really here, it just means the truth. While this book had some great action moments, it was a slower read. I read Iron Widow, another mech book this year and I flew through it as it was mostly just entertainment. This book was pretty hardcore sci-fi and you had to read things carefully so you could catch everything that was going on. It’s not one of those books that you have no idea what you are reading, I understood everything but I had to read carefully.
Another issue that I think slowed down the pace of reading for me was the third person narrative form of storytelling from a character that is not the main character. Coming from someone that actually loves first person and close psychic distance to the main character, this type to faraway feeling from the main character would really irk me at times. Sometimes Yang could get you close enough so you would feel what Misery was feeling, other times I was too far away and I was only being told what Misery was experiencing instead.
The book was wonderfully queer. Misery she/they is the main character. I noticed that some people didn’t care for this but because of computer chip implants, everyone’s pronouns are always introduced when new characters are introduced to each other. I saw that some readers didn’t like reading all the pronouns but I thought it was interesting since I have never seen so many used in the same book. Sexuality is very fluid and it is not even spoken about with any issues. Misery sleeps with people with he/him pronouns but has her main relationship with someone who uses she/her. I’m being vague on purpose because I don’t want to say who it is because Misery’s relationship with this person, that she has real feelings for, is one of the only real relationships that she has in the whole book so it is too important to give away.
In this book, people believe that Misery is the messiah they’ve been waiting for and that she will help the religious faithful in the mech war against the heretics. Misery, doesn’t believe in any of it and while she has a few powers, she thinks she is going crazy so she doesn’t mind pretending in hope of escaping The Crown who doesn’t seem to be happy of her arrival anyway. This right there is where the book really shined. It was a great premise and when Misery was her snarky but badass self, were some of my absolutely favorite parts. There were still parts that I really enjoyed later on, but I think besides the character of Misery’s partner, most of the secondary characters just needed a little more character building. They were all close but just not quite there. And while the book was decent size already, the time jumps took away from precious character building time that was needed with other characters. Adding some extra page length to a book like this would have been fine and welcomed for that issue.
TLDR: This was a pretty hardcore sci-fi book. I had some definite issue with it, but in the end, I’m a sucker for badass women and nb characters and mechs so this was still any easy 4 stars for me. This book is a slower read, it took me 3-4 times what I expected, but because I read carefully, I found I was able to understand almost everything. This is NOT one of those ‘WTH did I just read’ books, it’s just not an easy read. I don’t know if this is the end of Misery or not. With the ending Yang really left it either way but I would absolutely read a second book because I believe Misery has some unfinished business to attend.
A copy was kindly given to me for an honest review.
September 27, 2022
The Genesis of Misery and I didn't exactly gel together.
On both a narrative and craft level, I struggled with The Genesis of Misery. Narratively, it is just too insular. For almost 50% of the book, the only character that's developed in any kind of capacity, who we get any insight on, is Misery. During that span of the novel, other characters only exist for Misery to react to: to agree with, or act against, or listen to, or speculate about. They are not, in any real sense of the word, developed characters. It's only after we get past that first 50-60% of the novel that other characters start making a place for themselves in the narrative (i.e. start actually being developed), but by that point it was just too little too late for me. To put it simply: there weren't enough developed characters in this novel, and by the time we did get some, it was too rushed and just not enough.
Don't get me wrong, I liked Misery. She has a very strong narrative voice, a fallibility and a rolling-with-the-punches kind of attitude that makes it easy to be endeared to her. Thing is, we were in her head--and only in her head--for so long. It got to be a little frustrating: I wanted her to do something that wasn't just thinking or speculating or ruminating or dreaming. It's why I was desperate for more characters, an opportunity to let us get to know Misery through her interactions with other characters, who could then be developed themselves. Also, none of this was helped by the fact that the plot of the book is very sequential: Misery talks to some people, Misery goes to a new location, Misery trains, Misery does a mission, Misery is given another mission, etc. etc. It made me restless, especially because, like I said, all of this was heavily focused on Misery with very little development from other characters until much later on in the story.
In terms of craft, I struggled a bit with the writing of this novel. On the one hand, I liked how colloquial Misery's voice was (she swears a lot, uses a lot of slang, etc.), and I also didn't mind the way Yang incorporated some internet lingo throughout the story (there is, in fact, a "yeet" in this book). The thing about The Genesis of Misery, though, is that it operates on two kinds of registers: the super personal, colloquial one, and the super grandiose, larger-than-life one. At a certain point, some things happen in the book that change Misery's perspective, and that's when she starts looking at her world with a much grander scope, and where that grandiose register starts popping up. And it's not even that I didn't like it, or that it was badly written--it was just so repetitive. We have to read the same kind of super grandiose, over-the-top language over and over and over again, and frankly it started irritating me by the end of the novel.
The Genesis of Misery was the kind of novel that structurally did not work for me--and that in fact could not have worked for me. A novel whose story is primarily invested in only one character, a novel that only substantially develops that one character, is just not the kind of novel that I, personally, enjoy reading. I'm a reader whose investment lies in the interpersonal moreso than anything, and at the end of the day that's really what I was missing from The Genesis of Misery.
Thanks so much to Tor for providing me with an e-ARC of this via NetGalley!
On both a narrative and craft level, I struggled with The Genesis of Misery. Narratively, it is just too insular. For almost 50% of the book, the only character that's developed in any kind of capacity, who we get any insight on, is Misery. During that span of the novel, other characters only exist for Misery to react to: to agree with, or act against, or listen to, or speculate about. They are not, in any real sense of the word, developed characters. It's only after we get past that first 50-60% of the novel that other characters start making a place for themselves in the narrative (i.e. start actually being developed), but by that point it was just too little too late for me. To put it simply: there weren't enough developed characters in this novel, and by the time we did get some, it was too rushed and just not enough.
Don't get me wrong, I liked Misery. She has a very strong narrative voice, a fallibility and a rolling-with-the-punches kind of attitude that makes it easy to be endeared to her. Thing is, we were in her head--and only in her head--for so long. It got to be a little frustrating: I wanted her to do something that wasn't just thinking or speculating or ruminating or dreaming. It's why I was desperate for more characters, an opportunity to let us get to know Misery through her interactions with other characters, who could then be developed themselves. Also, none of this was helped by the fact that the plot of the book is very sequential: Misery talks to some people, Misery goes to a new location, Misery trains, Misery does a mission, Misery is given another mission, etc. etc. It made me restless, especially because, like I said, all of this was heavily focused on Misery with very little development from other characters until much later on in the story.
In terms of craft, I struggled a bit with the writing of this novel. On the one hand, I liked how colloquial Misery's voice was (she swears a lot, uses a lot of slang, etc.), and I also didn't mind the way Yang incorporated some internet lingo throughout the story (there is, in fact, a "yeet" in this book). The thing about The Genesis of Misery, though, is that it operates on two kinds of registers: the super personal, colloquial one, and the super grandiose, larger-than-life one. At a certain point, some things happen in the book that change Misery's perspective, and that's when she starts looking at her world with a much grander scope, and where that grandiose register starts popping up. And it's not even that I didn't like it, or that it was badly written--it was just so repetitive. We have to read the same kind of super grandiose, over-the-top language over and over and over again, and frankly it started irritating me by the end of the novel.
The Genesis of Misery was the kind of novel that structurally did not work for me--and that in fact could not have worked for me. A novel whose story is primarily invested in only one character, a novel that only substantially develops that one character, is just not the kind of novel that I, personally, enjoy reading. I'm a reader whose investment lies in the interpersonal moreso than anything, and at the end of the day that's really what I was missing from The Genesis of Misery.
Thanks so much to Tor for providing me with an e-ARC of this via NetGalley!
November 6, 2022
Update! Spoiler-free Video Review: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_1dn...
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Joan of Arc. But make it a space opera that explicitly explores her gender fluidity and uncertainty about the validity of her calling. With incredible world-building that is steeped in religious language, history, themes, and references. And a style that merges the feel and scope of classic space operas with very modern sensibilities. Yeah... Neon Yang is brilliant. And I think fans of Gideon the Ninth should give this a try, especially if they have a more religious background.
Listen, I realize this book will not be for everyone. But wow was it for me. I'm still thinking about it and considering whether it might be a favorite of the year. I also might do a more comprehensive video review, but I need to gather my thoughts because there is a lot to say.
*********************************************
Joan of Arc. But make it a space opera that explicitly explores her gender fluidity and uncertainty about the validity of her calling. With incredible world-building that is steeped in religious language, history, themes, and references. And a style that merges the feel and scope of classic space operas with very modern sensibilities. Yeah... Neon Yang is brilliant. And I think fans of Gideon the Ninth should give this a try, especially if they have a more religious background.
Listen, I realize this book will not be for everyone. But wow was it for me. I'm still thinking about it and considering whether it might be a favorite of the year. I also might do a more comprehensive video review, but I need to gather my thoughts because there is a lot to say.
October 15, 2022
This novel comes across as though it has a lot of interesting ideas to deconstruct, but it mainly plays them straight. Based on the synopsis and prologue, I expected a lyrically written criticism of religion through a sci-fi lens that also does interesting things with gender. While the use of pronouns in this book is innovative and inclusive, the rest of my expectations were not met.
The writing would have been better if the entire book were written in the same tone and voice as the prologue and interludes. I understand that the use of modern day slang in the majority of the book is supposed to communicate Misery's background and irreverence, but it was just jarring to see "yeet" in this setting and I only think it will serve to make the book age poorly. The narrator had to constantly tell the reader that someone was well-spoken or came to a smart conclusion - it was never obvious to the reader through the dialogue itself that someone was speaking effectively, and the conclusions that were referred to as "genius" seemed obvious.
Speaking of obvious conclusions, most of the "reveals" throughout the story were things that I thought the reader was supposed to have intuited for themselves. I think the author wanted to deconstruct the Larex Forge religion etc, but didn't do so to the level that I wanted from the story. Some spoiler examples: I wanted the book to go much deeper into the specifics of the Faithful and the Heretics and what they believed, but what we got was fairly lackluster. The author might be saving those interesting bits of the world for a second book given the inconclusive ending, but there was so much action filler and so little meat and character development in this one that I think it could have been done in one book.
Misery is a very frustrating character to read, and in more than just the ways that I think the reader is supposed to find Misery frustrating. They continue to believe themselves crazy even when presented with objective evidence to the contrary, and I think this is because the plot needed them to think so (and as a nitpicky pet peeve - even if Ruin had been a product of voidmadness, zie would technically have been a hallucination - not a delusion). Misery also engages in a lot of awkward and purposeless sex scenes that were just uncomfortable to read. From the start of the book, Misery seems irreverent towards the Forge religion - but when a character begins to offer some of the deconstruction I was looking for, Misery only reacts with violence and prevents the reader from learning more. This felt inconsistent and as though Misery's beliefs changed according to the needs of the plot.
In general, many aspects of this book just didn't come across to me the way I think they were meant to come across (the clones for example - I never found them creepy, I just felt bad for them. Justice for clones). I was bored by the constant sermonizing and the characters' lack of agency in anticipation of a greater fate. I spent the whole book waiting for interesting and juicy details about the world that never came while watching barely developed characters practice fighting each other in mechs. While the gender inclusion was neat, it wasn't enough to rescue a story that just didn't work for me.
The writing would have been better if the entire book were written in the same tone and voice as the prologue and interludes. I understand that the use of modern day slang in the majority of the book is supposed to communicate Misery's background and irreverence, but it was just jarring to see "yeet" in this setting and I only think it will serve to make the book age poorly. The narrator had to constantly tell the reader that someone was well-spoken or came to a smart conclusion - it was never obvious to the reader through the dialogue itself that someone was speaking effectively, and the conclusions that were referred to as "genius" seemed obvious.
Speaking of obvious conclusions, most of the "reveals" throughout the story were things that I thought the reader was supposed to have intuited for themselves. I think the author wanted to deconstruct the Larex Forge religion etc, but didn't do so to the level that I wanted from the story. Some spoiler examples: I wanted the book to go much deeper into the specifics of the Faithful and the Heretics and what they believed, but what we got was fairly lackluster. The author might be saving those interesting bits of the world for a second book given the inconclusive ending, but there was so much action filler and so little meat and character development in this one that I think it could have been done in one book.
Misery is a very frustrating character to read, and in more than just the ways that I think the reader is supposed to find Misery frustrating. They continue to believe themselves crazy even when presented with objective evidence to the contrary, and I think this is because the plot needed them to think so (and as a nitpicky pet peeve - even if Ruin had been a product of voidmadness, zie would technically have been a hallucination - not a delusion). Misery also engages in a lot of awkward and purposeless sex scenes that were just uncomfortable to read. From the start of the book, Misery seems irreverent towards the Forge religion - but when a character begins to offer some of the deconstruction I was looking for, Misery only reacts with violence and prevents the reader from learning more. This felt inconsistent and as though Misery's beliefs changed according to the needs of the plot.
In general, many aspects of this book just didn't come across to me the way I think they were meant to come across (the clones for example - I never found them creepy, I just felt bad for them. Justice for clones). I was bored by the constant sermonizing and the characters' lack of agency in anticipation of a greater fate. I spent the whole book waiting for interesting and juicy details about the world that never came while watching barely developed characters practice fighting each other in mechs. While the gender inclusion was neat, it wasn't enough to rescue a story that just didn't work for me.
April 30, 2023
I was really happy to learn after I finished this that it's going to be a trilogy, but I probably should have been able to figure that out by the title!
The Genesis of Misery reads as an epic mystic sci-fi. Even at the start of the book you can tell that the story will be a large affair. It is all driven by the destiny of the main character, Misery, and is constantly moving forward. Yang also uses what I would call an advanced set of pronouns for each character, which is very inclusive and I'm hopeful to see this trend continue in future books.
The biggest drawback of the book is I feel it doesn't explain the antagonists too well, I felt that could be fleshed out more. There are also a couple other things I would have liked fleshed out more but won't go into since it would include spoilers.
The Genesis of Misery reads as an epic mystic sci-fi. Even at the start of the book you can tell that the story will be a large affair. It is all driven by the destiny of the main character, Misery, and is constantly moving forward. Yang also uses what I would call an advanced set of pronouns for each character, which is very inclusive and I'm hopeful to see this trend continue in future books.
The biggest drawback of the book is I feel it doesn't explain the antagonists too well, I felt that could be fleshed out more. There are also a couple other things I would have liked fleshed out more but won't go into since it would include spoilers.
May 11, 2022
Actual footage of me after finishing this book:
I mean this in the best possible way, but what the fuck did I just read!?!
The Genesis of Misery is an epic space opera that tells the story of Misery Nomaki (she/they). Misery is from a nowhere town, but possess the abilities of a stone-working saint. They're unsure if these powers are the sign of sainthood or voidmadness, which she saw her mother succumb to. Misery doesn't want to be either of these options and so they keep silent while dreaming of ways off her home planet. Then a very convincing delusion (or an angel who knows), brings Misery to the center of the Empire and they find herself trapped between two powerful and dangerous factions.
This fucking book. I really hope this is a series because I need more of Misery, more of Ruin, more of Lady Alodia Lightning and more of this world. I want to know everything about the religion in this book, it is so fascinating!!! And the way queerness is NEVER once vilified by it is just *chefs kisses*. There is also a nonbinary archbishop.
I loved how this book truly centers nonbinary and trans characters in a way I have not seen before in Adult fiction. There are a couple YA books that have done similar things, namely Victories Greater Than Death and Cute Mutants Vol 1: Mutant Pride. Since this story is narrated from an omniscient narrator that is following Misery, every new character is introduced as "name, pronouns" and no one is ever misgendered or deadnamed.
Then there's the plot and worldbuilding. There is so much going on in this world and I cannot wait to learn more. I feel like I'm not smart enough to follow this book at some points, but I also love how it continues to surprise me. The ending has set us up for SOME SHIT and I am so pumped.
Rep: sapphic agender/nixen MC, sapphic cis female side character, various nonbinary side characters using a variety of pronouns including neopronouns, two sapphic trans women side characters, cis female side character with prosthetic limbs, queer-normative world.
CWs: Violence, mass murder, war, religious bigotry, injury/injury detail, blood, sexual content, death, death of parent, confinement, gun violence, kidnapping, medical content, murder. Moderate: grief.
I mean this in the best possible way, but what the fuck did I just read!?!
The Genesis of Misery is an epic space opera that tells the story of Misery Nomaki (she/they). Misery is from a nowhere town, but possess the abilities of a stone-working saint. They're unsure if these powers are the sign of sainthood or voidmadness, which she saw her mother succumb to. Misery doesn't want to be either of these options and so they keep silent while dreaming of ways off her home planet. Then a very convincing delusion (or an angel who knows), brings Misery to the center of the Empire and they find herself trapped between two powerful and dangerous factions.
This fucking book. I really hope this is a series because I need more of Misery, more of Ruin, more of Lady Alodia Lightning and more of this world. I want to know everything about the religion in this book, it is so fascinating!!! And the way queerness is NEVER once vilified by it is just *chefs kisses*. There is also a nonbinary archbishop.
I loved how this book truly centers nonbinary and trans characters in a way I have not seen before in Adult fiction. There are a couple YA books that have done similar things, namely Victories Greater Than Death and Cute Mutants Vol 1: Mutant Pride. Since this story is narrated from an omniscient narrator that is following Misery, every new character is introduced as "name, pronouns" and no one is ever misgendered or deadnamed.
Then there's the plot and worldbuilding. There is so much going on in this world and I cannot wait to learn more. I feel like I'm not smart enough to follow this book at some points, but I also love how it continues to surprise me. The ending has set us up for SOME SHIT and I am so pumped.
Rep: sapphic agender/nixen MC, sapphic cis female side character, various nonbinary side characters using a variety of pronouns including neopronouns, two sapphic trans women side characters, cis female side character with prosthetic limbs, queer-normative world.
CWs: Violence, mass murder, war, religious bigotry, injury/injury detail, blood, sexual content, death, death of parent, confinement, gun violence, kidnapping, medical content, murder. Moderate: grief.
September 15, 2022
3.5 stars
This is a unique piece of science fiction with strong elements of fantasy. Knowing the author's previous work, I was not surprised to see gender identity play a prominent role in the narrative.
The prose was quite pretty and lyrical. The narrative actually reminded me slightly of Octavia E Butler. I prefer science fiction more grounded in science so this one was a bit more fantastical for my tastes.
Wth the Tensorate series, the strength of the novellas were the worldbuilding. However this was more focused on the characters which just is not their strength. This author has a talent for exploring imaginative ideas and I wish they had taken advantage of it in this novel.
I would recommend this to readers who are looking for imaginative diverse sci fantasy stories.
Disclaimer I received a copy of this book from the publisher.
This is a unique piece of science fiction with strong elements of fantasy. Knowing the author's previous work, I was not surprised to see gender identity play a prominent role in the narrative.
The prose was quite pretty and lyrical. The narrative actually reminded me slightly of Octavia E Butler. I prefer science fiction more grounded in science so this one was a bit more fantastical for my tastes.
Wth the Tensorate series, the strength of the novellas were the worldbuilding. However this was more focused on the characters which just is not their strength. This author has a talent for exploring imaginative ideas and I wish they had taken advantage of it in this novel.
I would recommend this to readers who are looking for imaginative diverse sci fantasy stories.
Disclaimer I received a copy of this book from the publisher.
Want to read
July 24, 2021I don't think there could be a better way to sell me on a book!!
-Joan of Arc retelling
-Space Opera
-"Robot Twist" !!!
-Going to be a trilogy?!
-Non-Binary MC and/or a main/prominent character that uses (according to lgbtqreads.com) She/They pronouns!
-Just the idea of mixing catholic imagery + robots omg
-Joan of Arc retelling
-Space Opera
-"Robot Twist" !!!
-Going to be a trilogy?!
-Non-Binary MC and/or a main/prominent character that uses (according to lgbtqreads.com) She/They pronouns!
-Just the idea of mixing catholic imagery + robots omg
October 14, 2022
I'm very sad, I thought this book was going to be amazing and it just… kind of falls short.
Misery was such a fun MC at the start of the book, everything I loved. She was snarky, she took no shit, she was full of chaotic goblin energy, and GODS she would rock your shit. It was so much fun to follow someone who hated the destiny they were being thrown into, who would've been a Messiah of circumstance! But then, Misery gets subdued and then changed entirely. The MC I fell in love with turns into something a little robotic and it's rather eerie. It feels sudden, all of that Misery that drew me in suddenly gone. It was a rather slow change, but the whole time I was hoping she would've pulled herself back, had a little bit of that chaotic energy. I can see where it comes into play for the book, that fanaticism makes you lose who you are, but it's just difficult when it happens to the biggest thing meant to tie you into the book.
It got boring.
I loved the world in this book, so rich and so intriguing. The null void, void sickness, the forge, even that little bit about how this "society" in space was formed was all so cool! The little bit of horrific elements surrounding Misery's mother's demise made me widen my eyes and shudder. I had to take a moment and reread that beautiful and haunting language because it was just so good. The void sickness was probably some of my favorite lore in the entire story, obviously making the Doctor one of my favorite characters. Something creepy is something so intriguing in a religious setting.
Where this book lost me though was when the characters, other than Misery, became more of props for her to react to instead of fleshed out characters she could have truly interacted with. Misery has a team and you see all of them arguing, no way in hell they're going to get along, and that's usually exciting because it makes room for the found family trope, it makes room for that intensive, character building moments I love in a story. But then an Interlude is inserted, I'm told weeks pass, and suddenly everyone on the team is buddy-buddy? Nope. Not for me. All that growth and group building that could've been done was blinked away and it really, really lost me. I wanted to experience it with them, not just nod my head along and accept it.
And it's not like that's the only time it happens. Lines like: Together they've endured so much since the violence of their first meeting…" rings hollow because all of that enduring went on behind the scenes. All I got to see was the characters being angry with one another. Timeskips and forcing me to believe friendships have grown when there wasn't a solid base level to begin with just doesn't work.
I loved the pronouns thrown in, that this society was so queernorm was phenomenal, especially in sci-fi where authors claim progressiveness in their story but you can see they don't really care. It took a minute to get used to but from the start I appreciated it (ideal world!). The writing was a little bit clunky, though. It took a while to get used to and while I did like the Interludes at first, these beautiful breaks of lore dumping that made me engrossed in the world, I came to dread them because it meant time lost with the characters.
The ending… oh boy. The ending. Don't I feel stupid. It felt like everything that happened between the beginning and the end was all pointless. I've said it before and I'll say it again, I don't like it when books treat the reader like they're stupid. Sure, it was poetic to have it end where it began, that was honestly a really good part and I enjoyed it thoroughly, but my god. The journey to get there? A whole bunch of nothing happened.
All in all, this book was a disappointment for me. It had so much potential but seemed to lose itself along the way. Some of the rushed character development was really frustrating and almost had me quit the book because it's why I'm reading, to get those small moments that never came or were brushed aside.
**Thank you to NetGalley and Tor Publishing for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.**
Misery was such a fun MC at the start of the book, everything I loved. She was snarky, she took no shit, she was full of chaotic goblin energy, and GODS she would rock your shit. It was so much fun to follow someone who hated the destiny they were being thrown into, who would've been a Messiah of circumstance! But then, Misery gets subdued and then changed entirely. The MC I fell in love with turns into something a little robotic and it's rather eerie. It feels sudden, all of that Misery that drew me in suddenly gone. It was a rather slow change, but the whole time I was hoping she would've pulled herself back, had a little bit of that chaotic energy. I can see where it comes into play for the book, that fanaticism makes you lose who you are, but it's just difficult when it happens to the biggest thing meant to tie you into the book.
It got boring.
I loved the world in this book, so rich and so intriguing. The null void, void sickness, the forge, even that little bit about how this "society" in space was formed was all so cool! The little bit of horrific elements surrounding Misery's mother's demise made me widen my eyes and shudder. I had to take a moment and reread that beautiful and haunting language because it was just so good. The void sickness was probably some of my favorite lore in the entire story, obviously making the Doctor one of my favorite characters. Something creepy is something so intriguing in a religious setting.
Where this book lost me though was when the characters, other than Misery, became more of props for her to react to instead of fleshed out characters she could have truly interacted with. Misery has a team and you see all of them arguing, no way in hell they're going to get along, and that's usually exciting because it makes room for the found family trope, it makes room for that intensive, character building moments I love in a story. But then an Interlude is inserted, I'm told weeks pass, and suddenly everyone on the team is buddy-buddy? Nope. Not for me. All that growth and group building that could've been done was blinked away and it really, really lost me. I wanted to experience it with them, not just nod my head along and accept it.
And it's not like that's the only time it happens. Lines like: Together they've endured so much since the violence of their first meeting…" rings hollow because all of that enduring went on behind the scenes. All I got to see was the characters being angry with one another. Timeskips and forcing me to believe friendships have grown when there wasn't a solid base level to begin with just doesn't work.
I loved the pronouns thrown in, that this society was so queernorm was phenomenal, especially in sci-fi where authors claim progressiveness in their story but you can see they don't really care. It took a minute to get used to but from the start I appreciated it (ideal world!). The writing was a little bit clunky, though. It took a while to get used to and while I did like the Interludes at first, these beautiful breaks of lore dumping that made me engrossed in the world, I came to dread them because it meant time lost with the characters.
The ending… oh boy. The ending. Don't I feel stupid. It felt like everything that happened between the beginning and the end was all pointless. I've said it before and I'll say it again, I don't like it when books treat the reader like they're stupid. Sure, it was poetic to have it end where it began, that was honestly a really good part and I enjoyed it thoroughly, but my god. The journey to get there? A whole bunch of nothing happened.
All in all, this book was a disappointment for me. It had so much potential but seemed to lose itself along the way. Some of the rushed character development was really frustrating and almost had me quit the book because it's why I'm reading, to get those small moments that never came or were brushed aside.
**Thank you to NetGalley and Tor Publishing for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.**
Want to read
January 31, 2022You had me at "Joan of Arc" and then grabbed me even further with "she/they"
November 20, 2022
Unpopular Opinion #137
I loved this author's The Tensorate Series: 3 Novellas, so I went in with real good cheer.
Here's what I would say to the author:
If you are to stick to using neopronouns, make it so that it flows with the characters, the story-arc, the worldbuilding; make it like Ann Leckie's Ancillary Justice; you are an author, for crying out loud, not a lecturer. Try to remember this.
If your MC starts out as a gutter-rat, cynical, distrusting politics and religion in equal measure - do not convert them to a Christian Messiah within the blink of an eye (one event! ONE!) and expect your audience (do you even write for an audience? Or is this pure self-indulgence?) to believe you and follow you along blindly. From swearing and lying but relatable MC to proselytizing and sermon-delivering fanatic follower in one fell, disappointing swoop.
If you have to use current day language, try to avoid internet-slang, you already know this doesn't age well - don't yeet stuff or people; in 10 years, nobody will understand - you are an author, for crying out loud etc. etc.
If you absolutely have to include sex-scenes, try to make them erotic. Hot, even. Irresistible. This takes some practise, but you are an author etc. etc.
If you want to keep your audience (do you even write for an audience etc. etc.?) try to explore at least some of the mysteries in your world-building; let your characters interact with the nullvoid, the Heretics even without resorting to holy violence and expletives; give us something that makes us want to pick up the next book; some answers should hook the reader. Maybe.
Irritating, too, that you should take your audience for dumb. Your "reveals" at the ending were nothing that wasn't clear from before the 40% mark () and yet, we are repeatedly, ad nauseam confronted with the MC's belief in "delusions" (hint: talk to a psychatrist before using such terms). What exactly for? I mean, Brutus was an honorable man - literally everybody has heard that at least once, so why repeat the insistent belief in "delusions" for > 20 times? Better write it out again, heh? You are an author, for crying out loud, not a lecturer. Try to remember this.
I learned after I finished, that this book was marketed as retelling of Joan of Arc, only in space and with neopronouns and awkward sex. Personally, I can't see the similarities, but you do you.
All that said - this might be the start of a trilogy or a series, but I will now escape Misery.
I loved this author's The Tensorate Series: 3 Novellas, so I went in with real good cheer.
Here's what I would say to the author:
If you are to stick to using neopronouns, make it so that it flows with the characters, the story-arc, the worldbuilding; make it like Ann Leckie's Ancillary Justice; you are an author, for crying out loud, not a lecturer. Try to remember this.
If your MC starts out as a gutter-rat, cynical, distrusting politics and religion in equal measure - do not convert them to a Christian Messiah within the blink of an eye (one event! ONE!) and expect your audience (do you even write for an audience? Or is this pure self-indulgence?) to believe you and follow you along blindly. From swearing and lying but relatable MC to proselytizing and sermon-delivering fanatic follower in one fell, disappointing swoop.
If you have to use current day language, try to avoid internet-slang, you already know this doesn't age well - don't yeet stuff or people; in 10 years, nobody will understand - you are an author, for crying out loud etc. etc.
If you absolutely have to include sex-scenes, try to make them erotic. Hot, even. Irresistible. This takes some practise, but you are an author etc. etc.
If you want to keep your audience (do you even write for an audience etc. etc.?) try to explore at least some of the mysteries in your world-building; let your characters interact with the nullvoid, the Heretics even without resorting to holy violence and expletives; give us something that makes us want to pick up the next book; some answers should hook the reader. Maybe.
Irritating, too, that you should take your audience for dumb. Your "reveals" at the ending were nothing that wasn't clear from before the 40% mark () and yet, we are repeatedly, ad nauseam confronted with the MC's belief in "delusions" (hint: talk to a psychatrist before using such terms). What exactly for? I mean, Brutus was an honorable man - literally everybody has heard that at least once, so why repeat the insistent belief in "delusions" for > 20 times? Better write it out again, heh? You are an author, for crying out loud, not a lecturer. Try to remember this.
I learned after I finished, that this book was marketed as retelling of Joan of Arc, only in space and with neopronouns and awkward sex. Personally, I can't see the similarities, but you do you.
All that said - this might be the start of a trilogy or a series, but I will now escape Misery.
July 30, 2022
Thank you NetGalley for this digital ARC.
As a non-binary person, I was excited to read this novel featuring non-binary and gender fluid characters. However the overly distant 3rd person narration was very difficult for me to follow. It was overwrought in a way that made it difficult to connect with and therefor sympathize with the characters. I felt like I was playing a video game and reading the scene description as I was playing. This might be great for some folks, but it just didn’t work for me. Introducing pronouns in the 3rd person narration was also jarring. It seemed an unusual choice instead of just using the correct pronouns as the narrator referred to the characters.
As a non-binary person, I was excited to read this novel featuring non-binary and gender fluid characters. However the overly distant 3rd person narration was very difficult for me to follow. It was overwrought in a way that made it difficult to connect with and therefor sympathize with the characters. I felt like I was playing a video game and reading the scene description as I was playing. This might be great for some folks, but it just didn’t work for me. Introducing pronouns in the 3rd person narration was also jarring. It seemed an unusual choice instead of just using the correct pronouns as the narrator referred to the characters.
October 12, 2022
CW: mass murder, religious extremism
I’m a huge fan of Neon Yang’s Tensorate series and have always wished the author would write more stories in that world. But I was still delighted when this first full length novel of theirs was announced and I’ve been eager to get to it. Despite getting the arc though, my reading slump prevailed and it’s only now when I managed to get my hands on the audiobook did I finally finish the book, and I think my wait was worth it.
This is a space opera set in a far futuristic world with quite a few intense action sequences, but ultimately it feels like a personal story of our main character - which makes the scope of the story wide as well as small, and I loved this dichotomy. The framing device used here with someone else narrating this story to others in the future is something I’ve come to enjoy, and I particularly liked getting to know the narrator’s opinions in some of the brief interludes. I know that this book is promoted as a queer Joan of Arc retelling but I know nothing about the Saint, so I will refrain from commenting about it. But the religious elements are definitely very strong here and I think that’s what made this a very unique experience for me. And it’s also such fun to see a very religious world, with almost a Christianity like religion, but in a very queer normative world where every character is introduced along with their pronouns, and gender and sexuality atleast are not the basis for any bigotry.
While having only a single character and their journey being a focal point of the story might have put me off coz I love having a huge cast of characters to love, I actually liked Misery. They are someone who just wanted to escape from their remote mining town and have a life of independence, hopefully, but are thrust into a centuries long religious war between the Faithful and the Heretics. They can’t be sure if they are going voidmad or are an actual prophecied Messiah - and if their constant companion Ruin is an Angel or a figment of their imagination - but they go along with it so they can survive. They are either hindered or helped in their endeavors by various people, one of whom becomes their lover but I don’t wanna spoil much, except that it’s a very intense and meaningful relationship for the both of them.
But where religion and messiahs are a thing, we can clearly see what will follow. While we get our action set pieces featuring spaceships and mechs and very advanced technology, the heart of this story is about what happens when religious fanaticism meets a very quick thinking, self assured person like Misery Nomaki; what happens when one person’s hubris borne out of the need for survival combines with the (maybe misguided) righteousness of a religious cause, and is equally hailed by others as a messiah and savior. It ends in messy confusion and destruction, but not necessarily enlightenment, but that’s what makes this a compelling story.
In the end, I don’t know if I can call this story enjoyable but I was engaged all through and loved following along with Misery on her journey towards greatness or infamy. This is definitely a story for those who love exploring religious themes through the lens of sci-fi, and I thought making it a queernorm world makes it’s a much more unique experience. This book feels very self contained, even if there are quite a few loose ends and I liked that. But I remember the author mentioning that the next book would be told through a new character’s POV, so now I’m eager to explore more of this world through another person’s eyes and hope we’ll still get glimpses of Misery and the others.
I’m a huge fan of Neon Yang’s Tensorate series and have always wished the author would write more stories in that world. But I was still delighted when this first full length novel of theirs was announced and I’ve been eager to get to it. Despite getting the arc though, my reading slump prevailed and it’s only now when I managed to get my hands on the audiobook did I finally finish the book, and I think my wait was worth it.
This is a space opera set in a far futuristic world with quite a few intense action sequences, but ultimately it feels like a personal story of our main character - which makes the scope of the story wide as well as small, and I loved this dichotomy. The framing device used here with someone else narrating this story to others in the future is something I’ve come to enjoy, and I particularly liked getting to know the narrator’s opinions in some of the brief interludes. I know that this book is promoted as a queer Joan of Arc retelling but I know nothing about the Saint, so I will refrain from commenting about it. But the religious elements are definitely very strong here and I think that’s what made this a very unique experience for me. And it’s also such fun to see a very religious world, with almost a Christianity like religion, but in a very queer normative world where every character is introduced along with their pronouns, and gender and sexuality atleast are not the basis for any bigotry.
While having only a single character and their journey being a focal point of the story might have put me off coz I love having a huge cast of characters to love, I actually liked Misery. They are someone who just wanted to escape from their remote mining town and have a life of independence, hopefully, but are thrust into a centuries long religious war between the Faithful and the Heretics. They can’t be sure if they are going voidmad or are an actual prophecied Messiah - and if their constant companion Ruin is an Angel or a figment of their imagination - but they go along with it so they can survive. They are either hindered or helped in their endeavors by various people, one of whom becomes their lover but I don’t wanna spoil much, except that it’s a very intense and meaningful relationship for the both of them.
But where religion and messiahs are a thing, we can clearly see what will follow. While we get our action set pieces featuring spaceships and mechs and very advanced technology, the heart of this story is about what happens when religious fanaticism meets a very quick thinking, self assured person like Misery Nomaki; what happens when one person’s hubris borne out of the need for survival combines with the (maybe misguided) righteousness of a religious cause, and is equally hailed by others as a messiah and savior. It ends in messy confusion and destruction, but not necessarily enlightenment, but that’s what makes this a compelling story.
In the end, I don’t know if I can call this story enjoyable but I was engaged all through and loved following along with Misery on her journey towards greatness or infamy. This is definitely a story for those who love exploring religious themes through the lens of sci-fi, and I thought making it a queernorm world makes it’s a much more unique experience. This book feels very self contained, even if there are quite a few loose ends and I liked that. But I remember the author mentioning that the next book would be told through a new character’s POV, so now I’m eager to explore more of this world through another person’s eyes and hope we’ll still get glimpses of Misery and the others.
March 19, 2023
1.5 stars, rounded up to 2. This review will have spoilers. Idgaf if you read them or not. This book pissed me off, and I will go rant about it now, in no special order.
I hate religious texts. And I especially hate people who glorify religious zealotry. I now realize it’s something that deeply triggers me, so excuse me while I rip into this book I despise.
When I heard this was a retelling of Joan of Arc, I thought it would be a subversive one. After all, it plays with that idea in the summary: Misery doesn’t believe in the hooey of prophecy, until maybe reconsidering it. I thought this would be interesting, bring in some depth to a legend I had never had any previous interest in. And I’m on a big sci fi kick this year and thought it would be a great read.
This is not accurate to how it feels in the book. I’ve seen more nuance in a middle grade book. No, this reads as a punishment turned text. I can feel the chastisement in Interlude 10 & the epilogue, hear the author chanting ‘na-na na-na boo-boo’ and pointing down to the reader as they read through 395+ pages of no substance with nothing having truly been gained after reading it. Making fun of the reader for not immediately being distrustful at all times and not thinking of the possibility of there being an unreliable narrator.
The prose in this book was strained and detached. Words like duodenal, pareidolia, and witsh are used fairly regularly in this novel, and not in any way to deepen our understanding of the world. The detatchment is so extreme I barely felt anything throughout the entire book. There also isn’t nearly enough dialogue to enhance character action, and most of the talking is Misery just convincing others. Which leads into another point I will talk about later: the secondary characters being written as just pawns. Everything has the vague pressure of someone being condescending to you, but in a way you hope will have some reasoning behind it, some catharsis and a releasing of all this unease.
It doesn’t.
By Chapter 9 I was questioning if I’d have to dnf this book. But by part three I was able to read quickly and I realized it wasn’t because I was enjoying any of this, it was because Misery had finally jumped the shark and finally sounded like the person Yang had wanted them to act like since the beginning.
Everything about this preordained stuff with glossy, showy prose that lights up in tiny bursts made me realize this was what Yang wanted to write, and the messy characterizations and meh plot beforehand was not the focus. And this bothers me deeply. By part 3, Misery has convinced themself into a corner and instead of going back and forth like the old Misery might have done, we have a new character to replace her. A Misery 2.0, to do all the stupid things Neon needs them to do in order to learn from it. This isn’t a human. The closest thing I can compare Misery to is a cult leader with the largest pair of blinders I could ever imagine on. I hate this part 3 version of Misery. And I understand why this book led up to this, and I hate it for that, too.
I agree with another reviewer about the lack of character depth. These stick drawings are made for Misery to interact and play with, and what could have been interesting subplots for the side characters dissolve into nothing, because they don’t matter. Nothing but weird alien gods do in this story.
Even one of the love interests, a women who seemed like would have an interesting reasoning for her behavior towards Misery, gets turned into a sad, shriveling creature who explains her backstory in a trite, flavorless manner the moment she gets ‘turned to godhood’.
The queerness and the normalization of things like pronouns is of course a positive. But will that save it from its prose and plotting? Fuck no.
On page 295, there’s an example of clear consent and just like everything except the religion in the book it reads as detached and dispassionate. Page 354 crawls up past my skin into my heart and rips it apart. I’m horrified by all of these pairings. They don’t feel natural. I feel like I'm delusional when reading sections like these two.
The interludes may just be the worst part. They started out interesting enough, giving us a third person omniscient POV with worldbuilding and historical context. But soon it devolves into the same condescension the rest of the book inhabits. I understand zie are creatures that are not the same as humans and love to talk about it, but it all starts to blur together and makes me not even care to read it.
I will consider to read Neon Yang’s other works, as part of this was my own personal biases against religious bullhockey, but I am not giving this a passing grade. The only character that was given the tiniest bit of nuance was Jericho, who isn't even in more than 100 pages of this book and only made me care as much as I did is because MISERY LITERALLY BREAKS HIS NECK WITH HER BOOT WHEN THEY'RE DREAMING. This was not a reading experience I care to have again.
Read this book if you want to suffer, and in the hopes there might be a better sequel to make this book have a better purpose for existing. That's about it.
I hate religious texts. And I especially hate people who glorify religious zealotry. I now realize it’s something that deeply triggers me, so excuse me while I rip into this book I despise.
When I heard this was a retelling of Joan of Arc, I thought it would be a subversive one. After all, it plays with that idea in the summary: Misery doesn’t believe in the hooey of prophecy, until maybe reconsidering it. I thought this would be interesting, bring in some depth to a legend I had never had any previous interest in. And I’m on a big sci fi kick this year and thought it would be a great read.
This is not accurate to how it feels in the book. I’ve seen more nuance in a middle grade book. No, this reads as a punishment turned text. I can feel the chastisement in Interlude 10 & the epilogue, hear the author chanting ‘na-na na-na boo-boo’ and pointing down to the reader as they read through 395+ pages of no substance with nothing having truly been gained after reading it. Making fun of the reader for not immediately being distrustful at all times and not thinking of the possibility of there being an unreliable narrator.
The prose in this book was strained and detached. Words like duodenal, pareidolia, and witsh are used fairly regularly in this novel, and not in any way to deepen our understanding of the world. The detatchment is so extreme I barely felt anything throughout the entire book. There also isn’t nearly enough dialogue to enhance character action, and most of the talking is Misery just convincing others. Which leads into another point I will talk about later: the secondary characters being written as just pawns. Everything has the vague pressure of someone being condescending to you, but in a way you hope will have some reasoning behind it, some catharsis and a releasing of all this unease.
It doesn’t.
By Chapter 9 I was questioning if I’d have to dnf this book. But by part three I was able to read quickly and I realized it wasn’t because I was enjoying any of this, it was because Misery had finally jumped the shark and finally sounded like the person Yang had wanted them to act like since the beginning.
Everything about this preordained stuff with glossy, showy prose that lights up in tiny bursts made me realize this was what Yang wanted to write, and the messy characterizations and meh plot beforehand was not the focus. And this bothers me deeply. By part 3, Misery has convinced themself into a corner and instead of going back and forth like the old Misery might have done, we have a new character to replace her. A Misery 2.0, to do all the stupid things Neon needs them to do in order to learn from it. This isn’t a human. The closest thing I can compare Misery to is a cult leader with the largest pair of blinders I could ever imagine on. I hate this part 3 version of Misery. And I understand why this book led up to this, and I hate it for that, too.
I agree with another reviewer about the lack of character depth. These stick drawings are made for Misery to interact and play with, and what could have been interesting subplots for the side characters dissolve into nothing, because they don’t matter. Nothing but weird alien gods do in this story.
Even one of the love interests, a women who seemed like would have an interesting reasoning for her behavior towards Misery, gets turned into a sad, shriveling creature who explains her backstory in a trite, flavorless manner the moment she gets ‘turned to godhood’.
The queerness and the normalization of things like pronouns is of course a positive. But will that save it from its prose and plotting? Fuck no.
On page 295, there’s an example of clear consent and just like everything except the religion in the book it reads as detached and dispassionate. Page 354 crawls up past my skin into my heart and rips it apart. I’m horrified by all of these pairings. They don’t feel natural. I feel like I'm delusional when reading sections like these two.
The interludes may just be the worst part. They started out interesting enough, giving us a third person omniscient POV with worldbuilding and historical context. But soon it devolves into the same condescension the rest of the book inhabits. I understand zie are creatures that are not the same as humans and love to talk about it, but it all starts to blur together and makes me not even care to read it.
I will consider to read Neon Yang’s other works, as part of this was my own personal biases against religious bullhockey, but I am not giving this a passing grade. The only character that was given the tiniest bit of nuance was Jericho, who isn't even in more than 100 pages of this book and only made me care as much as I did is because MISERY LITERALLY BREAKS HIS NECK WITH HER BOOT WHEN THEY'RE DREAMING. This was not a reading experience I care to have again.
Read this book if you want to suffer, and in the hopes there might be a better sequel to make this book have a better purpose for existing. That's about it.
August 26, 2023
The Genesis of Misery is insanity.
And I devoured every second of it.
(Thank you so very much TorBooks for sending me over a physical ARC to now cherish until book 2/3 are in my sights. I appreciate you guys as always.)
Anyways, this book was a ride. I’m definitely going to miss some points in my review because there’s so many potential topics I could bring up.
The prose, the use of gender pronouns, the science fictional world, the prophetic/religious aspects all blended together so seamlessly which is not what I would have expected going into this book. I was delighted that Yang ALSO managed to maintain all of these elements while giving us such a likable protagonist. The talent.
So to put it plainly, I was a massive fan of Misery; their internal struggle of experiencing a thing called “void sickness” whilst also having to come to terms with the idea that they might just be the Ninth Messiah was so captivating. Watching them battle those dichotomies made for such a good story, they couldn’t tell if they was one or the other, and neither could we.
Another cool element of this book was the writing device Yang used to tell parts of this story. They used a narrator set far into the future who reflected back on the events of Misery Nomaki’s role as the Ninth Messiah, and it made the story THAT much more intriguing.
The one downside I personally had—which is why this didn’t get 5 stars—were the supporting characters; Namely Alodia Lightning and their relationship with Misery. While I wanted to LOVE them and the dynamic constructed by Yang, they felt very stereotypical in a book that seemed like it was much too unique for such a rudimentary character with seen-before anger issues. Their entire personality for a good chunk of the book boiled down to an angry standoffish princess. And not that there’s an issue with that necessarily, but for some reason I didn’t personally appreciate it because everyone else felt so…unique. To add, Misery felt an instant urge to chase after her following ONE quick interaction and for me it wasn’t enough. Furthermore, when they begin to soften towards Misery…it felt rushed and not truly earned via their journey throughout the book. So, when very crucial moments occurred between them later on I was not as excited as I wanted to be, as I should have been.
Alodia aside, I had such a good time devouring this book and the world Yang has created. It’s delectable and unique and stands out from other sci-fi’s I have read. If you’re a Locked Tomb fan I would HIGHLY recommend this as something in that same vein!
And I devoured every second of it.
(Thank you so very much TorBooks for sending me over a physical ARC to now cherish until book 2/3 are in my sights. I appreciate you guys as always.)
Anyways, this book was a ride. I’m definitely going to miss some points in my review because there’s so many potential topics I could bring up.
The prose, the use of gender pronouns, the science fictional world, the prophetic/religious aspects all blended together so seamlessly which is not what I would have expected going into this book. I was delighted that Yang ALSO managed to maintain all of these elements while giving us such a likable protagonist. The talent.
So to put it plainly, I was a massive fan of Misery; their internal struggle of experiencing a thing called “void sickness” whilst also having to come to terms with the idea that they might just be the Ninth Messiah was so captivating. Watching them battle those dichotomies made for such a good story, they couldn’t tell if they was one or the other, and neither could we.
Another cool element of this book was the writing device Yang used to tell parts of this story. They used a narrator set far into the future who reflected back on the events of Misery Nomaki’s role as the Ninth Messiah, and it made the story THAT much more intriguing.
The one downside I personally had—which is why this didn’t get 5 stars—were the supporting characters; Namely Alodia Lightning and their relationship with Misery. While I wanted to LOVE them and the dynamic constructed by Yang, they felt very stereotypical in a book that seemed like it was much too unique for such a rudimentary character with seen-before anger issues. Their entire personality for a good chunk of the book boiled down to an angry standoffish princess. And not that there’s an issue with that necessarily, but for some reason I didn’t personally appreciate it because everyone else felt so…unique. To add, Misery felt an instant urge to chase after her following ONE quick interaction and for me it wasn’t enough. Furthermore, when they begin to soften towards Misery…it felt rushed and not truly earned via their journey throughout the book. So, when very crucial moments occurred between them later on I was not as excited as I wanted to be, as I should have been.
Alodia aside, I had such a good time devouring this book and the world Yang has created. It’s delectable and unique and stands out from other sci-fi’s I have read. If you’re a Locked Tomb fan I would HIGHLY recommend this as something in that same vein!
January 2, 2024
4.5*
Has it kind of been far too long since I read this book to still write a review? Maybe.
But I do actually still have the same thoughts to share about it as I would have had back in spring.
This book is such a fun ride, distinctly wild and a good bit bold. Usually, I don't enjoy grand space operas with space battles and such things, but this somehow worked for me. Maybe it's because of its originality - "Sure, I believe I'm mad, but let's pretend it's actually divine visions I have." Already the start pulled be in and left me intrigued and questioning. I also enjoyed the characters and their dynamics, with none of them truly likeable, but all of them have quite a personality. Only the end was a bit too convoluted for my taste, and with not sequel yet in sight, I'm still not sure what to make of it. In a way, that only adds to the overall feel of the book, tho. And just as a personal caveat, I don't like dreams in books that much, though the ones here are better then elsewhere.
Has it kind of been far too long since I read this book to still write a review? Maybe.
But I do actually still have the same thoughts to share about it as I would have had back in spring.
This book is such a fun ride, distinctly wild and a good bit bold. Usually, I don't enjoy grand space operas with space battles and such things, but this somehow worked for me. Maybe it's because of its originality - "Sure, I believe I'm mad, but let's pretend it's actually divine visions I have." Already the start pulled be in and left me intrigued and questioning. I also enjoyed the characters and their dynamics, with none of them truly likeable, but all of them have quite a personality. Only the end was a bit too convoluted for my taste, and with not sequel yet in sight, I'm still not sure what to make of it. In a way, that only adds to the overall feel of the book, tho. And just as a personal caveat, I don't like dreams in books that much, though the ones here are better then elsewhere.
November 18, 2022
I was so, so excited for this book. It’s brimming with incredible ideas and gets a lot of things right—a strong narrative voice, a distinct queernormative setting, a unique take on Joan of Arc. But I still had to DRAG myself through it. I’ll check out the next installment in the series (hopefully there will be one!), but this book isn’t a new favorite, alas.
Shelved as 'dnf'
April 7, 2023DNF 5%
I was going to try to get through more of this but I keep seeing increasingly negative reviews from my mutuals so I no longer have any interest. I knew this was going to be rough pretty early on because I found the writing grating and I was immediately bored.
I was going to try to get through more of this but I keep seeing increasingly negative reviews from my mutuals so I no longer have any interest. I knew this was going to be rough pretty early on because I found the writing grating and I was immediately bored.
December 2, 2024
It's hard to write a review while I'm still processing, but for now, I'll say that I liked this book but am left with a lot of questions. I feel like I just read a prequel to a much larger tale, but I know exactly nothing about the main story. It's like watching the Phantom Menace without actually knowing who Darth Vader is and his ultimate fate.
The initial set-up was a little disorienting, and it took me a few chapters before I had a handle on the world. In some ways, I'm reminded of Dune-- a world of magic and science, mysterious machinations, tragic Messiah, sink or swim world building, fear of thinking machines (that I desperately want to know more about). I don't think this will be quite as expansive as Dune, but the structure and scope of Yang's first full length novel is ambitious and I appreciate their approach.
I will say that the book really picks up at the halfway point. Prior to the 50 percent mark, it's slow. I didn't mind that buildup, but it did take patience to see where things were going.
As for the writing itself, I get echoes of The Locked Tomb. Some odd modern word choices (yeet being a notable example, although there were others), which I always feel a little conflicted about in writing. Nevertheless, I didn't find that too distracting, and it had a strong and definitive voice. I do think the narrative could be deliberately ambiguous to leave the reader unmoored, similar to the writing in Gideon and Harrow.
I think we're supposed to cling to Misery as the only familiar character and the protagonist. Her progressive emotional distance from the audience and her increasingly uncomfortable actions and thoughts make it hard to ever sit comfortably with her for too long. I don't necessarily hate Misery, but I do pity her to some degree. She is a small fish in a big pond trying to be a holy shark, and putting on an archangel mech does not help her in her worldly ignorance.
I am left with many questions like:
SPOILERS BELOW
Why does the Throne want peace with the Heretics? What will that mean for this empire?
What technology do the Heretics use? How do they harness the nullvoid? Is the nullvoid something like dark matter? Do my speculations even make sense??
Is there any truth to the religion of the Faithful, or is it all lies? What does the Church know, what secrets did it cover up about reality? (Because what's a church without secrets)
What's the deal with AI in this world? Do the Heretics use AI to operate their ships and come up with technology? Was Ruin ever real? Is Ruin an AI program with an agenda??
What are childstones? They are somehow linked to telepathy, but there is no context for these. And Misery's telepathy is still mostly unaddressed, and I assume that's in the next book, but dang it was frustrating to barely explore that.
I almost want to reread it now that I know what's happening, to see if I missed some obvious answers to my questions.
There's a lot to think about and a lot I found very interesting, but I can see why this book wouldn't land for a lot of folks. I do think I'll pick up the next book whenever it comes out!
The initial set-up was a little disorienting, and it took me a few chapters before I had a handle on the world. In some ways, I'm reminded of Dune-- a world of magic and science, mysterious machinations, tragic Messiah, sink or swim world building, fear of thinking machines (that I desperately want to know more about). I don't think this will be quite as expansive as Dune, but the structure and scope of Yang's first full length novel is ambitious and I appreciate their approach.
I will say that the book really picks up at the halfway point. Prior to the 50 percent mark, it's slow. I didn't mind that buildup, but it did take patience to see where things were going.
As for the writing itself, I get echoes of The Locked Tomb. Some odd modern word choices (yeet being a notable example, although there were others), which I always feel a little conflicted about in writing. Nevertheless, I didn't find that too distracting, and it had a strong and definitive voice. I do think the narrative could be deliberately ambiguous to leave the reader unmoored, similar to the writing in Gideon and Harrow.
I think we're supposed to cling to Misery as the only familiar character and the protagonist. Her progressive emotional distance from the audience and her increasingly uncomfortable actions and thoughts make it hard to ever sit comfortably with her for too long. I don't necessarily hate Misery, but I do pity her to some degree. She is a small fish in a big pond trying to be a holy shark, and putting on an archangel mech does not help her in her worldly ignorance.
I am left with many questions like:
SPOILERS BELOW
Why does the Throne want peace with the Heretics? What will that mean for this empire?
What technology do the Heretics use? How do they harness the nullvoid? Is the nullvoid something like dark matter? Do my speculations even make sense??
Is there any truth to the religion of the Faithful, or is it all lies? What does the Church know, what secrets did it cover up about reality? (Because what's a church without secrets)
What's the deal with AI in this world? Do the Heretics use AI to operate their ships and come up with technology? Was Ruin ever real? Is Ruin an AI program with an agenda??
What are childstones? They are somehow linked to telepathy, but there is no context for these. And Misery's telepathy is still mostly unaddressed, and I assume that's in the next book, but dang it was frustrating to barely explore that.
I almost want to reread it now that I know what's happening, to see if I missed some obvious answers to my questions.
There's a lot to think about and a lot I found very interesting, but I can see why this book wouldn't land for a lot of folks. I do think I'll pick up the next book whenever it comes out!
July 3, 2022
The Genesis of Misery is a story within a story, a Joan of Arc tale set in a science-fiction world with spaceshups and mecha figts
As the Jeanne d'Arc story goes, Misery (she/they) - note that in this universe everybody is introduced with pronouns and names the same way that we simply introduce ourselves with names- is from a nowhere town but has certain abilities which are only attributes of saints or voidmad. It's clear that Misery isn't a saint but she fears that she is succumbing to voidmadness like her mother before her. Misery starts seeing a spirit, Ruin, trying to guide her towards her destiny. They are brought to the capital to convince everyone that they're the destined Ninth Messiah and save the Empire from the conflict with the Heretics.
I have compared this book to Gideon the Ninth before, especially when it comes to the writing style a mix of gorgeous complex prose and humor and memes. There are more similarities: complex plot which definitely necessitates a reread to fully get what is going on, a Christianity-like religion in a powerful Empire with our protagonists being a sort of Messiah [i am weak for the exploration of religious themes in queer speculative fiction].
Without spoiling too much, Misery does exactly what you expect out of a character who is suddenly an all-powerful Messiah and who falls victim to her religious righteousness and hubris. Anyway, something something perfect handling of Christian-like religious themes and this is my weakness.
A little word about lady Alodia Lightning who was introduced as your enemy/haughty princess but who will 100% be a love interest and turned out more complex than that.
People will be interested to know that most of the characters introduced are queer and use different pronouns (in this world the neutral pronoun is zie/hir) such as she/they , xe/xem, zie/hir, they/them, he/they. But while this is the norm Misery has a small conversation about their pronouns with another character which I think will resonate with some readers.
I realized afterwards it was going to be a trilogy and I am so excited because I thought it was a standalone and I was curious about some loose ends (but I think the ending wraps things up enough that it can be read as a standalone)
Thank you to Netgalley for sending me a copy of this book.
As the Jeanne d'Arc story goes, Misery (she/they) - note that in this universe everybody is introduced with pronouns and names the same way that we simply introduce ourselves with names- is from a nowhere town but has certain abilities which are only attributes of saints or voidmad. It's clear that Misery isn't a saint but she fears that she is succumbing to voidmadness like her mother before her. Misery starts seeing a spirit, Ruin, trying to guide her towards her destiny. They are brought to the capital to convince everyone that they're the destined Ninth Messiah and save the Empire from the conflict with the Heretics.
I have compared this book to Gideon the Ninth before, especially when it comes to the writing style a mix of gorgeous complex prose and humor and memes. There are more similarities: complex plot which definitely necessitates a reread to fully get what is going on, a Christianity-like religion in a powerful Empire with our protagonists being a sort of Messiah [i am weak for the exploration of religious themes in queer speculative fiction].
Without spoiling too much, Misery does exactly what you expect out of a character who is suddenly an all-powerful Messiah and who falls victim to her religious righteousness and hubris. Anyway, something something perfect handling of Christian-like religious themes and this is my weakness.
A little word about lady Alodia Lightning who was introduced as your enemy/haughty princess but who will 100% be a love interest and turned out more complex than that.
People will be interested to know that most of the characters introduced are queer and use different pronouns (in this world the neutral pronoun is zie/hir) such as she/they , xe/xem, zie/hir, they/them, he/they. But while this is the norm Misery has a small conversation about their pronouns with another character which I think will resonate with some readers.
I realized afterwards it was going to be a trilogy and I am so excited because I thought it was a standalone and I was curious about some loose ends (but I think the ending wraps things up enough that it can be read as a standalone)
Thank you to Netgalley for sending me a copy of this book.
Shelved as 'did-not-finish'
March 28, 2024DNF p. 35
Someone else might really love this book, but I could already tell I was going to have to drag myself through this, and I have too much going on to have the time or energy for that.
If you know anything about my taste, you’ll know I love a strong narrative voice. And this book not only has that, but it has really creative world building, a riveting premise, and a gorgeous cover to boot. Unfortunately, regardless of all of those elements working in its favor, this book did not work for me. Maybe I would feel different at another time, but in this reading attempt, I struggled to find any narrative footing. I don’t mind a book that thinks faster than its readers, or that leaps right into world building and doesn’t wait for the readers to catch up. In fact, I consider that a hallmark of adult epic sci-fi & fantasy. But in this case, even the descriptors and the camera lens of audience focus was so vague and flimsy that I was never really quite sure what information I was supposed to be able to glean onto or not. I couldn’t picture anything, which was really tough for me as somebody who visualizes everything that I read. I don’t think I’ve ever struggled for a firm 30 pages without being able to picture almost anything.
I did really enjoy Yang’s writing style and the casual humor built into both the rhythm of the prose and of the world-building language, and will probably try something else by them, but yeah, I just don’t have time to keep trying with this one. Really sad that the queer Joan of Arc meets Neon Genesis Evangelion didn’t work for me :(
Thank you to the publisher for sending me a finished copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!
Someone else might really love this book, but I could already tell I was going to have to drag myself through this, and I have too much going on to have the time or energy for that.
If you know anything about my taste, you’ll know I love a strong narrative voice. And this book not only has that, but it has really creative world building, a riveting premise, and a gorgeous cover to boot. Unfortunately, regardless of all of those elements working in its favor, this book did not work for me. Maybe I would feel different at another time, but in this reading attempt, I struggled to find any narrative footing. I don’t mind a book that thinks faster than its readers, or that leaps right into world building and doesn’t wait for the readers to catch up. In fact, I consider that a hallmark of adult epic sci-fi & fantasy. But in this case, even the descriptors and the camera lens of audience focus was so vague and flimsy that I was never really quite sure what information I was supposed to be able to glean onto or not. I couldn’t picture anything, which was really tough for me as somebody who visualizes everything that I read. I don’t think I’ve ever struggled for a firm 30 pages without being able to picture almost anything.
I did really enjoy Yang’s writing style and the casual humor built into both the rhythm of the prose and of the world-building language, and will probably try something else by them, but yeah, I just don’t have time to keep trying with this one. Really sad that the queer Joan of Arc meets Neon Genesis Evangelion didn’t work for me :(
Thank you to the publisher for sending me a finished copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!
November 6, 2022
*2.5 stars*
I enjoyed the premise of this book, not so much the execution. I loved Misery and Ruin's banter in the beginning, but quickly got annoyed with Misery as she became more of a zealot + the side characters were just kinda there for Misery to bounce off of. I enjoyed it more where she was lying and not having any cares. Ruin being the narrator was okay, but I eventually got tired of her interludes going "who's right, nobody knows, I guess its up to you dear reader" schtick. The writing style got super repetitive as well and although I like cut and dry, get to the point type of writing - this one was rough to get through. If I didn't know any better some of the "dreaming" chapters start with the same sentence every time. Obviously, the book starts with the ending and how it got there - and like I said I enjoyed the beginning but the one thing I enjoyed was Misery and after she devolved and got into the holy mech, my god was it boring. I know some people will thoroughly enjoy this, and I'm sad I didn't. It gave me Evangelion vibes and I absolutely wish I could've loved it more. But, in the end it just got to repetitive, slow, and boring for me. I do have to say I enjoyed how being queer was just so normal in this universe and the absolute bisexual energy it radiated.
Disclaimer: I received The Genesis of Misery as an ARC and I'm voluntarily leaving this review.
I enjoyed the premise of this book, not so much the execution. I loved Misery and Ruin's banter in the beginning, but quickly got annoyed with Misery as she became more of a zealot + the side characters were just kinda there for Misery to bounce off of. I enjoyed it more where she was lying and not having any cares. Ruin being the narrator was okay, but I eventually got tired of her interludes going "who's right, nobody knows, I guess its up to you dear reader" schtick. The writing style got super repetitive as well and although I like cut and dry, get to the point type of writing - this one was rough to get through. If I didn't know any better some of the "dreaming" chapters start with the same sentence every time. Obviously, the book starts with the ending and how it got there - and like I said I enjoyed the beginning but the one thing I enjoyed was Misery and after she devolved and got into the holy mech, my god was it boring. I know some people will thoroughly enjoy this, and I'm sad I didn't. It gave me Evangelion vibes and I absolutely wish I could've loved it more. But, in the end it just got to repetitive, slow, and boring for me. I do have to say I enjoyed how being queer was just so normal in this universe and the absolute bisexual energy it radiated.
Disclaimer: I received The Genesis of Misery as an ARC and I'm voluntarily leaving this review.
December 18, 2022
Devastated I didn’t love one of my most anticipated books as much as I wanted to. Whilst there is such strength in the concept and queernorm world and Yang’s worldbuilding, I think it really struggled with the character development and language. There was just such a lack of characters? Every one was so sidelined to Misery it just felt really lacking but also very repetitive because everything was so Misery-centric.
I also deeply, deeply struggled with some of the language choices. Big pet peeve for me is using modern day internet language in SFF, every time it happened it totally took me out of the novel. Perhaps trying to make a Gideon-esque character? But it just didn’t work alongside the very religious-preachy sermoning that often occurred.
Very sad about this!
I also deeply, deeply struggled with some of the language choices. Big pet peeve for me is using modern day internet language in SFF, every time it happened it totally took me out of the novel. Perhaps trying to make a Gideon-esque character? But it just didn’t work alongside the very religious-preachy sermoning that often occurred.
Very sad about this!
July 7, 2023
Overly flowery writing that masks a basic chosen one plot and takes a steep nosedive. It's like a more religious version of Shadow and Bone, with substantial elements heavily influenced by Evangelion and Gideon the Ninth. All good stuff in theory.
I was excited during the beginning. I could even forgive the first annoyances I had, like the protagonist making bizarre decisions. For some reason she follows video game logic where she insists on breaking out of a room where she's not in any danger, and going on this huge goose chase which ends in being captured again. I was like ok, she's young, hopefully she'll have character growth along the way. But I quickly learned that a) this was not going to happen and b) every other element in this book is just as weak (character, worldbuilding, plot, relationships, etc..).
I couldn't understand why she was so against cooperating with the Duke, when her lie is what lands her in his care in the first place. Why do it then? But we never find out because the plot starts too late in the story. I couldn't understand why Misery made the choices that led her here. And suddenly she gets thrown into the world of the Capital, which was overwhelming as a reader without proper context. Misery gets hung up on things that didn't seem weird to me in a book that's set in the future (like the clone-saints). Why does she find them weird, author? And what actually are saints anyway? We never find out. Some lore is drilled into you, but some of it, like the term ‘nixen’, is never explained and left me confused the whole time.
For some reason the author chose to use modern dialogue that’s very out of place. At one point Misery exclaims “Bitch, how dare?” for example. I was like oh god, please no. And “otoh” appears in the middle of a sentence, which I had to Google. Apparently it's an abbreviation, but it wasn't in capitals in the book, just in lowercase like a normal word within a sentence. So bizarre and jarring, especially as it's only Misery that talks this way.
The writing also becomes very archaic at times. Paired with the internet slang, it makes for a very strange reading experience. There far too many instances of the words holy, blessed, sanctified, etc. Take a shot every time the word holy appears and you'd die within half an hour. It needed to be toned down. The drama of it all is sometimes fun, but mostly silly: “Every syllable, every vowel every consonant is the sound of a star being born, of galaxies bursting into life.” I'd frequently read something like that and be like uh…ok. The book tries hard to sound all lofty like scripture all the damn time. It's repetitive as hell, so the effect is dulled and ends up sounding ridiculous.
I did appreciate the get in the robot Shinji nod though. That was the one pop culture reference that actually worked.
So, Misery. She starts off as the classic snarky take-no-shit protagonist. Kinda basic, but nothing terrible. But things take a turn at the end of the first act. She just kills a bunch of people and gets to conveniently avoid the consequences. It’s rarely mentioned again. And that’s the end of Misery taking action herself. She becomes blessed by the Larex Forge of course, so the plot simply happens to her. There’s no real character growth or developed relationships. It made for very boring reading. About half way through is where I started skimming, I just couldn't buy any of it. The book plays the religion so straight. It tries to convince us that Misery has some incredible connection with Alodia, but we barely saw them interact with each other. Alodia starts off cool (their first meeting is a vicious fight) and has an interesting personality, but as soon as Misery is reborn, she loses her teeth. She switches to a completely different person that is just Misery's simpering companion. They both become so much dumber in order for the plot to happen - they don’t read like adults at all. The other side characters are just as paper thin. There were a lot of them, but only one does something that actually affected the plot.
The book could have been elevated with chapters from different characters. Sow in some doubt, leave us with a few mysterious clues. I kept reading because I wondered if it will subvert the classic tropes and give the reader something to chew on. Sadly not, we just follow Misery through a very contrived plot. One character attempts to reason with her, but is literally tortured by her. Misery’s narrative of him being an ‘evil Heretic’ that tricked her was so off. The torture scene was randomly brutal.
I found the reveal at the end super anticlimactic since the whole book was played so straight, with no clever hints about what's truly happening. It would have been satisfying to have an actual mystery play out in this book. Instead we just followed Misery being clueless the entire time. It was all pointless. I almost dropped it at several points, but I'm glad I didn't, because now I know I was right, this was bad. 1.5 stars.
I was excited during the beginning. I could even forgive the first annoyances I had, like the protagonist making bizarre decisions. For some reason she follows video game logic where she insists on breaking out of a room where she's not in any danger, and going on this huge goose chase which ends in being captured again. I was like ok, she's young, hopefully she'll have character growth along the way. But I quickly learned that a) this was not going to happen and b) every other element in this book is just as weak (character, worldbuilding, plot, relationships, etc..).
I couldn't understand why she was so against cooperating with the Duke, when her lie is what lands her in his care in the first place. Why do it then? But we never find out because the plot starts too late in the story. I couldn't understand why Misery made the choices that led her here. And suddenly she gets thrown into the world of the Capital, which was overwhelming as a reader without proper context. Misery gets hung up on things that didn't seem weird to me in a book that's set in the future (like the clone-saints). Why does she find them weird, author? And what actually are saints anyway? We never find out. Some lore is drilled into you, but some of it, like the term ‘nixen’, is never explained and left me confused the whole time.
For some reason the author chose to use modern dialogue that’s very out of place. At one point Misery exclaims “Bitch, how dare?” for example. I was like oh god, please no. And “otoh” appears in the middle of a sentence, which I had to Google. Apparently it's an abbreviation, but it wasn't in capitals in the book, just in lowercase like a normal word within a sentence. So bizarre and jarring, especially as it's only Misery that talks this way.
The writing also becomes very archaic at times. Paired with the internet slang, it makes for a very strange reading experience. There far too many instances of the words holy, blessed, sanctified, etc. Take a shot every time the word holy appears and you'd die within half an hour. It needed to be toned down. The drama of it all is sometimes fun, but mostly silly: “Every syllable, every vowel every consonant is the sound of a star being born, of galaxies bursting into life.” I'd frequently read something like that and be like uh…ok. The book tries hard to sound all lofty like scripture all the damn time. It's repetitive as hell, so the effect is dulled and ends up sounding ridiculous.
I did appreciate the get in the robot Shinji nod though. That was the one pop culture reference that actually worked.
So, Misery. She starts off as the classic snarky take-no-shit protagonist. Kinda basic, but nothing terrible. But things take a turn at the end of the first act. She just kills a bunch of people and gets to conveniently avoid the consequences. It’s rarely mentioned again. And that’s the end of Misery taking action herself. She becomes blessed by the Larex Forge of course, so the plot simply happens to her. There’s no real character growth or developed relationships. It made for very boring reading. About half way through is where I started skimming, I just couldn't buy any of it. The book plays the religion so straight. It tries to convince us that Misery has some incredible connection with Alodia, but we barely saw them interact with each other. Alodia starts off cool (their first meeting is a vicious fight) and has an interesting personality, but as soon as Misery is reborn, she loses her teeth. She switches to a completely different person that is just Misery's simpering companion. They both become so much dumber in order for the plot to happen - they don’t read like adults at all. The other side characters are just as paper thin. There were a lot of them, but only one does something that actually affected the plot.
The book could have been elevated with chapters from different characters. Sow in some doubt, leave us with a few mysterious clues. I kept reading because I wondered if it will subvert the classic tropes and give the reader something to chew on. Sadly not, we just follow Misery through a very contrived plot. One character attempts to reason with her, but is literally tortured by her. Misery’s narrative of him being an ‘evil Heretic’ that tricked her was so off. The torture scene was randomly brutal.
I found the reveal at the end super anticlimactic since the whole book was played so straight, with no clever hints about what's truly happening. It would have been satisfying to have an actual mystery play out in this book. Instead we just followed Misery being clueless the entire time. It was all pointless. I almost dropped it at several points, but I'm glad I didn't, because now I know I was right, this was bad. 1.5 stars.
January 8, 2023
DNF 10%
Вин:
☆ продуманный мир упоротых церковников, хорошо вписанный в текст.
☆ вычурный пафосный стиль, перемежающийся матюками.
Фейл:
☆ если отскрести сюжет от стиля и мира, то выяснится, что это сборище нафталиновых баянов, которые еще и плохо написаны.
Ну например: сцена, где злодеи загоняют героя на край пропасти (саспенс!), герой трагически прыгает (ужас!), но это все гениальный план (шок!).
Уже только ленивый ее не писал, и во всех учебниках она есть, и испортить ее крайне тяжело.
Но автор смог.
P.S. Фишка янгэдалта: героиня испускает вздох, которой неосознаваемо задержала.
Фишка сайфая: героиня лезет в вентиляцию.
Вин:
☆ продуманный мир упоротых церковников, хорошо вписанный в текст.
☆ вычурный пафосный стиль, перемежающийся матюками.
Фейл:
☆ если отскрести сюжет от стиля и мира, то выяснится, что это сборище нафталиновых баянов, которые еще и плохо написаны.
Ну например: сцена, где злодеи загоняют героя на край пропасти (саспенс!), герой трагически прыгает (ужас!), но это все гениальный план (шок!).
Уже только ленивый ее не писал, и во всех учебниках она есть, и испортить ее крайне тяжело.
Но автор смог.
P.S. Фишка янгэдалта: героиня испускает вздох, которой неосознаваемо задержала.
Фишка сайфая: героиня лезет в вентиляцию.
April 10, 2023
I've posted a spoiler-free review of this book on Tiktok, which you can check out here: https://www.tiktok.com/@greekchoir/vi...! Otherwise, the review below will have spoilers <3
TL;DR: While the worldbuilding and plot of this book had a lot of promise, the writing style, character work, and execution ultimately fell flat - I won't be continuing this series, but I might try Yang's Tensorate series!
Spoilers under the line:
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So much of this world - the childstones, the telepathy elements, Ruin's character - feel like interesting ideas that Yang introduces, but never fully fleshes out to their full potential within the story. Even deep into the story, I was still trying to learn the terminology and rules. It feels odd that there's no glossary or character guide in the back of the book, because all the different types of holystones begin to run together.
This extends to the side characters such as Tank and Diamond, who feel like setpieces meant to revolve around Misery instead of fully realized people. Ghost in particular felt like an afterthought, particularly with the clones and their role never having been explored. Even Lightning, as a love interest, completely loses her charm and intrigue once she enters a relationship with Misery. She goes from fiery and passionate to another stock character, and their arc makes less and less sense as a result.
The plot is full of holes as well, particularly regarding the siege of Monkglass. If we know the siege was set up, then why send Misery and her crew there in the first place? Why organize a "rescue mission" if the people in charge knew it wasn't real? Even smaller things, such as Misery's attitude towards her 'delusions' and the introduction of character pronouns, are wildly inconsistent.
So much time is spent on overwrought writing and religious philosophizing that slows the pace to a crawl. Misery's character also isn't interesting enough to hold the book up as a character study. Ultimately, this is the biggest sin of the book - it's boring. I was so ready to love this, but even I can't get behind a narrative that makes bi Joan of Arc boring :(
TL;DR: While the worldbuilding and plot of this book had a lot of promise, the writing style, character work, and execution ultimately fell flat - I won't be continuing this series, but I might try Yang's Tensorate series!
Spoilers under the line:
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
So much of this world - the childstones, the telepathy elements, Ruin's character - feel like interesting ideas that Yang introduces, but never fully fleshes out to their full potential within the story. Even deep into the story, I was still trying to learn the terminology and rules. It feels odd that there's no glossary or character guide in the back of the book, because all the different types of holystones begin to run together.
This extends to the side characters such as Tank and Diamond, who feel like setpieces meant to revolve around Misery instead of fully realized people. Ghost in particular felt like an afterthought, particularly with the clones and their role never having been explored. Even Lightning, as a love interest, completely loses her charm and intrigue once she enters a relationship with Misery. She goes from fiery and passionate to another stock character, and their arc makes less and less sense as a result.
The plot is full of holes as well, particularly regarding the siege of Monkglass. If we know the siege was set up, then why send Misery and her crew there in the first place? Why organize a "rescue mission" if the people in charge knew it wasn't real? Even smaller things, such as Misery's attitude towards her 'delusions' and the introduction of character pronouns, are wildly inconsistent.
So much time is spent on overwrought writing and religious philosophizing that slows the pace to a crawl. Misery's character also isn't interesting enough to hold the book up as a character study. Ultimately, this is the biggest sin of the book - it's boring. I was so ready to love this, but even I can't get behind a narrative that makes bi Joan of Arc boring :(
Shelved as 'lost-interest'
May 4, 2022that cover is beyond amazing
September 16, 2023
"And what are you here to do?"
It's a trap, this query. She answers it the way the Church always answers difficult questions: with soapwater bullshit. "I have come to do what I am asked."
This book is a Joan of Arc retelling set in space (sci-fantasy?) where queerness and polyamory are "normalised" and you almost always get characters pronouns right when they are introduced. I feel like Yang went all the way out on the pronouns in this one (the book includes several neopronouns) and I really loved that! The worldbuilding is also intriguing, especially the bits about holy-stones that are a sort of magical element in this world. I have a complicated relationship with our protagonist Misery, but I really liked her love interest Lady Alodia Lightning, the royal princess aka the deranged lady with sword. This book was really hard for me to get through and... I liked the characters until I started to be extremely annoyed by them and in the end... actually not really caring about them at all.
Okay... so I have to be honest here. If this wasn't Neon Yang's book I would have DNFed it. Right, I hate DNFing books, I have huge respect for people who can do it, but generally I can't (I DNF like 1 book a year). I guess I just like to wallow in Misery (ha!). My point is, I should have DNFed but I'm really enjoying Tensorate series right now and I hope that even though this read was full of misery for me, I would at least be rewarded by the way things will come together at the end, but... nope.
I'm balancing on a thin blade here, because I'm not actually entirely sure what went wrong with me for this read. I guess it was partly that I expected the story to be different. To keep it vague, Misery is very likeable protagonist, but also very grey one, but for a big chunk of the book, I wasn't sure if the author even realised what kind of character they were writing because there was no reassurance! It was highly uncomfortable position to be in, even though you would think that after I shouldn't have to doubt the author's intentions, but yet I did. I mean, I'm a pretty smart reader so it's baffling to me... but I would appreciate more... clarity, I guess? Like this story managed to be both on the nose and confusing...
I read this book over a month, because I couldn't get through it, even when I thought the book was cool (at the beginning) I wasn't really invested at all and gradually I started to feel extremely uncomfortable. This might be the author's intent and I think uncomfortable books are so important (and I tend to like them! Like Manhunt), but it just didn't work for me. I mean N.K. Jemisin and Kameron Hurley also write deeply uncomfortable books, but they are capable of reassuring me along the way that they are going to handle things all right, even if they'll crush my heart in the process. I didn't feel that here. Which is strange, because previously I thought it was about the trust you had in the author, which I would say that I have in Yang.
About quarter in, I switched to the audiobook, which actually made finishing of this book possible for me and I'm so grateful for it's existence! But I wasn't the biggest fan of that either... Idk, I guess I just didn't vibed with the narrator.
To sum this up; I have no idea what happened here. I thought the idea behind this book was pretty solid, but the execution didn't work for me. I feel like this book was trying to be nuanced, but missed the mark. Futuristic religions is usually something that I enjoy seeing, but it felt over-repeated and not so interesting here. If you are looking for a book to try out Yang, I would recommend you check out The Black Tides of Heaven instead!
P.S. Some commentors seem to think this is going to be a trilogy? Really?! I thought that it worked pretty well as a stand-alone and can't really imagine what you could do with two more books? But I guess getting more from the Heretics POV would be nice... I kind of don't want the next book to happen though, because then I would be tempted to read it... I know myself too well.
BRed at WBtM: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
May 5, 2023
I originally rated this 2-stars, but as I sat back to reflect on my experiences to write this review I decided that it really was only deserving of 1-star. This book reminded me a lot of Baker Thief in the attempt at queernorm and high concept worlds, but with much deeper structural & narrative issues. Which is impressive, because I really didn't like reading Baker Thief. I decided to read it based on a trifecta of a very cool cover, an intriguing title, and the description of it being a space opera. Anyone who knows me well will know I'm a massive slut for a space opera, so I was excited. I love giant machinations and drama on an inter-planetary scale, and the addition of mechs and holystone seemed like it would only make it cooler. Oh, how wrong I was. It wasn't even a space opera! (It was also neither Pacific Rim nor Joan of Arc, ignore the blurb completely). I want to talk about what I think was good first, because the rest of this review will just be me ripping into it.
Good:
1. Holystone & the nullvoid & the other concepts introduced within this novel are really cool, if a little more fantasy than sci-fi in a way I'm not a total fan of. An effort was clearly made to differentiate this world from many others within the sci-fi space, and I respect that.
2. The attempt at queernorm was good, if not successful in my opinion. I appreciate that Yang includes characters that use a number of different pronouns and present in different ways and so forth.
3. There is a strong attempt made to have a fascinating narrative style, with the framing of the novel around a conversation. I also appreciated the use of different systems of military terms and the like, for example describing miltary units in terms of banquets/dishes/servings, which was unique and added interest to the world
Unfortunately, that's sort of all I liked, and it's mostly confined to concepts & ideas rather than any of the actual execution on Yang's part. Let's get on to my gripes, which the more I think about them the more they unfold in dizzying fractal spirals of deepening annoyance. Dear, reader, I will try my best to summarise them for you.
1. This book is almost painfully shallow in the way that it addresses everything. Characters have very little depth beyond being playthings for the main character Misery, and there's so many of them that they all resolved into one mush in my head. There's little evidence of who they actually are as people when she's not in the room. The world, too, is very shallow. I'm broadly in the camp of sci-fi should explain big concepts less to enable more belief in them (except when Alistair Reynolds does it - he could explain the minutiae of how the physics for anything works for however long he'd like), but c'mon, you have to at least explain it a little. Misery goes through the world in a very bull-headed way, and the narrative is the same. Nothing is explained beyond the obvious, and it just doesn't allow the reader to engage with the world at all. What do the Faithful even believe in anyway? What do they think the Larex Forge is? What does normal life look like for literally any citizen of this world? It was frustrating to find everything under-explained, but be expected to believe in the world & religion & Misery's destiny. Finally, for a book that is so repeatedly conscious about gender (& sexuality, to some extent) I found it to be very shallow in this respect too. There's a lot of talk about it, but little depth as to how any of these characters differ from each other, or who they are beyond the pronouns that they use. And in terms of sexuality, Misery fucks a bunch of people but it never really felt like it meant anything and was kind of just. There. I disliked this aspect a lot for hopefully obvious reasons (If there's going to be gratuitous sex could you at least make it relevant to either the plot or the character or the themes or ANYTHING?! I saw reviews saying it wasn't even hot so like. WHY)
2. Another major issue is that this book suffers from really clunky writing throughout. Good prose should flow easily, and almost fade into the background behind the story itself, supporting it & emphasising important aspects. It can be beautiful, but should not exist for the sole reason of being beautiful. This prose, however, seemed like the author had tried desperately awfully hard to make it capital-G Good, and had therefore instead written a clunky, difficult-to-read attempt at a masterpiece that repeatedly falls flat. One of the biggest issues in my opinion was the constant focus on character's pronouns. Rather than them being natural and falling into the background, there's a constant consciousness in the writing of the author working out how to tell the reader any random character's pronouns and name, whether it's relevant or not. It constantly breaks up the narrative by pausing the action for Misery to note a character's badge, have an unnecessary conversation, or exageratedly note how she doesn't know a character's pronouns. It's fantasy, people! Could we not have just accepted that for the sake of narrative these interactions and so forth were left out? Rather than being a liberating powerful story that normalises this sort of consciousness, it creates an infectious and insidious obsession with working out the gender of every single character, whether in the foreground or not. Is that not the opposite of what we should want? Who cares the gender of a random grunt who is working in a space station. Why should it be relevant to you? This was really only the worst offender in a whole book of actively difficult-to-digest prose, but it was in my opinion the worst offender.
3. Finally, my last big issues with this book is that the final twist is easy to guess from about 20 or so pages into the novel. It should be immediately obvious to any reader when they're told that the Heretics are the "big bad" but with no actual elaboration as to why other than religious fanatacism, that this is an opinion that should be questioned. However, despite the fact that Misery begins the novel slightly questioning the Church of the Faithful and the whole artifice of society, she is instead taken in to their ideology throughout the book. And not even really in an interesting look-how-they-corrupt-the-mind way, but in a self-important self-righteous Messiah kind of way. It was sort of painful to watch Misery blithely ignore any actual explanation that is given for what she experiences besides being blessed by the Forge. I also understand that she is supposed to be a character who has had a lot taken away from her by the so-called nullvoid, but her complete refusal to even attempt to talk to a Heretic and understand who they even really are is extremely frustrating, especially because the narrative is so very confined to only her perspective and so we as readers never get to see that probably quite interesting context. At the end, there's, I imagine, supposed to be a kicker that HAHA! She's an unreliable narrator! But she actually managed to convey the actuality of the situation quite well, while somehow being completely oblivious herself. It's sort of impressive, actually. It just drove me completely crazy to watch the main character who I imagine I'm at least somewhat supposed to root for go on a revenge-fuelled cruel crusade against a massive assortment of characters who have done absolute nothing other than sort of be in her way or be religiously condemned in her mind somehow.
I hope I have successfully conveyed just how much I didn't enjoy reading this book. Unlike Fangirl which was at least funny in how very bad it was, this was just oh-so-boring and infuriating to read. I would not recommend that anyone else does so! I only finished it because I kept hoping that Yang would turn it around somehow at the end and I would have some slightly nicer things to say to balance all the annoyances. I was wrong. There are many other complaints I could make, but I have decided I really can't be bothered. It doesn't deserve more of my time.
Good:
1. Holystone & the nullvoid & the other concepts introduced within this novel are really cool, if a little more fantasy than sci-fi in a way I'm not a total fan of. An effort was clearly made to differentiate this world from many others within the sci-fi space, and I respect that.
2. The attempt at queernorm was good, if not successful in my opinion. I appreciate that Yang includes characters that use a number of different pronouns and present in different ways and so forth.
3. There is a strong attempt made to have a fascinating narrative style, with the framing of the novel around a conversation. I also appreciated the use of different systems of military terms and the like, for example describing miltary units in terms of banquets/dishes/servings, which was unique and added interest to the world
Unfortunately, that's sort of all I liked, and it's mostly confined to concepts & ideas rather than any of the actual execution on Yang's part. Let's get on to my gripes, which the more I think about them the more they unfold in dizzying fractal spirals of deepening annoyance. Dear, reader, I will try my best to summarise them for you.
1. This book is almost painfully shallow in the way that it addresses everything. Characters have very little depth beyond being playthings for the main character Misery, and there's so many of them that they all resolved into one mush in my head. There's little evidence of who they actually are as people when she's not in the room. The world, too, is very shallow. I'm broadly in the camp of sci-fi should explain big concepts less to enable more belief in them (except when Alistair Reynolds does it - he could explain the minutiae of how the physics for anything works for however long he'd like), but c'mon, you have to at least explain it a little. Misery goes through the world in a very bull-headed way, and the narrative is the same. Nothing is explained beyond the obvious, and it just doesn't allow the reader to engage with the world at all. What do the Faithful even believe in anyway? What do they think the Larex Forge is? What does normal life look like for literally any citizen of this world? It was frustrating to find everything under-explained, but be expected to believe in the world & religion & Misery's destiny. Finally, for a book that is so repeatedly conscious about gender (& sexuality, to some extent) I found it to be very shallow in this respect too. There's a lot of talk about it, but little depth as to how any of these characters differ from each other, or who they are beyond the pronouns that they use. And in terms of sexuality, Misery fucks a bunch of people but it never really felt like it meant anything and was kind of just. There. I disliked this aspect a lot for hopefully obvious reasons (If there's going to be gratuitous sex could you at least make it relevant to either the plot or the character or the themes or ANYTHING?! I saw reviews saying it wasn't even hot so like. WHY)
2. Another major issue is that this book suffers from really clunky writing throughout. Good prose should flow easily, and almost fade into the background behind the story itself, supporting it & emphasising important aspects. It can be beautiful, but should not exist for the sole reason of being beautiful. This prose, however, seemed like the author had tried desperately awfully hard to make it capital-G Good, and had therefore instead written a clunky, difficult-to-read attempt at a masterpiece that repeatedly falls flat. One of the biggest issues in my opinion was the constant focus on character's pronouns. Rather than them being natural and falling into the background, there's a constant consciousness in the writing of the author working out how to tell the reader any random character's pronouns and name, whether it's relevant or not. It constantly breaks up the narrative by pausing the action for Misery to note a character's badge, have an unnecessary conversation, or exageratedly note how she doesn't know a character's pronouns. It's fantasy, people! Could we not have just accepted that for the sake of narrative these interactions and so forth were left out? Rather than being a liberating powerful story that normalises this sort of consciousness, it creates an infectious and insidious obsession with working out the gender of every single character, whether in the foreground or not. Is that not the opposite of what we should want? Who cares the gender of a random grunt who is working in a space station. Why should it be relevant to you? This was really only the worst offender in a whole book of actively difficult-to-digest prose, but it was in my opinion the worst offender.
3. Finally, my last big issues with this book is that the final twist is easy to guess from about 20 or so pages into the novel. It should be immediately obvious to any reader when they're told that the Heretics are the "big bad" but with no actual elaboration as to why other than religious fanatacism, that this is an opinion that should be questioned. However, despite the fact that Misery begins the novel slightly questioning the Church of the Faithful and the whole artifice of society, she is instead taken in to their ideology throughout the book. And not even really in an interesting look-how-they-corrupt-the-mind way, but in a self-important self-righteous Messiah kind of way. It was sort of painful to watch Misery blithely ignore any actual explanation that is given for what she experiences besides being blessed by the Forge. I also understand that she is supposed to be a character who has had a lot taken away from her by the so-called nullvoid, but her complete refusal to even attempt to talk to a Heretic and understand who they even really are is extremely frustrating, especially because the narrative is so very confined to only her perspective and so we as readers never get to see that probably quite interesting context. At the end, there's, I imagine, supposed to be a kicker that HAHA! She's an unreliable narrator! But she actually managed to convey the actuality of the situation quite well, while somehow being completely oblivious herself. It's sort of impressive, actually. It just drove me completely crazy to watch the main character who I imagine I'm at least somewhat supposed to root for go on a revenge-fuelled cruel crusade against a massive assortment of characters who have done absolute nothing other than sort of be in her way or be religiously condemned in her mind somehow.
I hope I have successfully conveyed just how much I didn't enjoy reading this book. Unlike Fangirl which was at least funny in how very bad it was, this was just oh-so-boring and infuriating to read. I would not recommend that anyone else does so! I only finished it because I kept hoping that Yang would turn it around somehow at the end and I would have some slightly nicer things to say to balance all the annoyances. I was wrong. There are many other complaints I could make, but I have decided I really can't be bothered. It doesn't deserve more of my time.
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