The Mercy of Gods

Gary reviewed The Mercy of Gods by James S.A. Corey

Pleasantly different

4 stars

This book was different than anything I've read in a while. It is complex, emotional, and plays out in different perspectives and goals. It's hard to describe but it's nothing like The Expanse. The story started out a little bit confusing and it was not what I thought it would be, and yet it evolved into something I felt was amazing. It's written in complex layers much like Stephen King's elaborate story weaving. I wanted so bad to love it at 5 stars but I finish this book wanting to read it again for better understanding. It was amazing, really, but it will take some time to digest it all. I think it boils down to a scenario and species that is so different from anything I've internalized before from a book.

Kevin reviewed The Mercy of Gods by James S.A. Corey

Beginning of the next big series by James S.A. Corey

4 stars

I saw this just sitting on the shelf at my local library, not even realizing the James S.A. Corey had released the start of a new series! I had to pick this up and was pleased to see that it's quite a departure from the Expanse series, most notably that we see the aliens in the universe rather than them essentially being dead elder gods.

Having no previous expectations, I went into this completely cold and enjoyed it quite a bit as the authors crafted a rich universe and a number of characters to work with. At least at this point, I don't feel like any of the characters are as rich as those from The Expanse, but I know them through 9 novels + 9 novellas, so I'll give that some time. I'm definitely looking forward to the next one.

I saw this just sitting on the shelf at my local library, not even realizing the James S.A. Corey had released the start of a new series! I had to pick this up and was pleased to see that it's quite a departure from the Expanse series, most notably that we see the aliens in the universe rather than them essentially being dead elder gods.

Having no previous expectations, I went into this completely cold and enjoyed it quite a bit as the authors crafted a rich universe and a number of characters to work with. At least at this point, I don't feel like any of the characters are as rich as those from The Expanse, but I know them through 9 novels + 9 novellas, so I'll give that some time. I'm definitely looking forward to the next one.

M reviewed The Mercy of Gods by James S.A. Corey

None

3 stars

Este libro ha pasado de máxima puntuación a mínima puntuación a máxima puntuación en mi cabeza a medida que leía, así que se queda en un aprobado para contentar a los dos lados.

De estos libros que está tan bien llevado, va tan fino y sabe tan bien cuando mover las piezas que te has finiquitado 500 páginas sin darte cuenta y estás dándote de bruces con la realidad de que no hay un segundo hasta vete a saber cuándo.

No soy muy fan de llevar a tus personajes hasta las últimas consecuencias para conseguir desarrollo, máxime cuando a la mayoría les falta una vuelta para acabar de ser interesantes. Les reconozco a los autores el tiempo que le dedican a las dinámicas del grupo, pero tal y como termina es como si estas no hubieran servido de nada (o sólo unilateralmente).

Aimee Gunther reviewed The Mercy of Gods by James S.A. Corey

Great start to a series without being too on the nose

4 stars

All the things I like in a book: interesting world build, interesting storytelling, and smart character moves. The latter reminds me a bit of Ann Leckie's Ancillary Justice

enne📚 reviewed The Mercy of Gods by James S.A. Corey

4 stars

This is the first book in a new James SA Corey series, and I enjoyed it a bunch.

High stakes academia gets interrupted by alien invasion; their research then becomes even more high stakes while having to navigate trauma and powerful alien political currents. A pithy but unhelpful summary is that this book is about systems thinking vs the just-world fallacy.

The aliens are interesting in several fresh ways; one in particular is that they largely don't give a shit, emotionally speaking. They aren't angry or greedy or vengeful, which gives a much different flavor to an alien invasion. A lot of enjoyment in any book where humans encounter aliens is also about their relations and the slow reveal of who and what the aliens are, and so I'll hold back some more spoiler-y opinions.

(One side note about this book is just how straight it felt. …

This is the first book in a new James SA Corey series, and I enjoyed it a bunch.

High stakes academia gets interrupted by alien invasion; their research then becomes even more high stakes while having to navigate trauma and powerful alien political currents. A pithy but unhelpful summary is that this book is about systems thinking vs the just-world fallacy.

The aliens are interesting in several fresh ways; one in particular is that they largely don't give a shit, emotionally speaking. They aren't angry or greedy or vengeful, which gives a much different flavor to an alien invasion. A lot of enjoyment in any book where humans encounter aliens is also about their relations and the slow reveal of who and what the aliens are, and so I'll hold back some more spoiler-y opinions.

(One side note about this book is just how straight it felt. Maybe I just read too much queer fiction on the regular, but this [like other books by these authors] felt subjectively in the vein of "old school heterosexual science fiction" that I might have read when I was younger. Not everything has to be everything, but it was just something that stood out to me.)