Aliette we Bodard's work always strikes me as elegant and finely crafted (to borrow a phrase) and somehow alien. Much of that is her subject matter: she delights in settings and people that differ markedly from the average 21st century human and their stories she can tell because of it are beautiful. But they are also a bit cold to me. I enjoyed reading this book, I thought that both corrupt and execution were excellent, but it was an aesthetic pleasure rather that the full body emotional response that my absolute favorites engender. I will definitely continue with this series and I look forward to seeing where it goes from here on out.

So this is one of those books that hooks you from the first sentence and never lets you go. I really enjoyed it—the premise was incredibly creative and the execution was top notch. Definitely looking forward to the sequel.
I agree with my earlier opinion: I like Schwab better when she's writing for adults.

Wanted to read it because it was interesting, wanted to purchase it because nepotism (err, I heard that the author was also a religious Jew and I think it's important enough to have varied perspectives in fantasy, including my own, that I vote with my wallet).
Anyway, good story, interestingly handled, definitely saw some of the Jewish influence in the handling of religious difference.

I enjoyed this book more than the previous one, probably because I spent less time trying to figure out what was going on (and more time trying to remember who the hell everyone was. I have no memory. Authors who rely on me remembering the main character's name from the previous book will be disappointed.)
But the premise and the sheer scale of the epic fantasy held my attention and the little things mattered. The weirdness of the world (and Hurley is amazing at weird!), the way that cultures actually differ properly from one another, the entire premise. Perhaps not remembering the characters worked out in my favor. It kept me from getting attached. Will probably read the third, although a significant portion of characters who I like are dead. Still, I want to know what's going on.

Rated 4 for being the last Pratchett book and for the book it would have been had he had time to finish it.
I have a rule about Pratchett. I don't read any of his recent books anymore. I only listen to them. Something about Stephen Briggs' narration helps hide any decline or sense that the books are just not up to him in his prime. And the unfinished nature of this book meant that I really needed the reminder that I was reading Pratchett. Except when I didn't. Except when he gets everything right about living and dying and saying goodbye and evil and good and just trying to do the best you can.
It's not a perfect book - as others have said, the subplots need polish. But it is pterry's goodbye and, in that way, it is fitting.

So I've read a surprising number of generation starship books recently (though I have no idea why) and this one was definitely one of the most poignant. The characters were amazing, the story was really good and the way that Robinson managed to tell a heartfelt and tragic, but ultimately triumphant story about the perils and pitfalls of space exploration was amazing.

It's a bit early in the year for my first five, but this combination of science fiction and meditation on religion is glorious and heartrending and made me very grateful that the baby is learning to take longer naps these days. I loved it. I loved everyone in it, I loved the way the book handled religion and God and majesty and despair and...seriously. So good.
Also, there were Jews! Which is admittedly unexpected in a book mostly about Jesuits, but it works and we are not stereotypes, but people. That was one of the best parts. Religion was handled with grace and taken seriously as a way that people grapple with the ineffable.

I really need a "wtf, mate?" shelf.
I was originally ambivalent about this book since some of the reviews called it horror. And I guess that, given the body count and the amount of blood, it's not a book for the faint of stomach. But it's not horror, at least by my definition.
Horror wants to scare the reader. This book certainly wanted to convey the occasional terror felt by the characters, but it never aimed to scare the reader. Which is the single thing I dislike the most about horror and explains, in turn, why I enjoyed the sheer weirdness of this novel.
It was fascinating and strange and I think is best described as a creation myth with a contemporary ethos. But that doesn't quite cover it either. It's somewhere between a retelling without the original and epic fantasy relocated to our world. But decidedly enjoyable.

...obviously, the universe needed a retelling of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight involving a 9 year old girl.
Otherwise the story makes no sense. Augie's interventions clear up much of the curious behavior in the original, especially on the part of the Green Knight. I wouldn't go so far as to say that it's better than the original, but, well, the Gawain poet's amphisbaenas just didn't scorgle right.

It took a while for this book to feel like a Stephenson book; it felt like a very well researched work of science fiction for quite some time and lacked the sheer...oddness that I associate with Stephenson. The the third act happened and it felt a bit more like his other works, but even then it was far more restrained than I expected. Of course the total lack of ending was extremely Stephensonian. But enjoyable nonetheless and I remain in awe of all science fiction who imagine complex possibilities embedded in compelling narratives.