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Xandri Corelel #1
Failure to Communicate
As one of the only remaining autistics in the universe, Xandri Corelel has faced a lot of hardship, and she's earned her place as the head of Xeno-Liaisons aboard the first contact ship Carpathia. But her skill at negotiating with alien species is about to be put to the ultimate test.
The Anmerilli, a notoriously reticent and xenophobic people, have invented a powerful weapon that will irrevocably change the face of space combat. Now the Starsystems Alliance has called in Xandri and the crew of the Carpathia to mediate. The Alliance won't risk the weapon falling into enemy hands, and if Xandri can't bring the Anmerilli into the fold, the consequences will be dire.
Amidst sabotage, assassination attempts, and rampant cronyism, Xandri struggles to convince the doubtful and ornery Anmerilli. Worse, she's beginning to suspect that not everyone on her side is really working to make the alliance a success. As tensions rise and tempers threaten to boil over, Xandri must focus all her energy into understanding the one species that has always been beyond her: her own.
The Anmerilli, a notoriously reticent and xenophobic people, have invented a powerful weapon that will irrevocably change the face of space combat. Now the Starsystems Alliance has called in Xandri and the crew of the Carpathia to mediate. The Alliance won't risk the weapon falling into enemy hands, and if Xandri can't bring the Anmerilli into the fold, the consequences will be dire.
Amidst sabotage, assassination attempts, and rampant cronyism, Xandri struggles to convince the doubtful and ornery Anmerilli. Worse, she's beginning to suspect that not everyone on her side is really working to make the alliance a success. As tensions rise and tempers threaten to boil over, Xandri must focus all her energy into understanding the one species that has always been beyond her: her own.
320 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 14, 2017
24 people are currently reading
2208 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 95 reviews
March 18, 2018
I really enjoyed this and I'm looking forward to devouring the rest of the series.
This is a futuristic sci-fi book that is unique in a number of ways. Xandri, the lead character of the book and the one point of view we're given in the read, has Autism. She's one of the few neurodivergents known in the universe since "undesirable" genes were removed through genetic engineering and she only happens to exist because of a short-lived natural birth fad.
Though figuring out human behavior is Xandri's ongoing challenge, one of her talents is observing the behaviors of new species and what makes them tick, allowing herself to ingratiate herself to new worlds and pass information on to others to improve interspecies relations. In our everyday reality, it's akin to Temple Grandin's observations of cattle and the knowledge she passed onto the agricultural industry that revolutionized their care.
The story kicks off with a charged action scene but the majority of the read is actually Xandri and her team on a high-stakes diplomatic mission with a xenophobic species that has the biggest weapon of mass destruction yet encountered. Though most of the read is not exactly action-oriented it's still highly entertaining and never dull. In a lot of ways it's more of a political/military tale with interesting parallels to the government gridlock and debates we see in the current day.
The sci-fi aspects are really vivid and consumable as are the number of unique species the author created. And, the most interesting elements of the read lie with Xandri's interactions with other characters; friend, foe, and everyone in-between. The cast is large but the author did a great job of portraying nuanced characters, subtle attributes, and humor. The dialogue was also excellent and fun. And, I have to give kudos because the plot could've been clunky with all of the numerous complex topics it presented but instead they were done in an engrossing, streamlined way.
In my opinion, Xandri herself is a really endearing, strong, admirable, and lovable character so I loved being in her head and seeing the story from her perspective.
I usually read books that fall into the lesfic category but my interest in this book was due to the fact that the lead character has Autism as does the author. My sons are on the Autism spectrum so that aspect piques my interest and gave me more comfort about Xandri's representation.
So, I was pleasantly surprised to find that Xandri is actually a bisexual character with two love interests, one male and one female. There is clear interest displayed from all three characters, and I really adored each of them. However this is not a romance, either. It's more subtext with potential romance to come.
In addition to the Autism representation, the book has a ton of ethnic diversity which is refreshing to see. The only downside I saw was that a female leader of Islamic faith uses incorrect terms for exasperation/exclamation (which was pointed out to me by my bubble bursting Muslim Arabic speaking partner when I got excited about seeing the character ~ note to author, if you want a sensitivity reader there, my partner would be happy to help).
The book wraps up its storyline while spring boarding into the next so I'm eager to get to the second book.
So overall, this was a really unique, fun, and enjoyable story. Well done. 4.4 stars
This is a futuristic sci-fi book that is unique in a number of ways. Xandri, the lead character of the book and the one point of view we're given in the read, has Autism. She's one of the few neurodivergents known in the universe since "undesirable" genes were removed through genetic engineering and she only happens to exist because of a short-lived natural birth fad.
Though figuring out human behavior is Xandri's ongoing challenge, one of her talents is observing the behaviors of new species and what makes them tick, allowing herself to ingratiate herself to new worlds and pass information on to others to improve interspecies relations. In our everyday reality, it's akin to Temple Grandin's observations of cattle and the knowledge she passed onto the agricultural industry that revolutionized their care.
The story kicks off with a charged action scene but the majority of the read is actually Xandri and her team on a high-stakes diplomatic mission with a xenophobic species that has the biggest weapon of mass destruction yet encountered. Though most of the read is not exactly action-oriented it's still highly entertaining and never dull. In a lot of ways it's more of a political/military tale with interesting parallels to the government gridlock and debates we see in the current day.
The sci-fi aspects are really vivid and consumable as are the number of unique species the author created. And, the most interesting elements of the read lie with Xandri's interactions with other characters; friend, foe, and everyone in-between. The cast is large but the author did a great job of portraying nuanced characters, subtle attributes, and humor. The dialogue was also excellent and fun. And, I have to give kudos because the plot could've been clunky with all of the numerous complex topics it presented but instead they were done in an engrossing, streamlined way.
In my opinion, Xandri herself is a really endearing, strong, admirable, and lovable character so I loved being in her head and seeing the story from her perspective.
I usually read books that fall into the lesfic category but my interest in this book was due to the fact that the lead character has Autism as does the author. My sons are on the Autism spectrum so that aspect piques my interest and gave me more comfort about Xandri's representation.
So, I was pleasantly surprised to find that Xandri is actually a bisexual character with two love interests, one male and one female. There is clear interest displayed from all three characters, and I really adored each of them. However this is not a romance, either. It's more subtext with potential romance to come.
In addition to the Autism representation, the book has a ton of ethnic diversity which is refreshing to see. The only downside I saw was that a female leader of Islamic faith uses incorrect terms for exasperation/exclamation (which was pointed out to me by my bubble bursting Muslim Arabic speaking partner when I got excited about seeing the character ~ note to author, if you want a sensitivity reader there, my partner would be happy to help).
The book wraps up its storyline while spring boarding into the next so I'm eager to get to the second book.
So overall, this was a really unique, fun, and enjoyable story. Well done. 4.4 stars
May 2, 2017
"I’d read Ancient Earth books, watched Ancient Earth vids, and more often than not, FTL travel was described in terms of colors. Shifting colors, prismatic colors, the colors of a rainbow or a nebula; but always colors, as if the state of the universe itself was not already beautiful enough without paint splashed on. But I—I watched the universe turn to cosmic fabric around us, the warp threads of silver and gold stars, the weft strands of eternal darkness, and I let out a small, joyous laugh at the sheer exquisiteness of it."
* * *
Sometimes theres no better words to read than 'Book 1.'
This is the first book in a series, and I am more grateful and joyful for this fact than I have been in a long time. (I'm also in love with TESTING PANDORA, the novella precursor, check my review of that out here! https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... )
This took me so long to write for two reasons:
1. Like Xandri, words escape me the more significant and intense a situation, feeling or concept is. The more I need to express it, the more difficult. This book is extremely important.
2. This book is so filled with amazing lines and moments and validations that choosing any to focus on - like my customary review-opening quote - was nearly impossible. Xandri's narration and voice and the acknowledgement of neurodiverse and autistic experience is incredible, the kind you only get from ownvoice writing. When we write our own stories, they ring so, so amazingly true.
They are beautiful. So I had to start with the beauty.
Synesthesia is something I have never read in another book so well-portrayed, so lush and vibrant and swirling and all-encompassing. The overwhelming, cataclysmic beauty of the universe, the awe, the sound and fury and color and movement in a voice, in stars, in motion, in breathing. My wonder is cerulean and my relief is violet swaying like reeds. My gratitude is tart orange-melon brush-whispering in a warm breeze.
Thank God, the glorious universe, and everything good in it - for this book that speaks my language. This is the first successful communication I've ever read, and a book that changed my life. There is nothing like being heard. There is nothing like not being alone.
And there is nothing more fun than lemony wicked-awesome aliens and intergalactic intrigue and starships that go really, REALLY fast. Or easy, natural, wonderful inclusion, growing bi polyamorous relationships with beautiful, wonderful people (who not only accept but adore Xandri for who she is), and adorable birds (and super-cool birdlike aliens!).
I just love this book so much. It deserves to be seen. It deserves to break out in a huge way.
I want it to explode across bestseller lists and public consciousness, and I want every sad, lonely, frightened person whose brain doesn't mesh with others or function the way we've been instructed... to read it. And take in the colors and people and "yes" waiting here. Yes, you belong. Yes, you are heard and understood.
Yes, it's going to be good.
* * *
Sometimes theres no better words to read than 'Book 1.'
This is the first book in a series, and I am more grateful and joyful for this fact than I have been in a long time. (I'm also in love with TESTING PANDORA, the novella precursor, check my review of that out here! https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... )
This took me so long to write for two reasons:
1. Like Xandri, words escape me the more significant and intense a situation, feeling or concept is. The more I need to express it, the more difficult. This book is extremely important.
2. This book is so filled with amazing lines and moments and validations that choosing any to focus on - like my customary review-opening quote - was nearly impossible. Xandri's narration and voice and the acknowledgement of neurodiverse and autistic experience is incredible, the kind you only get from ownvoice writing. When we write our own stories, they ring so, so amazingly true.
They are beautiful. So I had to start with the beauty.
Synesthesia is something I have never read in another book so well-portrayed, so lush and vibrant and swirling and all-encompassing. The overwhelming, cataclysmic beauty of the universe, the awe, the sound and fury and color and movement in a voice, in stars, in motion, in breathing. My wonder is cerulean and my relief is violet swaying like reeds. My gratitude is tart orange-melon brush-whispering in a warm breeze.
Thank God, the glorious universe, and everything good in it - for this book that speaks my language. This is the first successful communication I've ever read, and a book that changed my life. There is nothing like being heard. There is nothing like not being alone.
And there is nothing more fun than lemony wicked-awesome aliens and intergalactic intrigue and starships that go really, REALLY fast. Or easy, natural, wonderful inclusion, growing bi polyamorous relationships with beautiful, wonderful people (who not only accept but adore Xandri for who she is), and adorable birds (and super-cool birdlike aliens!).
I just love this book so much. It deserves to be seen. It deserves to break out in a huge way.
I want it to explode across bestseller lists and public consciousness, and I want every sad, lonely, frightened person whose brain doesn't mesh with others or function the way we've been instructed... to read it. And take in the colors and people and "yes" waiting here. Yes, you belong. Yes, you are heard and understood.
Yes, it's going to be good.
December 12, 2018
For anyone who loves The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet, Mass Effect, or otherwise diverse A.F sci fiction - this is the book for you! I absolutely love this book to pieces and have found a new series, and author, to devour my soul.
The thing that had really drawn me into Failure to Communicate was the idea of a science-fiction book which had a female, autistic main character who is also HEAD OF XENO-LIAISONS.
Firstly, anyone who knows me knows that I LOVE books with super diverse alien species in it and FtC does not disappoint on that front. We're introduced to a lot of different types of alien species, bodies, languages, and cultures within the space of just this one book and all of them felt authentically rich. So, of course, I was going to love something that had diverse aliens and that had human-alien relations in it!
Secondly, I have never read a character as relatable to me as Xandri, nor as well written, and that is so important. It's really hard to explain just how well written Xandri was as a character or how amazing the autistic representation so you should all just go and read FtC immediately so you can see what I mean. At all times Xandri is an incredibly complex character with complex needs, desires and quirks. I *loved* how much we got to know Xandri as a character and also got experience through her. From sensory overloads, meltdowns, painful eye contact, the need for reassuring textures and tastes, difficulties with communication... that's just skimming over the surface. Possibly one of the greatest things that I appreciated about Xandri's character, and FtC more widely, is that Xandri is the head of Xeno-Liaisons. She not only had a job which is all about communication, something which Xandri constantly pokes fun at as this is something that "autistic people are unable to do", but she is at THE TOP OF HER PROFESSION. I can't even explain how amazing that made me feel. FtC also deals extensively with other people's reactions to Xandri's autism including judgemental colleagues, overt discrimination and prejudice, and also love, support and encouragement from her team.
The last few points of why FtC is also amazing include:
- F. YEAH worldbuilding from Sonderby
- Racially diverse human characters
- Beautiful, validating and loving bisexual & polyamourous relationship which absolutely floored my little heart
- Phenomenal writing from Sonderby. Everything about this book is exquisitely written
- Demonstrates the importance of #ownvoice books
It's no secret how much I am in love with The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet and A Closed and Common Orbit by Becky Chambers and it fills my heart with such joy that the Wayfarer series has really taken off in terms of popularity. But I want nothing more than Failure to Communicate to take off in the same way because it really, really, really deserves your love too. This book is so validating, so beautiful, so diverse and so important that it needs to be celebrated more!
I am also SCREAMING because the second installment Tone of Voice literally just came out yesterday, AND there is a prequel to FtC AS WELL Testing Pandora which I am going to be reading it ASAP and you should too!
Check out my blog for more reviews!
The thing that had really drawn me into Failure to Communicate was the idea of a science-fiction book which had a female, autistic main character who is also HEAD OF XENO-LIAISONS.
Firstly, anyone who knows me knows that I LOVE books with super diverse alien species in it and FtC does not disappoint on that front. We're introduced to a lot of different types of alien species, bodies, languages, and cultures within the space of just this one book and all of them felt authentically rich. So, of course, I was going to love something that had diverse aliens and that had human-alien relations in it!
Secondly, I have never read a character as relatable to me as Xandri, nor as well written, and that is so important. It's really hard to explain just how well written Xandri was as a character or how amazing the autistic representation so you should all just go and read FtC immediately so you can see what I mean. At all times Xandri is an incredibly complex character with complex needs, desires and quirks. I *loved* how much we got to know Xandri as a character and also got experience through her. From sensory overloads, meltdowns, painful eye contact, the need for reassuring textures and tastes, difficulties with communication... that's just skimming over the surface. Possibly one of the greatest things that I appreciated about Xandri's character, and FtC more widely, is that Xandri is the head of Xeno-Liaisons. She not only had a job which is all about communication, something which Xandri constantly pokes fun at as this is something that "autistic people are unable to do", but she is at THE TOP OF HER PROFESSION. I can't even explain how amazing that made me feel. FtC also deals extensively with other people's reactions to Xandri's autism including judgemental colleagues, overt discrimination and prejudice, and also love, support and encouragement from her team.
The last few points of why FtC is also amazing include:
- F. YEAH worldbuilding from Sonderby
- Racially diverse human characters
- Beautiful, validating and loving bisexual & polyamourous relationship which absolutely floored my little heart
- Phenomenal writing from Sonderby. Everything about this book is exquisitely written
- Demonstrates the importance of #ownvoice books
It's no secret how much I am in love with The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet and A Closed and Common Orbit by Becky Chambers and it fills my heart with such joy that the Wayfarer series has really taken off in terms of popularity. But I want nothing more than Failure to Communicate to take off in the same way because it really, really, really deserves your love too. This book is so validating, so beautiful, so diverse and so important that it needs to be celebrated more!
I am also SCREAMING because the second installment Tone of Voice literally just came out yesterday, AND there is a prequel to FtC AS WELL Testing Pandora which I am going to be reading it ASAP and you should too!
Check out my blog for more reviews!
April 13, 2021
Three point something rounded up to four because I'm currently of the mind that three stars is indicative of a story being unremarkable and this certainly isn't that.
This is a story about a bisexual, autistic woman named Xandri whose difficulties with understanding her own species, humans, has made her more receptive to understanding other species. Its really quite relatable and endearing on that front, especially when the found family aspects of the tale are front and centre.
There's very little subtlety here. Enjoyable in the areas mentioned already as well as in the diversity of its human cast, but eye roll inducing when it discusses other things like gun control.
The cast of characters and how they interact is where this story shines. Where it disappoints is in its plot. The title Failure to Communicate is what the plot relies on heavily to exist and it was more than a little annoying at times. Not because of our protagonists difficulties in communicating with others, but everybody else's failure to communicate with one another.
*Spoiler(ish) alert* If the people in this book that aren't Xandri communicated with one another about anything besides making sure Xandri ate nutrient bars this would be a 90 page novella and the death toll wouldn't have broken single digits.*Spoiler(ish) Alert*
I'm not a fan of stupidity as a plot device and I think every major incident after the opening chapter relies on supposedly competent professionals missing something obvious. It doesn't ruin the time spent in the found family story though.
The brief inclusion of sexual assault added nothing to the story besides wondering what the point of it was.
I'll probably read the sequel as I'm a sucker for scifi that focuses on aquatic life, but I'm in no rush to get to it.
Edit : Gah! I really should give this 3 stars
This is a story about a bisexual, autistic woman named Xandri whose difficulties with understanding her own species, humans, has made her more receptive to understanding other species. Its really quite relatable and endearing on that front, especially when the found family aspects of the tale are front and centre.
There's very little subtlety here. Enjoyable in the areas mentioned already as well as in the diversity of its human cast, but eye roll inducing when it discusses other things like gun control.
The cast of characters and how they interact is where this story shines. Where it disappoints is in its plot. The title Failure to Communicate is what the plot relies on heavily to exist and it was more than a little annoying at times. Not because of our protagonists difficulties in communicating with others, but everybody else's failure to communicate with one another.
*Spoiler(ish) alert* If the people in this book that aren't Xandri communicated with one another about anything besides making sure Xandri ate nutrient bars this would be a 90 page novella and the death toll wouldn't have broken single digits.*Spoiler(ish) Alert*
I'm not a fan of stupidity as a plot device and I think every major incident after the opening chapter relies on supposedly competent professionals missing something obvious. It doesn't ruin the time spent in the found family story though.
The brief inclusion of sexual assault added nothing to the story besides wondering what the point of it was.
I'll probably read the sequel as I'm a sucker for scifi that focuses on aquatic life, but I'm in no rush to get to it.
Edit : Gah! I really should give this 3 stars
September 29, 2017
This was amazing! I highly recommended it. We need more diverse sci-fi like this. The characters are the best part about this book, and I can't wait to read more about them.
July 9, 2017
Friends, allow me to flail with pure love.
This book does everything right. It managed to get completely past my natural editor tendencies to take a novel apart and get hung up on the bits that could work better. Probably because I'm not sure there ARE much of them.
The characters in this are absolutely wonderful. ALL OF THEM. Xandri is so relatable in so many ways--her determination, her kindness, her honest reactions (both internal and external). She has so many layers of complexity and awesomeness, and all of it just naturally -fits- together into a seamless, amazing character. And although none of them narrate, you get exactly the same sense of relief and depth from the rest of the crew including the aliens and their culture (which is often where I find First Contact fails me).
Xandri is also autistic, and I want to touch on that as an allistic person, but please ABSOLUTELY read RoAnna Sylver's review for the autistic perspective. All I want to add is that this has been wonderful--it is one thing to hear and read about what it's like to be autistic, and to sort of experience it within the frame of a character, her reactions, her thoughts, etc. They say ownvoices books can be windows for outsiders, and this window is gorgeous as heck.
I jumped into this without having truly read the blurb (I jumped into it because of how much RoAnna loved it, basically), and when the elements of an alien diplomacy intrigue spread before me, I got pretty excited. I'm a sucker for political plotlines, and this one was a great and relentless ride. The overall pacing of this book felt pretty flawless, the intense scene buffered with nice and fun moments that just kept adding to the universe and characters. The sweet polyam develops over the course of the novel, building itself in a totally natural way (Xandri is bisexual, I think I haven't mentioned yet).
I also greatly appreciate the wide variety of fauna and flora you get to see in this, and how Xandri's love for alien species reflects is for both sapient and non-sapient ones, in addition to subtly showing up in her way of describing things.
This book is a gem. I laughed and cried and read late into the night, and it will say with me for a long time. Please read and love it too <3
This book does everything right. It managed to get completely past my natural editor tendencies to take a novel apart and get hung up on the bits that could work better. Probably because I'm not sure there ARE much of them.
The characters in this are absolutely wonderful. ALL OF THEM. Xandri is so relatable in so many ways--her determination, her kindness, her honest reactions (both internal and external). She has so many layers of complexity and awesomeness, and all of it just naturally -fits- together into a seamless, amazing character. And although none of them narrate, you get exactly the same sense of relief and depth from the rest of the crew including the aliens and their culture (which is often where I find First Contact fails me).
Xandri is also autistic, and I want to touch on that as an allistic person, but please ABSOLUTELY read RoAnna Sylver's review for the autistic perspective. All I want to add is that this has been wonderful--it is one thing to hear and read about what it's like to be autistic, and to sort of experience it within the frame of a character, her reactions, her thoughts, etc. They say ownvoices books can be windows for outsiders, and this window is gorgeous as heck.
I jumped into this without having truly read the blurb (I jumped into it because of how much RoAnna loved it, basically), and when the elements of an alien diplomacy intrigue spread before me, I got pretty excited. I'm a sucker for political plotlines, and this one was a great and relentless ride. The overall pacing of this book felt pretty flawless, the intense scene buffered with nice and fun moments that just kept adding to the universe and characters. The sweet polyam develops over the course of the novel, building itself in a totally natural way (Xandri is bisexual, I think I haven't mentioned yet).
I also greatly appreciate the wide variety of fauna and flora you get to see in this, and how Xandri's love for alien species reflects is for both sapient and non-sapient ones, in addition to subtly showing up in her way of describing things.
This book is a gem. I laughed and cried and read late into the night, and it will say with me for a long time. Please read and love it too <3
June 1, 2018
Another one I had on my "to read" shelf for way too long. I truly loved this book. Some books I read(well a lot of them), I can multi task at the same time. I can walk around with my iPad doing various boring, yet required tasks like house cleaning, laundry, work(shush don't tell my employer), driving(i'm kidding. Just seeing if you are paying attention). But this book required my full 100% attention. I needed to sit still w/no distractions, while I read. That is not to say it was a heavy, cumbersome read. No, quite the opposite. The world building, the story, and wondrous characters just had me so riveted.
The main character, Xandri...there are not enough lovey dovey adjectives in the English language to attach to her. Brilliant, kind, funny, brave, compassionate...I mean, I can just go on and on. I just want to hug her, although I don't think she would want that, so I would telepathically hug her. The most awesome thing though, Xandri is the best person for the job(Head of Xeno-Liaisons). Not despite her autistic "quirks" but because of them.
The writing, OMG, is just top notch. I mean, I got weepy over the ships computer saying goodbye to Xandri. Sheesh.
Highly recommend for anyone into sci-fi, fantasy, or post apocalyptic.
4.5 stars
The main character, Xandri...there are not enough lovey dovey adjectives in the English language to attach to her. Brilliant, kind, funny, brave, compassionate...I mean, I can just go on and on. I just want to hug her, although I don't think she would want that, so I would telepathically hug her. The most awesome thing though, Xandri is the best person for the job(Head of Xeno-Liaisons). Not despite her autistic "quirks" but because of them.
The writing, OMG, is just top notch. I mean, I got weepy over the ships computer saying goodbye to Xandri. Sheesh.
Highly recommend for anyone into sci-fi, fantasy, or post apocalyptic.
4.5 stars
November 5, 2019
I’m really glad I picked this up, my interest was piqued when I read that the protagonist was not your usual sassy heroine but an expert in communication who is also autistic. What sold me though, were the favorable opinions about the portrayal, because there is nothing that backfires like stereotypes when dealing with diversity.
I’m ignorant about the whole concept but Xandri felt realistic and engaging, not always easy to understand but following the story through her voice was a great experience. The pace is slow but steady and the plot is a bit predictable, however it has its nice share of politics and I liked that. Less so the 27 occurrences of “nutrient-bar”. There is an ending but this book opens up for more, and I’m in.
If I’m supposed to feel so little emotion, if that’s what makes me so dangerous, why do I hurt so damn much?
I’m ignorant about the whole concept but Xandri felt realistic and engaging, not always easy to understand but following the story through her voice was a great experience. The pace is slow but steady and the plot is a bit predictable, however it has its nice share of politics and I liked that. Less so the 27 occurrences of “nutrient-bar”. There is an ending but this book opens up for more, and I’m in.
If I’m supposed to feel so little emotion, if that’s what makes me so dangerous, why do I hurt so damn much?
September 23, 2018
Space diplomacy sci-fi novel with an #ownvoices autistic protagonist, and she's bi/pan? I almost didn't read it, only because I didn't want to be disappointed if it didn't click for me! Thank goodness I came to my senses. It's superbly well-plotted, every single character is distinctive and fascinating, and it manages to both resolve the main story and set up for the second book in a totally satisfying way.
Xandri Corelel, one of the few neurodivergent humans in the universe, has trained herself so well to read communication styles that she's now the head of a first contact team. Her ship gets summoned to an isolationist planet long past first contact, though, because they've gone and built a super-weapon that both Xandri's civilization and their genocidal space foes want. Result: political machinations, assassination attempts, and all kinds of backstabbing and general chaos - but then Xandri being super-smart and brave and telling people to sit down, shut the hell up, and LISTEN. Totally engrossing!
Read the first book in July and the second in September, loved them both, can't wait for a third installment.
Xandri Corelel, one of the few neurodivergent humans in the universe, has trained herself so well to read communication styles that she's now the head of a first contact team. Her ship gets summoned to an isolationist planet long past first contact, though, because they've gone and built a super-weapon that both Xandri's civilization and their genocidal space foes want. Result: political machinations, assassination attempts, and all kinds of backstabbing and general chaos - but then Xandri being super-smart and brave and telling people to sit down, shut the hell up, and LISTEN. Totally engrossing!
Read the first book in July and the second in September, loved them both, can't wait for a third installment.
April 1, 2018
(4.5 stars) I shouldn't have waited so long to write this review, because there is SO MUCH to talk about in this book and I'm almost guaranteed to forget like five things.
First of all, I bought this book because it was on sale for 99 cents and I'd heard good things about it, so even though I wasn't really interested in the blurb it seemed like a good deal. And obviously, I ended up LOVING it. So let that be a lesson to you all. (I'm not sure what that lesson is — take advantage of ebook sales? Don't judge a book by it's blurb? Rely on the reviews of people you trust? — but TAKE IT.)
Starting the book, I found it very readable. Despite it not being my favorite kind of space book and not being YA, which is what I prefer to read, it was just really easy to pick up with the story whenever I had time, as opposed to thinking I could spend the time checking tumblr or goodreads instead.
Another thing I realized I liked early on is Xandri as a character. She's up against a lot that's not her fault, so it's so easy to sympathize with her. And she's such a genuinely nice person. As comes up a lot, she often has trouble finding the "polite" or "socially acceptable" response, but she's always thinking about being kind, which is completely different and so nice to read. I love main characters who own being selfish or a villain, and I've got plenty in my favorite YA books, but Xandri being the opposite of that is such a nice break. She's the person who sees and understands the outsiders because she is an outsider.
(Also, she makes friends with the ship's AI because she's just that nice, and I LOVE the Carpathia. Guys! It's friends with the other ships!)
Plus, Xandri always trying to see things from other people's perspectives, even if she doesn't like them, is what makes her a great negotiator and is such an important part of the plot. There is a certain point I won't spoil when I was on the verge of tears and I just!
I've never read a character who has a job like Xandri's (observing new alien species until she understands how to communicate with them) either, so that was interesting. Of course, for most of the book she has to put these skills into being a political negotiator, which is a hell of a frustrating job. It's supposed to be slow and frustrating, but I think that part carried over a little too well to the reader. When this part got slow it got harder for me to want to pick up the book in my free time, so that's why I decided to not give it a full five stars.
But the entire book wasn't slow! There were also a handful of very intense action scenes, and it was... wow. Because the rest of the book tends to be a calmer, low-simmering tension the outright fights slap you in the face and it's awesome.
I don't have a good transition from that to sexuality, but that's where we're going next. I don't think any labels are used explicitly in this book, but Xandri has two love interests, a man and the woman, and it's not a love triangle — the possibility that they could all be together is completely there. And I 100% ship it.
Polyamory is mentioned casually as a thing that's not out of the ordinary in the future, and it also seems like all sexualities are completely accepted. So, a very accepting future in that way! Given that there's so much about non-human people in the book I would have loved to see more about how other species have different conceptions of gender, which kinda only comes up once, but there are so many things going on in this book. I'm not mad gender wasn't a focus.
Probably the reason it was so nice to have a non-homophobic setting is because in another respect, the book does not show us an accepting future. It's a future in which humans have used science to eliminate neurodivergence, and autistic people like Xandri are both rare and discriminated against. The book is not pulling punches here. Xandri was abused as a child, her parents tried to make her neurotypical, and she's still dealing with that trauma. She encounters plenty of people who make assumptions about her because of what they've (wrongly) read, assume she can't do her job and treat her like a child, and situations in which other people make no allowances for the fact that it's harder for her than it is for them. As I understand it, basically like modern times.
Of course, it's still a book in which Xandri is the hero, and she has carved out a place and accommodations for herself despite everyone who would keep her out. Also, this book is proof that actually exploring accommodations for neurodivergence and disabilities in fantasy/scifi settings is 10000% more interesting than magical/scifi cures. So every author who has ever done that, take some goddamn notes.
As I was saying. Commentary on the treatment of autistic and other neurodivergent people in our society? Yes. Also in this book: Gun Control And Why The F Don't We Have It Yet, Society Creates Its Own Villains By Abusing Them In The First Place, Killing Animals For Sport Is Barbaric, and Governments Move Slowly Even When The Answer Is Obvious. Also probably a dozen other things I'm forgetting.
I'll leave you with a quote.
First of all, I bought this book because it was on sale for 99 cents and I'd heard good things about it, so even though I wasn't really interested in the blurb it seemed like a good deal. And obviously, I ended up LOVING it. So let that be a lesson to you all. (I'm not sure what that lesson is — take advantage of ebook sales? Don't judge a book by it's blurb? Rely on the reviews of people you trust? — but TAKE IT.)
Starting the book, I found it very readable. Despite it not being my favorite kind of space book and not being YA, which is what I prefer to read, it was just really easy to pick up with the story whenever I had time, as opposed to thinking I could spend the time checking tumblr or goodreads instead.
Another thing I realized I liked early on is Xandri as a character. She's up against a lot that's not her fault, so it's so easy to sympathize with her. And she's such a genuinely nice person. As comes up a lot, she often has trouble finding the "polite" or "socially acceptable" response, but she's always thinking about being kind, which is completely different and so nice to read. I love main characters who own being selfish or a villain, and I've got plenty in my favorite YA books, but Xandri being the opposite of that is such a nice break. She's the person who sees and understands the outsiders because she is an outsider.
(Also, she makes friends with the ship's AI because she's just that nice, and I LOVE the Carpathia. Guys! It's friends with the other ships!)
Plus, Xandri always trying to see things from other people's perspectives, even if she doesn't like them, is what makes her a great negotiator and is such an important part of the plot. There is a certain point I won't spoil when I was on the verge of tears and I just!
I've never read a character who has a job like Xandri's (observing new alien species until she understands how to communicate with them) either, so that was interesting. Of course, for most of the book she has to put these skills into being a political negotiator, which is a hell of a frustrating job. It's supposed to be slow and frustrating, but I think that part carried over a little too well to the reader. When this part got slow it got harder for me to want to pick up the book in my free time, so that's why I decided to not give it a full five stars.
But the entire book wasn't slow! There were also a handful of very intense action scenes, and it was... wow. Because the rest of the book tends to be a calmer, low-simmering tension the outright fights slap you in the face and it's awesome.
I don't have a good transition from that to sexuality, but that's where we're going next. I don't think any labels are used explicitly in this book, but Xandri has two love interests, a man and the woman, and it's not a love triangle — the possibility that they could all be together is completely there. And I 100% ship it.
Polyamory is mentioned casually as a thing that's not out of the ordinary in the future, and it also seems like all sexualities are completely accepted. So, a very accepting future in that way! Given that there's so much about non-human people in the book I would have loved to see more about how other species have different conceptions of gender, which kinda only comes up once, but there are so many things going on in this book. I'm not mad gender wasn't a focus.
Probably the reason it was so nice to have a non-homophobic setting is because in another respect, the book does not show us an accepting future. It's a future in which humans have used science to eliminate neurodivergence, and autistic people like Xandri are both rare and discriminated against. The book is not pulling punches here. Xandri was abused as a child, her parents tried to make her neurotypical, and she's still dealing with that trauma. She encounters plenty of people who make assumptions about her because of what they've (wrongly) read, assume she can't do her job and treat her like a child, and situations in which other people make no allowances for the fact that it's harder for her than it is for them. As I understand it, basically like modern times.
Of course, it's still a book in which Xandri is the hero, and she has carved out a place and accommodations for herself despite everyone who would keep her out. Also, this book is proof that actually exploring accommodations for neurodivergence and disabilities in fantasy/scifi settings is 10000% more interesting than magical/scifi cures. So every author who has ever done that, take some goddamn notes.
As I was saying. Commentary on the treatment of autistic and other neurodivergent people in our society? Yes. Also in this book: Gun Control And Why The F Don't We Have It Yet, Society Creates Its Own Villains By Abusing Them In The First Place, Killing Animals For Sport Is Barbaric, and Governments Move Slowly Even When The Answer Is Obvious. Also probably a dozen other things I'm forgetting.
I'll leave you with a quote.
"There's a lot of cruelty in the universe. I prefer not to be a part of it if I can help it."
March 28, 2022
2.5 stars
August 28, 2019
I loved Failure to Communicate! 4.5stars.
This is in immersive and intimate read from one pov Xandri Corelel. She has autism. It is a scifi world different races, humans being one of them. A time where all 'errors' get filtered before a human is born. But there was a hype when some wanted to do au naturel and that is when Xandri was born. She finally found a group of people she fits in, a team she works with on a ship called Carpathia. She is the head of the Xeno-liaisons team that do first contact assignments. The new assignment is to work on a negotiation with the Anmerilli. The team got asked because Xandri is good at what she does. And the stakes are high, involving the xenophobix Anmerilli and a dangerous weapon they created that could fall into the wrong hands.
I loved to be in Xandri her head, she is smart and thoughtful and constantly working hard to keep up. The dynamic between the team is genuine and fun. Not everything is peachy and that makes it all real. I like how some interactions show so much compassion and effort to support eachother. I enjoyed reading about other species, it wasn't extremely elaborate but definitely enough to fill in the blanks. This book focusses on the Anmerilli who are similar ish to humans and do not want to interact with other species except the humans at this point. So I hope in a next novel we get more focus on other species with bigger roles. The Carpathia is an AI and I loved their friendship with Xandri. So the plot is really Xandri driven and has a big political role that was not tedious, as I am not a big fan of politics. Because the negotiation had already a long past it had built a base and needed a last shove in the right direction by someone who actually listens. This meant it didn't go too deeply into the boring bits but had more interaction with the Anmerilli's as well. I enjoy such dialogues more than going through summaries/ plans/ lists etc. What slightly bugged me is the comparison and similarities it gave with America ( earth was something of the past, like 4k years ago ). Xandri has a lot of earth interest and knowledge that pops up during the plot. And America gets mentioned as Anmerilli's love weapons and are having a heard time letting go of that right. Yet more and more are frustrated with it and angry cause their kids are getting themselves killed. I guess the similarity threw me off a bit. Like the author was trying to make the story easier by adding a lot of references? Nothing bad really it just threw me off a bit as I liked the current status of life in space.
Overal a fantastic intimate read, very insightful what added so much more emotional voice. There is a bit of action but it is mostly focussed on Xandri and how she fights to stay true to herself in all kinds of situations.
This is in immersive and intimate read from one pov Xandri Corelel. She has autism. It is a scifi world different races, humans being one of them. A time where all 'errors' get filtered before a human is born. But there was a hype when some wanted to do au naturel and that is when Xandri was born. She finally found a group of people she fits in, a team she works with on a ship called Carpathia. She is the head of the Xeno-liaisons team that do first contact assignments. The new assignment is to work on a negotiation with the Anmerilli. The team got asked because Xandri is good at what she does. And the stakes are high, involving the xenophobix Anmerilli and a dangerous weapon they created that could fall into the wrong hands.
I loved to be in Xandri her head, she is smart and thoughtful and constantly working hard to keep up. The dynamic between the team is genuine and fun. Not everything is peachy and that makes it all real. I like how some interactions show so much compassion and effort to support eachother. I enjoyed reading about other species, it wasn't extremely elaborate but definitely enough to fill in the blanks. This book focusses on the Anmerilli who are similar ish to humans and do not want to interact with other species except the humans at this point. So I hope in a next novel we get more focus on other species with bigger roles. The Carpathia is an AI and I loved their friendship with Xandri. So the plot is really Xandri driven and has a big political role that was not tedious, as I am not a big fan of politics. Because the negotiation had already a long past it had built a base and needed a last shove in the right direction by someone who actually listens. This meant it didn't go too deeply into the boring bits but had more interaction with the Anmerilli's as well. I enjoy such dialogues more than going through summaries/ plans/ lists etc. What slightly bugged me is the comparison and similarities it gave with America ( earth was something of the past, like 4k years ago ). Xandri has a lot of earth interest and knowledge that pops up during the plot. And America gets mentioned as Anmerilli's love weapons and are having a heard time letting go of that right. Yet more and more are frustrated with it and angry cause their kids are getting themselves killed. I guess the similarity threw me off a bit. Like the author was trying to make the story easier by adding a lot of references? Nothing bad really it just threw me off a bit as I liked the current status of life in space.
Overal a fantastic intimate read, very insightful what added so much more emotional voice. There is a bit of action but it is mostly focussed on Xandri and how she fights to stay true to herself in all kinds of situations.
April 6, 2024
Space diplomacy is one of my absolute favourite subgenres of sci-fi, so even though reading consistently is still difficult for me, Failure to Communicate was a real treat. It reminded me of
The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet
crossed with
A Desolation Called Peace
and I could not put it down. Even if I have a few quibbles when it comes to the plot, the premise, readability, and the wonderfully well written autistic protagonist made it worthwhile.
Xandri is one of the best Xeno-Liaisons specialists in the Alliance. She is also one of the few autistic people (maybe the only one) born since humanity went hard on eugenics and eliminated it and other conditions through genetic manipulation. This time, she and her team are called in to help bring the Anmerilli people to the Alliance, to prevent a powerful weapon they just developed from falling into enemy hands. Before they even arrive, she stumbles upon a secret genocidal plot and the need for her to succeed is suddenly even higher than she expected.
Whenever I picked this book up, I could not put it down. I read the sample when it was on sale, bought it to continue, read a huge chunk in one sitting, and got the sequel and prequel before I was halfway through. Plucky spaceship crews of humans and aliens are my absolute catnip, as is diplomacy and characters trying their hardest to prevent (more) violence. Of course I was hooked.
I didn’t find Xandri super relatable per se despite being autistic myself, it manifests in different ways for me in general and I’m far less able to deal with people, but some aspects definitely resonated with me deeply. The zoo scene with infodumping about animals? Put me in a zoo that has zebras or antelopes and I would do the same. And seeing a character deal with some of the same struggles, written well and by an author who is also autistic – it matters.
The worldbuilding was…fine, if somewhat surface-level. I often wished that aliens would act a little more alien, if that makes sense, or that the cultural worldbuilding was deeper. It might be unfair on my part, but I can’t help but compare to first contact masters like Cherryh or Arnason or Le Guin, and it falls disappointingly short.
But my biggest issue was with the plot, especially the last quarter of the book or so. I absolutely hate when a protagonist’s blunder or the identity of the antagonist is obvious from the orbit and no one, not one person notices what’s going on until it’s too late. Xandri was not alone. She always had multiple trusted people with her, bodyguards, friends from the Carpathia, her diplomacy crew, or a combination of those. I would understand if one or two of them didn’t realise. But every single supposedly smart and/or people-savvy person catching the idiot ball and the whole ending hinging on that is too much.
Since I still have hope that the next book won’t make the same mistake, I will gladly continue the series.
Enjoyment: 3.5/5
Execution: 3.5/5
Recommended to: fellow fans of space diplomacy, those who want something with the vibes of Becky Chambers’ Wayfarers, anyone looking for well written autistic characters and queernorm worlds
Not recommended to: those who don’t like it when plot hinges on everyone making the stupidest possible choice, those who prefer very alien aliens, those very bothered by a deeply ableist setting
Content warnings: lots of ableism, genocide (potential, but very real threat), disordered eating due to absentmindedness
More reviews on my blog, To Other Worlds.
Xandri is one of the best Xeno-Liaisons specialists in the Alliance. She is also one of the few autistic people (maybe the only one) born since humanity went hard on eugenics and eliminated it and other conditions through genetic manipulation. This time, she and her team are called in to help bring the Anmerilli people to the Alliance, to prevent a powerful weapon they just developed from falling into enemy hands. Before they even arrive, she stumbles upon a secret genocidal plot and the need for her to succeed is suddenly even higher than she expected.
Whenever I picked this book up, I could not put it down. I read the sample when it was on sale, bought it to continue, read a huge chunk in one sitting, and got the sequel and prequel before I was halfway through. Plucky spaceship crews of humans and aliens are my absolute catnip, as is diplomacy and characters trying their hardest to prevent (more) violence. Of course I was hooked.
I didn’t find Xandri super relatable per se despite being autistic myself, it manifests in different ways for me in general and I’m far less able to deal with people, but some aspects definitely resonated with me deeply. The zoo scene with infodumping about animals? Put me in a zoo that has zebras or antelopes and I would do the same. And seeing a character deal with some of the same struggles, written well and by an author who is also autistic – it matters.
The worldbuilding was…fine, if somewhat surface-level. I often wished that aliens would act a little more alien, if that makes sense, or that the cultural worldbuilding was deeper. It might be unfair on my part, but I can’t help but compare to first contact masters like Cherryh or Arnason or Le Guin, and it falls disappointingly short.
But my biggest issue was with the plot, especially the last quarter of the book or so. I absolutely hate when a protagonist’s blunder or the identity of the antagonist is obvious from the orbit and no one, not one person notices what’s going on until it’s too late. Xandri was not alone. She always had multiple trusted people with her, bodyguards, friends from the Carpathia, her diplomacy crew, or a combination of those. I would understand if one or two of them didn’t realise. But every single supposedly smart and/or people-savvy person catching the idiot ball and the whole ending hinging on that is too much.
Since I still have hope that the next book won’t make the same mistake, I will gladly continue the series.
Enjoyment: 3.5/5
Execution: 3.5/5
Recommended to: fellow fans of space diplomacy, those who want something with the vibes of Becky Chambers’ Wayfarers, anyone looking for well written autistic characters and queernorm worlds
Not recommended to: those who don’t like it when plot hinges on everyone making the stupidest possible choice, those who prefer very alien aliens, those very bothered by a deeply ableist setting
Content warnings: lots of ableism, genocide (potential, but very real threat), disordered eating due to absentmindedness
More reviews on my blog, To Other Worlds.
January 4, 2025
"So I uh... I tied lots of feathers in my hair so it would look like I had my 'crest' down and brought them gifts."
"And it worked?" Marco quirked a brow in incredulity.
"We're here, aren't we?" Dawn said. "Though it was hysterical. Like a half-plucked Macaw trying to court a mate."
I feel like I have two options here. Either I give this book three stars and then spend the whole review trying to convince you that the book is actually really interesting and enjoyable with great rep etc. Or I'll give this book four stars and I'll get nitpicky, saying that you know, it's not for everyone. I think I'm going to go with four stars, just because... this book is unique. It portrays bisexual autistic female character written by queer autistic author. Xandri's autism is key feature of the book, showing that people with autism have different skill sets then allistic people but that those skillsets can be just as useful. (Not that usefulness has to be something we measure things by...) I think all of this is really important which is why I'm boosting the book up, even though I have some issues with it.
The tone of the book is somehow... off a little bit. I have to say that especially word stellar started to grate on me pretty soon in the book. Overall, the atmosphere... didn't seem right. On the other hand in a lot of aspects, it made the book really readable for me, so... not a big deal. (Except for stellar I don't want to see that word for at least a month!)
But all these people in such a small space... it exhausted me, left me feeling like the ragged edges of worn out cloth.
The worldbuilding of the book really suffered by me reading this book right after finishing The Terraformers. Terraformers also weren't perfect, but the worldbuilding of that one was stellar! (Huh...) One of the big point of Terraformers is accessibility for people of different shapes and sizes. You would think that since in the universe of Failure to Communicate there are about banzillion of different alien species of plethora of shapes and sizes this would be addressed too, but... the aliens with "atypical bodies" were often left sitting on the floor or standing. I believe it was meant as a critique, but I would prefer seeing real inclusivity (especially since it makes better sense with the worldbuilding).
The-feeding-Xandri-subplot got old fast. It made sense in some places - like, I get anxious when characters skip meals too much in books, so getting nutrient bar there would make me really happy. But forcing them on Xandri all the time seemed a bit excessive. Overall, the way some character treated Xandri was really... ugh... it's kind of like, when you read book centering queer characters and all the conflicts are about homo/trans/Xphobia. I just... you know, it gets too much. I prefer my books to be a safe and happy space so the repeated ableism was grating. (And hair ruffling! Ugh!!!)
But I always suspected even most of our AI was more... personified than people ever thought. Maybe I was wrong, but Carpathia seemed like enough of a person to warrant politeness. That was all I needed to know.
Overall, the plot wasn't great, some of the accents felt on completely wrong places, the bad guy was kind of obvious to me, but I wasn't sure about their motivations, so... it was still entertaining at least. I really liked the poly romance included in this, even though not really much happens on that front. I didn't like the trope the ending uses and it seems convoluted, but... whatever. I overall enjoyed this, but a lot of my buddies didn't so... 🤷🏽♀️ This definitely isn't for everybody, but since it's one of the best autistics reps I read yet, I can't complain too much (taking recommendations, btw!).
I'm going to read the second book, because space whales! Whooo! 🐳 And also poly-romance 💗
BRed at WBtM: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Ada Hoffmann's review of the book: https://www.ada-hoffmann.com/2018/04/...
November 2, 2019
4,5 stars
TW: Ableism / Anxiety Attacks on the Page
Failure to Communicate is one of those books that is easily approachable and that doesn’t need a whole lot of pages to still hit you hard.
This book has come highly recommended to me by a few readers who I think of highly. And they were not wrong in thinking I’d enjoy this book. There is a such a spark of life in this book that I just want to embrace.
The book focuses on Xandri, one of the few humans who was conceived in the natural way. As such she is also one of the very few humans that is neurodivergent, namely autism. Xandri is an amazing character to follow. She is honest, straight forward and has her heart in the right place. Never does the book put away Xandri as less even though some of the side characters would like to do just that. She makes mistakes, we all do.
The world building of this book is really interesting. As humans we are a part of Starsystems Alliance and our main character is a xeno-liason officer. Basically she observes new alien species and tries to make first contact. Often this is to also invite them to the Alliance even though the ship she is aboard is not a part of the military. This is just one of those things that I love about science-fiction. Meeting new alien species, making that first contact, seeing all their differences in cultures and ways of how they look, the moral questions we should ask ourselves in how far one should interfere. The author masterfully gives us just enough world building that we can easily move through this book in one with just 300 pages and there still being plenty left to discover.
I do think that the plot is the one that is the weakest of this book. If I had to prick I would say that there is a moment where Xandri could have and should have asked her team member something as she is their head and she didn’t. If she had than that would have steered everything in a very different direction. It kind of bothered me.
However I enjoyed everything else about this book and it is certainly a great sci-fi book to venture into.
TW: Ableism / Anxiety Attacks on the Page
Failure to Communicate is one of those books that is easily approachable and that doesn’t need a whole lot of pages to still hit you hard.
This book has come highly recommended to me by a few readers who I think of highly. And they were not wrong in thinking I’d enjoy this book. There is a such a spark of life in this book that I just want to embrace.
The book focuses on Xandri, one of the few humans who was conceived in the natural way. As such she is also one of the very few humans that is neurodivergent, namely autism. Xandri is an amazing character to follow. She is honest, straight forward and has her heart in the right place. Never does the book put away Xandri as less even though some of the side characters would like to do just that. She makes mistakes, we all do.
The world building of this book is really interesting. As humans we are a part of Starsystems Alliance and our main character is a xeno-liason officer. Basically she observes new alien species and tries to make first contact. Often this is to also invite them to the Alliance even though the ship she is aboard is not a part of the military. This is just one of those things that I love about science-fiction. Meeting new alien species, making that first contact, seeing all their differences in cultures and ways of how they look, the moral questions we should ask ourselves in how far one should interfere. The author masterfully gives us just enough world building that we can easily move through this book in one with just 300 pages and there still being plenty left to discover.
I do think that the plot is the one that is the weakest of this book. If I had to prick I would say that there is a moment where Xandri could have and should have asked her team member something as she is their head and she didn’t. If she had than that would have steered everything in a very different direction. It kind of bothered me.
However I enjoyed everything else about this book and it is certainly a great sci-fi book to venture into.
May 17, 2020
This is very much an "it's me, not you" type of situation. The book was off to a really good start for me: it was suspenseful, I liked the characters, I felt invested. But then the more I read, the less invested I felt, and I ended up losing interest rather quickly. It all just felt so slow, and I didn't feel like I really got to know the characters, and so I found myself a little bored.
However! I would still recommend this for the autism rep, I thought it was great!
However! I would still recommend this for the autism rep, I thought it was great!
April 14, 2018
Check out my book blog for more book reviews and other bookish posts!
I received a review copy of Failure to Communicate from the author.The blurb sounded quite fascinating even though I don’t usually read sci-fi. I was intrigued in the idea of communicating with aliens.
It’s #ownvoices for autistic representation.
__
The friendships that the various characters had with each other was beautiful. You could tell that Xandri was respected and trusted by a lot of the non-humans, which showed how much dedication she had in her job. The birdlike-aliens were especially awesome! I also loved Xandri’s relationship with Carpathia. I’m hoping that the Carpathia, who is an AI, will play a bigger role in the sequel.
It was scary to imagine there could be a world where there are no imperfections, every human is born without an illness, a disability or a developmental disorder. This book discusses the ethics of that, and whether such a world is a utopia or a dystopia. It’s a book that shows that these people who are viewed as imperfect, are not a problem for society. It is society that is a problem for them.
Xandri uses a slur for one of the alien races, and this is called out by another character. She still slips and uses it in her thoughts, thus showing that she grows as a character.
This is one of the first books I’ve come across with synesthesia representation. I felt like the concept was explained in a way that I could understand.
Halfway through the book, I suddenly had the realisation that the cover did not show two humans. The person on the left was an Anmerilli (you can see her tail in the shrubbery). I’m pretty sure it’s Noaya, and I really like the scene that is being pictured. I loved this detail in the cover.
__
Failure to Communicate is a fun, welcoming sci-fi adventure that takes you on a ride through communication and miscommunication. A beautiful and intriguing read.
I received a review copy of Failure to Communicate from the author.The blurb sounded quite fascinating even though I don’t usually read sci-fi. I was intrigued in the idea of communicating with aliens.
It’s #ownvoices for autistic representation.
__
The friendships that the various characters had with each other was beautiful. You could tell that Xandri was respected and trusted by a lot of the non-humans, which showed how much dedication she had in her job. The birdlike-aliens were especially awesome! I also loved Xandri’s relationship with Carpathia. I’m hoping that the Carpathia, who is an AI, will play a bigger role in the sequel.
It was scary to imagine there could be a world where there are no imperfections, every human is born without an illness, a disability or a developmental disorder. This book discusses the ethics of that, and whether such a world is a utopia or a dystopia. It’s a book that shows that these people who are viewed as imperfect, are not a problem for society. It is society that is a problem for them.
Xandri uses a slur for one of the alien races, and this is called out by another character. She still slips and uses it in her thoughts, thus showing that she grows as a character.
This is one of the first books I’ve come across with synesthesia representation. I felt like the concept was explained in a way that I could understand.
Halfway through the book, I suddenly had the realisation that the cover did not show two humans. The person on the left was an Anmerilli (you can see her tail in the shrubbery). I’m pretty sure it’s Noaya, and I really like the scene that is being pictured. I loved this detail in the cover.
__
Failure to Communicate is a fun, welcoming sci-fi adventure that takes you on a ride through communication and miscommunication. A beautiful and intriguing read.
June 13, 2019
*Deep breath* Okay. I'm okay.
Wow.
I've seen people raving about this book for quite a while now; many trusted sources from all over the place. I even picked it up at some point, but I didn't get past the first few pages. I must have been in a weird headspace or something, because as well as being objectively a fan-freaking-tastic book, it includes so many of my favourite things that it's kind of like Sønderby wrote it for me personally!
Suffice to say, I love this book. I bought the sequel and prequel - and Sønderby's YA book Damsel to the Rescue - before I even finished it. I knew by the time I hit the halfway mark that I was going to have to devour everything by this author!
Xandri is a first-contact specialist in the far future; living and working on the spaceship Carpathia, she and her team of xeno-biologists discover new worlds, new sapient species, and figure out the best way for the intergalactic Alliance to reach out them. Part anthropologist and part biologist, she's the very best the Alliance has - despite the fact that she doesn't actually work for the Alliance, strictly speaking. Carpathia is owned and run by Chui, an ex-military human captain who has made it her mission in life to make first-contact as peaceful and painless as a process as possible for as many sapients as she and her crew can discover. However, their missions aren't always 100% by the book, and so when the Alliance summons Carpathia to more-or-less conscript Xandri, Chui has to answer. It's understood that this is the price they pay for the Alliance looking the other way on how the Carpathia manages their business.
Now, though, a non-Alliance species, the Anmerilli, has made a break-through that means they must become allies - because if they choose to side with the Alliance's enemies, instead, all sapients everywhere would be in unspeakable danger. It's up to Xandri to figure out how to convince the xenophobic Anmerilli to do what they've spent the last six years refusing to even consider - join the Alliance - and avert the threat of either a devastating galactic war, or genocide.
No pressure, or anything.
I love intricate worldbuilding, properly-alien aliens, and anthropology, so Failure to Communicate was just one check mark after another for me. It would have been a well-written, fascinating, and compellingly addictive book anyway - Sønderby really knows what she's doing - but the fact is that Xandri is also autistic. And as someone still coming to the terms with being diagnosed as on the spectrum, that made her story far more personal than it might have been otherwise. Although Xandri and I aren't identical, I recognised a lot of the struggles she dealt with every day, and while some made me laugh, and others plucked at my heart-strings, more than a few punched me in the gut. This is an #ownvoices book, so Sønderby knows exactly what she's writing about, and it shows. In the hands of a lesser writer, even being #ownvoices wouldn't have made this book so powerful, but Sønderby is, as I've said, an incredible writer. Several of my most-loved tropes make their way into Failure to Communicate, but it's not the tropes themselves that made me stay up until 4am - it's the execution. To take an example: it's not the found-family trope that made me tear up, but how Sønderby used it, creating a wonderful cast of characters gathered around one of my favourite protagnists ever.
I was also surprised and delighted to discover that not only is Xandri queer (bi- or pansexual, I couldn't say, but she experiences attraction to human men and women) but Failure to Communicate chronicles, among other things, the delicate development of a fledgeling polyamorous romance between her and two other characters. Polyamory has become a norm in some human sectors in the future, apparently. Yay!
Unfortunately, humanity has become much less liberal in other ways. Xandri is autistic, yes - but only because of a brief fashion that saw a generation of humans conceived and born without the pre-natal screening that would typically catch and detect 'flaws' like autism. (Whether the screening process would have involved 'correcting' the autism or aborting the 'defective' fetus wasn't explicitly clear). The results of that fashion-trend so horrified, not just humanity, but all the Alliance, that in the aftermath it has become illegal to not use such pre-natal screenings. This means that Xandri is one of only a handful of autistic people in the Alliance - and likely that handful will be the last, at least for the foreseeable future. Much of the stigma Xandri faces for her autism relies on 'Ancient Earth' beliefs, cruel bs about how autistic people don't understand or care about emotions and the like. It was simultaneously painful and validating to read about - even as a much more 'higher-functioning' individual than Xandri, I recognised a lot of the prejudices and misunderstandings she had to deal with - including well-intentioned gestures that aren't nice or comforting at all for an autistic person.
Luckily, Xandri has a small cadre of people around her who understand, and work to develop that understanding when they occasionally make mistakes. Even if they hadn't been fierce supporters of hers in other ways as well, that alone made me adore them - including her pet birds Marble and Cake, who brought a light-hearted adorableness to every scene they appeared in, often just when I as a reader most needed it!
The plot itself isn't dull, but it is a little familiar; that's not a detraction, though. Xandri's autism makes the situations she finds herself in complicated enough that the plot doesn't feel predictable or easily resolved at all - the first-person narration was an excellent choice in adding that layer to the story. A storyline that might have bored me in the hands of another author had my attention by the throat here - and judging from all the high-starred ratings, I don't think it's just that her thoughts and choices made so much sense to me as a fellow autistic person. I think she's just an amazing character, and Sønderby is an amazing author, and honestly, it's almost physically painful to sit here writing out a review when the sequel is waiting for me right by my elbow!
Tl:dr; neurodiversity, alien anthropology, and found-families combine with high-stakes sci-fi politicking for a read I couldn't put down. Go and buy a copy already!
Wow.
I've seen people raving about this book for quite a while now; many trusted sources from all over the place. I even picked it up at some point, but I didn't get past the first few pages. I must have been in a weird headspace or something, because as well as being objectively a fan-freaking-tastic book, it includes so many of my favourite things that it's kind of like Sønderby wrote it for me personally!
Suffice to say, I love this book. I bought the sequel and prequel - and Sønderby's YA book Damsel to the Rescue - before I even finished it. I knew by the time I hit the halfway mark that I was going to have to devour everything by this author!
Xandri is a first-contact specialist in the far future; living and working on the spaceship Carpathia, she and her team of xeno-biologists discover new worlds, new sapient species, and figure out the best way for the intergalactic Alliance to reach out them. Part anthropologist and part biologist, she's the very best the Alliance has - despite the fact that she doesn't actually work for the Alliance, strictly speaking. Carpathia is owned and run by Chui, an ex-military human captain who has made it her mission in life to make first-contact as peaceful and painless as a process as possible for as many sapients as she and her crew can discover. However, their missions aren't always 100% by the book, and so when the Alliance summons Carpathia to more-or-less conscript Xandri, Chui has to answer. It's understood that this is the price they pay for the Alliance looking the other way on how the Carpathia manages their business.
Now, though, a non-Alliance species, the Anmerilli, has made a break-through that means they must become allies - because if they choose to side with the Alliance's enemies, instead, all sapients everywhere would be in unspeakable danger. It's up to Xandri to figure out how to convince the xenophobic Anmerilli to do what they've spent the last six years refusing to even consider - join the Alliance - and avert the threat of either a devastating galactic war, or genocide.
No pressure, or anything.
I love intricate worldbuilding, properly-alien aliens, and anthropology, so Failure to Communicate was just one check mark after another for me. It would have been a well-written, fascinating, and compellingly addictive book anyway - Sønderby really knows what she's doing - but the fact is that Xandri is also autistic. And as someone still coming to the terms with being diagnosed as on the spectrum, that made her story far more personal than it might have been otherwise. Although Xandri and I aren't identical, I recognised a lot of the struggles she dealt with every day, and while some made me laugh, and others plucked at my heart-strings, more than a few punched me in the gut. This is an #ownvoices book, so Sønderby knows exactly what she's writing about, and it shows. In the hands of a lesser writer, even being #ownvoices wouldn't have made this book so powerful, but Sønderby is, as I've said, an incredible writer. Several of my most-loved tropes make their way into Failure to Communicate, but it's not the tropes themselves that made me stay up until 4am - it's the execution. To take an example: it's not the found-family trope that made me tear up, but how Sønderby used it, creating a wonderful cast of characters gathered around one of my favourite protagnists ever.
I was also surprised and delighted to discover that not only is Xandri queer (bi- or pansexual, I couldn't say, but she experiences attraction to human men and women) but Failure to Communicate chronicles, among other things, the delicate development of a fledgeling polyamorous romance between her and two other characters. Polyamory has become a norm in some human sectors in the future, apparently. Yay!
Unfortunately, humanity has become much less liberal in other ways. Xandri is autistic, yes - but only because of a brief fashion that saw a generation of humans conceived and born without the pre-natal screening that would typically catch and detect 'flaws' like autism. (Whether the screening process would have involved 'correcting' the autism or aborting the 'defective' fetus wasn't explicitly clear). The results of that fashion-trend so horrified, not just humanity, but all the Alliance, that in the aftermath it has become illegal to not use such pre-natal screenings. This means that Xandri is one of only a handful of autistic people in the Alliance - and likely that handful will be the last, at least for the foreseeable future. Much of the stigma Xandri faces for her autism relies on 'Ancient Earth' beliefs, cruel bs about how autistic people don't understand or care about emotions and the like. It was simultaneously painful and validating to read about - even as a much more 'higher-functioning' individual than Xandri, I recognised a lot of the prejudices and misunderstandings she had to deal with - including well-intentioned gestures that aren't nice or comforting at all for an autistic person.
Luckily, Xandri has a small cadre of people around her who understand, and work to develop that understanding when they occasionally make mistakes. Even if they hadn't been fierce supporters of hers in other ways as well, that alone made me adore them - including her pet birds Marble and Cake, who brought a light-hearted adorableness to every scene they appeared in, often just when I as a reader most needed it!
The plot itself isn't dull, but it is a little familiar; that's not a detraction, though. Xandri's autism makes the situations she finds herself in complicated enough that the plot doesn't feel predictable or easily resolved at all - the first-person narration was an excellent choice in adding that layer to the story. A storyline that might have bored me in the hands of another author had my attention by the throat here - and judging from all the high-starred ratings, I don't think it's just that her thoughts and choices made so much sense to me as a fellow autistic person. I think she's just an amazing character, and Sønderby is an amazing author, and honestly, it's almost physically painful to sit here writing out a review when the sequel is waiting for me right by my elbow!
Tl:dr; neurodiversity, alien anthropology, and found-families combine with high-stakes sci-fi politicking for a read I couldn't put down. Go and buy a copy already!
February 16, 2019
I don’t read enough self-published books. I get so caught up in the new release cycle of traditional publishing, that indie gems tend to slip under the radar. Such is the case with Failure to Communicate, a delightful sci-fi first contact novel with an autistic, bisexual protagonist and a subtle polyamourous romance.
Xandri Corelel was born during a brief phase for non-genetically altered children. That phase ended as soon as parents figured out that some of those children were neurodivergent in a society that had long since used genetic engineering to erase all sorts of neurodivergence. Xandri, as one of the few autistic people in the universe, hasn’t had an easy life, but she’s found a home as the head of Xeno-Liaisons on the Carpathia, an extra-governmental spaceship that specializes in first contact missions. Learning to decode the social systems and body language of other humans has taught Xandri incredible powers of observation that make her excellent at her job. However, all of Xandri’s skills are to be put to the test when her presence is requested for negotiations with the Anmerilli, a notoriously xenophobic species who have the plans for a universe-changing weapon. Xandri isn’t a diplomat, but forging an alliance with the Anmerilli is now in her hands.
Failure to Communicate has an engaging storyline and characters. I was immediately sucked into the plot and world, and it was so so easy to promise myself “just one more chapter” time after time. I really enjoy science fiction stories with aliens and first contact, so Failure to Communicate was right up my alley. The aliens weren’t the best I’ve ever seen (I love when fictional aliens aren’t just humans in a costume), but Failure to Communicate was using the aliens more to comment on our own world than to explore “what if” questions regarding alien life. I haven’t seen much Star Trek, but I think Failure to Communicate would appeal to a similar audience.
The Anmerilli resemble humans in many ways, which is why humans are the only species in the pan-galactic alliance that they’ll allow onto their planet. The major sticking points in the negotiations on the Anmerilli joining the alliance involve animal cruelty (raising megafauna for recreational hunting) and the prevalence of weapons, which at one point is directly referenced in regards to “America of ancient earth” and gun control. Failure to Communicate imagines a future where humanity has restored Earth’s environment and solved many problems regarding violence — but our current problems are projected onto an alien species and planet.
Of course, not everything’s bright and wonderful in this imagined future. Very often, science fiction novels and stories will insist that disabled and neurodivergent people don’t exist in their future, claiming that these “problems” have been solved. The whole thing reeks of eugenics, and it’s something that’s a reoccurring problem with how the science fiction community treats disabled people. Failure to Communicate is addressing this head on, giving us an autistic protagonist who also has synesthesia. Xandri has to deal with lots of microaggressions and outright hostility and bigotry from some of the other characters. Again, these are problems that relate just as much to our present as to an imagined future.
It’s worth noting that the author is also autistic and that Failure to Communicate is ownvoices in terms of autistic representation. I loved Xandri’s lowkey polyamourous romance plotline (it didn’t dominate the narrative). I said earlier in the review that Xandri was bisexual, but she could also be pansexual — no labels are ever used. I’ve only got two real criticisms when it comes to representation/diversity issues in Failure to Communicate. The first is that food terms were sometimes used to describe the characters of color’s skin, which can be a bit iffy. Secondly… this is probably getting into spoilers so maybe skip the rest of the paragraph…
That caveat aside, I really enjoyed Failure to Communicate. I plan to read the sequel! Hopefully sometime in 2019. Fingers crossed!
Xandri Corelel was born during a brief phase for non-genetically altered children. That phase ended as soon as parents figured out that some of those children were neurodivergent in a society that had long since used genetic engineering to erase all sorts of neurodivergence. Xandri, as one of the few autistic people in the universe, hasn’t had an easy life, but she’s found a home as the head of Xeno-Liaisons on the Carpathia, an extra-governmental spaceship that specializes in first contact missions. Learning to decode the social systems and body language of other humans has taught Xandri incredible powers of observation that make her excellent at her job. However, all of Xandri’s skills are to be put to the test when her presence is requested for negotiations with the Anmerilli, a notoriously xenophobic species who have the plans for a universe-changing weapon. Xandri isn’t a diplomat, but forging an alliance with the Anmerilli is now in her hands.
Failure to Communicate has an engaging storyline and characters. I was immediately sucked into the plot and world, and it was so so easy to promise myself “just one more chapter” time after time. I really enjoy science fiction stories with aliens and first contact, so Failure to Communicate was right up my alley. The aliens weren’t the best I’ve ever seen (I love when fictional aliens aren’t just humans in a costume), but Failure to Communicate was using the aliens more to comment on our own world than to explore “what if” questions regarding alien life. I haven’t seen much Star Trek, but I think Failure to Communicate would appeal to a similar audience.
The Anmerilli resemble humans in many ways, which is why humans are the only species in the pan-galactic alliance that they’ll allow onto their planet. The major sticking points in the negotiations on the Anmerilli joining the alliance involve animal cruelty (raising megafauna for recreational hunting) and the prevalence of weapons, which at one point is directly referenced in regards to “America of ancient earth” and gun control. Failure to Communicate imagines a future where humanity has restored Earth’s environment and solved many problems regarding violence — but our current problems are projected onto an alien species and planet.
Of course, not everything’s bright and wonderful in this imagined future. Very often, science fiction novels and stories will insist that disabled and neurodivergent people don’t exist in their future, claiming that these “problems” have been solved. The whole thing reeks of eugenics, and it’s something that’s a reoccurring problem with how the science fiction community treats disabled people. Failure to Communicate is addressing this head on, giving us an autistic protagonist who also has synesthesia. Xandri has to deal with lots of microaggressions and outright hostility and bigotry from some of the other characters. Again, these are problems that relate just as much to our present as to an imagined future.
It’s worth noting that the author is also autistic and that Failure to Communicate is ownvoices in terms of autistic representation. I loved Xandri’s lowkey polyamourous romance plotline (it didn’t dominate the narrative). I said earlier in the review that Xandri was bisexual, but she could also be pansexual — no labels are ever used. I’ve only got two real criticisms when it comes to representation/diversity issues in Failure to Communicate. The first is that food terms were sometimes used to describe the characters of color’s skin, which can be a bit iffy. Secondly… this is probably getting into spoilers so maybe skip the rest of the paragraph…
That caveat aside, I really enjoyed Failure to Communicate. I plan to read the sequel! Hopefully sometime in 2019. Fingers crossed!
December 18, 2019
Okay I really enjoyed this, with some reservations.
Biggest is that the baddie is an evil bipolar person. Which on the face of it is just not fun to come across! (I'm in the same boat with both autism spectrum and bipolar where I don't fully meet the diagnostic criteria for dx but if I do better if we treat me like I have them. I can't fully claim them, but I have possessive feelings about representation. So. This book giveth and this book taketh away.) But on more reflection this book is doing something pretty interesting with abuse because of neuratypicality. Which is INTERESTING, and what a good SF idea for this SF idea to be throwing around. I mean, I think. Maybe I'm just reading into things. I can't wait to get my hand on book two and see if I'm just making things up whole cloth cause I don't like a trope.
Also the good guys are good, it's saying, but also our main character doesn't know if she's the only autistic person in the entire universe because of the eugenics that everyone is engaging in. That's pushed as a good thing by our side characters, a boon people should be grateful for. Which I REALLY hope the book unpacks more, or maybe it doesn't and it's just holding a mirror up to all those utopian futures where no one has a disability and saying "this is what is required for your utopia, to start". Pretty sure there's no Deaf culture in this future, either.
Anyways it's a super good book that's doing some very (i think) thoughtful things with disability and neurodivergence, but it doesn't really have any sort of closure for those things that it's doing. So a complex reading experience!
Biggest is that the baddie is an evil bipolar person. Which on the face of it is just not fun to come across! (I'm in the same boat with both autism spectrum and bipolar where I don't fully meet the diagnostic criteria for dx but if I do better if we treat me like I have them. I can't fully claim them, but I have possessive feelings about representation. So. This book giveth and this book taketh away.) But on more reflection this book is doing something pretty interesting with abuse because of neuratypicality. Which is INTERESTING, and what a good SF idea for this SF idea to be throwing around. I mean, I think. Maybe I'm just reading into things. I can't wait to get my hand on book two and see if I'm just making things up whole cloth cause I don't like a trope.
Also the good guys are good, it's saying, but also our main character doesn't know if she's the only autistic person in the entire universe because of the eugenics that everyone is engaging in. That's pushed as a good thing by our side characters, a boon people should be grateful for. Which I REALLY hope the book unpacks more, or maybe it doesn't and it's just holding a mirror up to all those utopian futures where no one has a disability and saying "this is what is required for your utopia, to start". Pretty sure there's no Deaf culture in this future, either.
Anyways it's a super good book that's doing some very (i think) thoughtful things with disability and neurodivergence, but it doesn't really have any sort of closure for those things that it's doing. So a complex reading experience!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 25, 2017
I read this within 3 days, on the tiny screen of my phone, and I could not care less because I've never enjoyed a book this much
The protagonist is a bisexual autistic woman. There's a strong focus on her inner life and thought process, and it's just so real. If you're autistic and have anxiety, here's finally a book that will make you feel understood, and have a truly relatable character.
For a large part the plot was intricate but lightweight until it got really intense toward the end. For the first half or so I thought I'd be recommending this as a light read but wow, as the book ended I was a sobbing mess.
Outwardly it looks like a science fiction book about aliens and diplomacy, but it carries clear social commentary as well.
I could not spot any ableism, racism or other *ism.
I really really really recommend reading this. Especially if you're autistic. And I guess also especially if you're not autistic. Or just in general.
It's also incredibly well written. The language is clear but artful.
The protagonist is a bisexual autistic woman. There's a strong focus on her inner life and thought process, and it's just so real. If you're autistic and have anxiety, here's finally a book that will make you feel understood, and have a truly relatable character.
For a large part the plot was intricate but lightweight until it got really intense toward the end. For the first half or so I thought I'd be recommending this as a light read but wow, as the book ended I was a sobbing mess.
Outwardly it looks like a science fiction book about aliens and diplomacy, but it carries clear social commentary as well.
I could not spot any ableism, racism or other *ism.
I really really really recommend reading this. Especially if you're autistic. And I guess also especially if you're not autistic. Or just in general.
It's also incredibly well written. The language is clear but artful.
October 23, 2017
This was a really fun book to read. She, and her friends, were compelling and well developed characters. Xandri has a wonderful voice for a narrator. Failure to Communicate wasn't a fast paced story, but it was very well paced. It was refreshing to see autism/neurodivergence in an own voices treatment. We also got a well built world that didn't suffer from whitewashing or heteronormativity. I want more worlds and novels like this, and I look forward to reading what Sønderby produces in the future.
September 22, 2018
Feminist and Diverse
I loved the realistic and positive representation of neurodiversity, racial diversity, polyamory, and LGBTQ characters. Really well written and a refreshing change from other male-dominated sci-fi.
I loved the realistic and positive representation of neurodiversity, racial diversity, polyamory, and LGBTQ characters. Really well written and a refreshing change from other male-dominated sci-fi.
July 20, 2025
Xandri is head of the Xenolinguistics team onboard of an Alliance spaceship. The ship is staffed with a variety of species and has a sentient AI. It’s all very reminiscent of The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet, with a touch of Star Trek. Besides the strong Becky Chambers vibe the style and themes made me think of books by M.C.A. Hogarth as well.
At the start they are exploring a planet and it‘s inhabitants, fauna and ecosystem. One of the species has the potential to be uplifted, if they ask for it. Interesting concept that made me think of David Brin.
Xandri and the ship she serves on are called off their current assignment to another system, to support in negotiations with a potential new Alliance member. There are cross-species issues and the hope is that Xandri can solve them.
There is a larger conspiracy looming in the background and a group of human right-winged nationalist are meddling as well.
Fairly slow-paced, focussing on Xandri‘s struggles to connect the dots and to make everybody get along. Tensions in Xandri‘s team complicate matters. She has no leadership skills and struggles to deal. Her colleagues and friends do not seem to have a concept of personal space. I find that hard to believe, considering that Xandri has been aboard the ship for four years. The amount of inappropriate, unrealistic touching kept throwing me off. If people would touch me this much, I would go ballistic and I am not on the autism spectrum. So you need to suspend your disbelief. I had to quite frequently. It felt pretty immature and silly to me.
Romance is light. Some of the characters engage in plenty of silly bantering, which didn‘t really work for me either.
There are the obvious bad guys. Characterizations are fairly shallow. The reveal towards the end is not a big surprise, the final outcome a little more so.
Despite all of that I generally liked the story, but would have wished for more suspense and more mature characters. I might read the next story.
3.5, rounded up. 👽👽👽½
Epub versions of the books in this series can be bought directly from the author here: https://kaiasonderby.gumroad.com
At the start they are exploring a planet and it‘s inhabitants, fauna and ecosystem. One of the species has the potential to be uplifted, if they ask for it. Interesting concept that made me think of David Brin.
Xandri and the ship she serves on are called off their current assignment to another system, to support in negotiations with a potential new Alliance member. There are cross-species issues and the hope is that Xandri can solve them.
There is a larger conspiracy looming in the background and a group of human right-winged nationalist are meddling as well.
Fairly slow-paced, focussing on Xandri‘s struggles to connect the dots and to make everybody get along. Tensions in Xandri‘s team complicate matters. She has no leadership skills and struggles to deal. Her colleagues and friends do not seem to have a concept of personal space. I find that hard to believe, considering that Xandri has been aboard the ship for four years. The amount of inappropriate, unrealistic touching kept throwing me off. If people would touch me this much, I would go ballistic and I am not on the autism spectrum. So you need to suspend your disbelief. I had to quite frequently. It felt pretty immature and silly to me.
Romance is light. Some of the characters engage in plenty of silly bantering, which didn‘t really work for me either.
There are the obvious bad guys. Characterizations are fairly shallow. The reveal towards the end is not a big surprise, the final outcome a little more so.
Despite all of that I generally liked the story, but would have wished for more suspense and more mature characters. I might read the next story.
3.5, rounded up. 👽👽👽½
Epub versions of the books in this series can be bought directly from the author here: https://kaiasonderby.gumroad.com
August 3, 2019
This was cool! I'm always here for diverse scifi.
And honestly, the characters were probably my favorite part of this book! Xandri is such a strong character-- not physically strong, or even butt-kicking strong necessarily, but she's so raw and honest and complex and just really realistic, I felt. I liked her a lot, and was definitely rooting for her.
And Diver and Kiri? The love interests? My FAVES. They're both so cute and smart and kind and funny and I love them So Much. I can't wait to see more of them.
And I thought the worldbuilding was cool too! I'm really interested in learning more about the species and cultures in other planets.
The only part I didn't love was the plot. It was a little slow at times and a bit directionless, and could sometimes get confusing. But it picked up in the later parts, and I ended up enjoying it.
Overall it was pretty cool, and I'm looking forwards to reading the rest.
And honestly, the characters were probably my favorite part of this book! Xandri is such a strong character-- not physically strong, or even butt-kicking strong necessarily, but she's so raw and honest and complex and just really realistic, I felt. I liked her a lot, and was definitely rooting for her.
And Diver and Kiri? The love interests? My FAVES. They're both so cute and smart and kind and funny and I love them So Much. I can't wait to see more of them.
And I thought the worldbuilding was cool too! I'm really interested in learning more about the species and cultures in other planets.
The only part I didn't love was the plot. It was a little slow at times and a bit directionless, and could sometimes get confusing. But it picked up in the later parts, and I ended up enjoying it.
Overall it was pretty cool, and I'm looking forwards to reading the rest.
February 3, 2024
I enjoyed this a lot. The MC is autistic in a time where neurodivergency has been almost completely eradicated through genetic engineering. She knows what it feels like to be unfairly judged and profiled, and that - along with the observational skills her autism has given her - makes her good at her job as a liaisons officer acting as a go-between for the Starsystems Alliance and sentient species on other planets.
I see it is #1 in a series but it could easily be read as a standalone. I thought the ending was very well done and it definitely makes me want to move onto the next book.
I got strong Becky Chambers vibes with this book, so if you like her books I think this one will appeal too.
How I rate:
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐Rare, special.
⭐⭐⭐⭐ Recommend. A good read.
⭐⭐⭐ It was okay.
⭐⭐ I didn't enjoy it.
⭐ DNF
I see it is #1 in a series but it could easily be read as a standalone. I thought the ending was very well done and it definitely makes me want to move onto the next book.
I got strong Becky Chambers vibes with this book, so if you like her books I think this one will appeal too.
How I rate:
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐Rare, special.
⭐⭐⭐⭐ Recommend. A good read.
⭐⭐⭐ It was okay.
⭐⭐ I didn't enjoy it.
⭐ DNF
September 20, 2019
Really good.
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Trigger warnings:
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Trigger warnings:
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