otrops reviewed Promises Stronger Than Darkness by Charlie Jane Anders (Unstoppable, #3)
Promises Stronger Than Darkness marks the final installment of the international bestselling author Charlie Jane …
Review of 'Promises Greater Than Darkness' on 'Storygraph'
This was an ARC from NetGalley.
This was a thrilling end to the story of Tina, Rachael, Eliza and their friends.
As with the other books in this trilogy, a major focus was on these characters working through their doubts, grief and trauma with the help of their friends.
One theme very much came to the forefront in this book: how to deal with having killed someone, even in self defence. I remember reading a review of the first book in the trilogy that mentioned this, which pointed out how rare it is that fiction deals realistically with the trauma of having killed someone. In Promises Stronger Than Darkness, this is not only a theme, but an active topic of discussion among the characters. At one point, one of the characters says, “It’s difficult to grieve when a friend dies. But it’s even harder to grieve for an enemy you killed. We don’t even like to think of it as grief, because that implies you wish they hadn’t died. Still, if you must take a life, then it’s best to make space to hold a funeral, even if it’s only in your own imagination.”
This is not just an action-packed book, but a thoughtful and humane (is there a better word fir this when there are multiple alien species involved?) meditation on how to make the world (the galaxy? the universe?) a more inclusive and better place. And how to retain your humanity when fighting against those who would destroy people unlike them without a second thought.
This was a thrilling end to the story of Tina, Rachael, Eliza and their friends.
As with the other books in this trilogy, a major focus was on these characters working through their doubts, grief and trauma with the help of their friends.
One theme very much came to the forefront in this book: how to deal with having killed someone, even in self defence. I remember reading a review of the first book in the trilogy that mentioned this, which pointed out how rare it is that fiction deals realistically with the trauma of having killed someone. In Promises Stronger Than Darkness, this is not only a theme, but an active topic of discussion among the characters. At one point, one of the characters says, “It’s difficult to grieve when a friend dies. But it’s even harder to grieve for an enemy you killed. We don’t even like to think of it as grief, because that implies you wish they hadn’t died. Still, if you must take a life, then it’s best to make space to hold a funeral, even if it’s only in your own imagination.”
This is not just an action-packed book, but a thoughtful and humane (is there a better word fir this when there are multiple alien species involved?) meditation on how to make the world (the galaxy? the universe?) a more inclusive and better place. And how to retain your humanity when fighting against those who would destroy people unlike them without a second thought.