DNF @ 52%. This was one of my most anticipated YA releases of 2021 and perhaps those expectations contributed, but I just couldn’t gel with this novel. I did appreciate the diversity and I sincerely think this might still be a great read for a younger teen audience (13-15ish). However, between a disbelief in the initial premise and setup, a lack of characterization in favor of myriad descriptions of random alien races, and taking away the action and space oriented parts of sci-fi I typically enjoy, this wasn’t the novel for me.

Thank you to Tor and NetGalley for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Thank you Netgalley and Tor/Forge for getting me an e-book ARC of "Victories Greater Than Death". This have in no way or form effected my review

"Victories Greater Than Death" by Charlie Jane Anders is a book I desperately wanted to love, but didn't.

Don't get me wrong, it was a fun and wild ride, and I don't regret reading it at all. I think the problem lies in me having very high hopes going in, and that unfortunately resulted in me finishing the book with a feeling of wanting a lot more than I got.

Because I love the premise of the story, I love the world(universe?)building and the motifs of found family.
This book is also deliciously queernormative, and I was here for every second of it.
I mean, the translation device that let the earthlings understand each other and everyone else makes sure to include the person's pronouns (or lack thereof) when they introduce themselves, for example - and yes, this included the story's antagonist as well.

I genuinely think that a lot of the problems I had with the book boils down to it feeling crammed. It felt like the text had started out as the double amount of pages, and it could definitely have used that. The narrative choices of what to prioritize also confused me. It felt like a lot of characters were used in giving the reader information of various aliens and their homeworlds - which was cool, but did nothing to move the plot forward. At the same time, a lot of plot points was rushed through or skipped over, to a degree where it became frustrating. When reading a YA scifi I want to read about the action, not having a chapter end in "I'm going on a mission", only for the next chapter to begin at the end of said mission (or even after it)
Because of this, it felt like there were no real build up to the story's main events, which in turn made the pacing seem slow.
It was almost surreal in feeling that it was slow, considering that a lot of things were constantly going on, but that was unfortunately the consequence of so much being skipped over.

I would still recommend this book to anyone enjoying YA scifi, and, based on the opinions expressed in the narration, Charlie Jane Anders seems like a lovely person.
Unfortunately I just wished for more.

I received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange of a review. All opinions my own.

Long story short: this is an amazing book. There. I’ve said it. It has everything I've wanted and more and I cannot wait for it to come out, go back to work, and throw it one into everyone’s hands because its what it deserves.

To be honest, there wasn’t anything in the book that I disliked, nor any weak points. I fell in love with the characters. They are diverse, charismatic and relatable. It’s easy to see yourself reflected in them, or at least, in some of them due to their struggles and personalities being fundamentally human. Even the more alien characters are relatable! It made me so happy that the introductions included names and pronouns. Also, and I cannot stress this enough, CONSENT IS IMPORTANT. I absolutely loved how characters discussed this, because it’s something I don’t get to see often but it's so damn important that I’m delighted it’s getting more representation. A big thumbs up for the author.

I enjoyed this adventure so much mainly because I specially enjoy when authors use science fiction to dig deep into human ethics, responsibilities and perspectives. The writing is amazing and you can feel the passion on it. It’s fast paced but that does not dilute the plot, as a matter of fact, I found it very easy to read, as I was absolutely looking forward to the way it was going to develop. It felt like those kind of books where you’re not so much invested on the ending itself but everything that happens towards the road that’s gonna lead you there. For me, it has the perfect balance between action packed, rich background, dreadful villains and real characters.

If you have read any of her other books, marketed towards a more adult public, you may notice, as I have, how this one was more marketed towards YA as a genre. By no means I’m saying this as a negative thing about the book, as I have thoroughly enjoyed it as it is, but if you dive into this book expecting the same as in her adult marketed books, you will find some style differences. I adored her adult characters as much as her more teenage ones, but they have different approaches from the fiction.

After reading this book, Anders has now a consolidated permanent seat in my “I will read absolutely everything” shelf. And let me tell you, so should you. I cannot wait for the rest of the series to come out!

I appreciated the diverse characters, the use of pronouns, and the friendship between the girls. I have read scenes of forced kisses or touches in YA novels, so it was refreshing that Anders' characters had a habit of asking for consent. Overall, this was a solid book and I'm looking forward to more YA novels by this author.

Victories Greater Than Death by Charlie Jane Anders is full of exciting, galaxy-hopping action, fantastic diversity, and honest characters. It starts off a little slow, but once Tina hits space, the book explodes with interesting aliens, technology, and an intergalactic war with Tina and her friends caught in the thick of it.

It’s obvious that Anders spent a lot of time developing this universe. All of the alien species had unique traits and I particularly enjoyed the various greetings that characters would exchange and how those greetings changed depending on the situation. I LOVED that the universal translator introduced characters by their name and preferred pronoun. The human teenagers came from a variety of backgrounds and were diverse, smart, and flawed; and Anders didn’t shy away from serious issues like anxiety, depression, and abuse. These characters felt like real teenagers to me and I was rooting for them the whole time.

One of the highlights of the book for me was how Tina struggles with the weight of her destiny, being a clone of an intergalactic hero, especially when recalling the memories of her former life fails. I love that Tina must work to discover who she is as a person, not a clone, and how she fits into this war and universe.

Overall, I really, really enjoyed this book and look forward to joining Tina and her friends on their next adventure! I would recommend this for anyone who loves a good space adventure, found family, and fantastic character diversity.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan-Tom Doherty Associates for a copy of the eArc in exchange for an honest review.

I have received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Wow. I loved absolutely everything about Victories Greater Than Death. I'll even admit that I geeked out once I got the actual book from NetGalley. It also doesn't hurt that each and every character was so god damn lovable either. I mean, even the ones I met for like two seconds some how wormed their way into my heart.

In it you will meet Tina and find out that she's a clone of some amazing Captain that sacrificed herself to save a bunch of people. So just to have that much weight on the top of her shoulders.. well she just doesn't know what to do with her life. Then again, she knew that she was not from Earth and that some day she would have to leave the planet she grew up on.

Other than that, you will meet a bunch of different characters. The diversity was insane and the one thing that made me so damn proud/happy was that they would state their name AND then their pronoun. This just made the book unique in my eyes because we don't always get that and it's kind of like a huge guessing game (that everyone will fail).

After meeting everyone, they were on a wild ass ride/adventure. Honestly, so much happened and it was a lot of fun to read all about it. Besides the adventure, this book dives into so many topics that are real and make you pay attention to every little thing that is happening. Again, I loved it all and I'm so happy that I got the chance to dive into this.

In the end, that cliffhanger just about killed me. Waiting will be the death of me but I seriously need the next book STAT!

I received a copy of the book from Netgalley to review. Thank you for the opportunity.
This is a unique story and I admit it a bit of a strange one. The writing is good and the MC is quirky. The story is fast paced with plenty of action
On the whole a good book.

I've tried and tried, but although this has a great premise and fab worldbuilding, I just can't get into it. I don't think it's a bad book; I think it's just that Anders has altered their style quite a bit in writing their YA debut, so I'd caution fans of their Adult books before picking this one up. It's very different in tone and style from City in the Middle of the Night or All the Birds in the Sky, and like I said, I don't think that's *bad*, but it's something readers should be ready for going in.

I think fans of YA + aliens are going to love this immensely, but those of us who were expecting something more like All the Birds are inevitably going to be disappointed.

I just love Charlie Jane Anders. All the Birds in the Sky was one the the books that brought me back to the sci-fi genre, so I was glad to get my hands on an early copy of Victories Greater Than Death - her YA debut.

They book follows Tina, who happens to be an alien clone of the galaxy's most brilliant commander. Tina is desperate for her own adventures to begin, but she gets a bit more than she bargained for when she has to save the world.

This book is a sci-fi mash up that is queer and strange and lovely.

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book. All thoughts are my own.

Charlie Jane Anders, the author of the critically acclaimed All the Birds in the Sky and The City in the Middle of the Night, exceeds expectations in her upcoming novel Victories Greater Than Death (April 13, 2021).

While reading, I had to put my Kindle down after reaching the 70% mark. I didn’t want Tina’s story to end. Doctor Who, She-Ra (2018), and Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse come to mind while reading. There’s action, fascinating alien worlds to explore, and high stakes to keep your eyes on the page. Anders has written a compelling story that will resonate with its target audience.

Anders wastes no time in getting you buckled up for the ride. Tina’s voice is established from the first page. She speaks and acts like the average teenager today, even though she has a destiny that she must embark on once the time comes. She is the clone of the space hero Captain Thoah Argentian, her DNA masked as a human on earth to avoid being hunted by enemies. When those enemies have tracked her down, she and her best friend Rachael are transported to the spaceship The Indomitable, where a diverse team of aliens awaits the arrival of Argentian’s clone.

Victories Greater Than Death navigates themes about supremacy, genocide, heroism, and identity. Tina questions her existence as the clone of an infamous alien hero. She doubts her ability to live up to Argentian’s legacy. What I still don’t see in a lot of superhero media is the vulnerability and sense of self that comes with the package. Tina’s personal journey mostly revolves around her fears of failing her human and alien friends. At the end of the day, she is a teenager, and there are moments where she releases her fears and doubts.

The story’s external conflict involves the ongoing battle with the Compassion, a group of aliens that have committed genocide despite their aim to spread peace throughout the galaxy. The Compassion’s leader Marrant, Argentian’s enemy and former friend, wants to achieve a superior form of existence. An ancient alien race called the Shapers has left behind a superweapon that could grant Marrant’s wish. This part of the story seamlessly intertwines with Tina’s arc. In between The Indomitable crew’s mission in defeating the Compassion, Tina wonders about her place in the universe. Her relationships with the other characters, particularly her developing romance with Elza, adds dimension to Tina’s narrative arc.

Besides Anders’s carefully crafted scenes and balance of action and interiority, her sensitivity in human diversity is impressive and appreciated. The aliens and homeworlds show Anders’s infinite imagination, but her attention to her human characters deserves recognition and praise. The story introduces Yiwei (Chinese), Damini (East Indian), Keziah (Black British), and Elza (Black Brazilian, travesti). Chosen to help defeat Marrant and the rest of the Compassion, they apply their skills and talents while adapting to life on a spaceship. However, the story also allows room to develop these characters, putting them as people first. Anders had consulted with sensitivity readers to make sure those characters are represented well.

An exciting story that explores what it means to be a hero, Victories Greater Than Death is a fantastic start to a new YA series.

Tina knows she’s special. Like Superman but with a concrete destiny, Tina knows that someday, she’s going to be inaugurated into a galaxy-spanning adventure – and she can’t wait. However, when the time finally comes, Tina, along with her best friend Rachael, discover that destiny can be deadly. Soon, they’re caught up in a frantic fight for survival against cosmic enemies who believe genocide is a swell idea. Luckily, they’ve got help in the form of a group of teens who chose to leave behind their lives on Earth in search of an adventure in space. This remarkable group will have to put it all on the line if they want to stop the villainous Marrant from enacting his terrible plan.

Charlie Jane Anders is a writer I really want to like. Her stories are queer af, and she clearly has a prodigious imagination. The world-building in Victories Greater Than Death is quite creative, and not just because of all the alien species she invents: tremendous thought has been put into ship designs, weapon systems, military tactics, and how different species would think differently. (There’s one species, introduced late in the game, that thinks of everything in threes, which leads to some interesting conflicts.) And Anders always goes the extra mile when it comes to getting representation just right. These are all things I admire, and enjoyed when it came to this book in particular.

However, just like The City in the Middle of the Night, which I read last year, I just don’t feel fully invested in the worlds she conjures. Here, at least, I have something concrete to point to – the prose. Having read some of Anders’ other work, I know that she can write a beautiful, descriptive sentence. Here, the prose feels flat and workmanlike, with clipped sentences that seem designed for consumption by a younger audience that would probably feel more like they were being talked down to. (This is Anders’ first YA novel.) There were many moments that ought to have been emotional and gut-wrenching, but felt instead perfunctory.

It also comes down to characters. There are a lot, and I confess that at times I had a tough time keeping track of everyone. Unfortunately, most just aren’t that distinctive: one gets a sense that their personalities aren’t much deeper than “This is the one who likes music” and “This is the one who likes piloting.” Tina – as our point of view character – has the most well-developed personality. I also quite liked Elza and Rachael. As for the others, I am frankly already forgetting their names. Part of the issue, I think, is that conflicts between the characters are fairly one-dimensional: almost always, if there’s a disagreement, it’s clear who’s right and who’s wrong, which is pretty boring.

All of this is a shame, because as I said, I like a lot of what Anders is doing here. This is a book with a lot on its mind, including issues of power, hegemony, and equality, and it has a realistically pouty teenage protagonist. Although portions of this felt like a slog, the last act was thrilling and has moments that almost would have been emotional (if it weren’t for that prose problem). The villain is terrifying, and has a power that is uniquely unsettling; despite writing for a YA audience, Anders holds nothing back when it comes to violence, both physical and emotional. And, as I said above, the worldbuilding is impressive – Anders takes nothing for granted, and even uses our basic assumptions about what aliens look like to ask questions about unconscious bias and how this can lead down a dark, dark road. Despite all my reservations, there is still some great, thought-provoking sci-fi in here.

I felt a curious mix of emotions through all of Victories Greater Than Death, simultaneously confounded and compelled, as if I could see the great book this almost was at the margins of every page. I kept hoping that it would all click into place, and it almost does by the end. Unfortunately, I just never felt like the characters were more than skin-deep, and their relationships – except between that core trio I mentioned of Tina, Elza, and Rachael – never felt complex or messy enough to keep me engaged.

Anders leaves us with the promise of a sequel, and indeed there appear to be two more books planned in this series. Despite my lukewarm take on this first novel, I will probably read the next. I am curious to see what happens to Tina, and whether the other characters can start to cohere in a more well-rounded and fully-realized way now that we’ve got the basics down.

I encourage fans of Charlie Jane Anders to check this out – if you already like her writing, you may enjoy this one, despite the starkly different prose style. Others may want to approach more warily, but if you enjoy big-picture space opera with lots of great queer rep and some cool ideas, you may want to check it out, too. Just be advised that, in my view at least, it doesn’t nearly reach the heights of its potential.

Victories Greater Than Death releases on April 13th, 2021.

I really liked this story, the characters, plot, setting, use of pronouns and consent and diversity were all done very well. I felt there was a little bit missing in terms of describing the action and story line but overall I thoroughly enjoyed this story and would recommend it to anyone looking for a new Sci Fi/Fantasy read. 3.5 starts rounded up.

Wonderful story. The world building was awesome. I loved the friendship between the girls the most. I could picture everything in my head and that to me is the best kind of book!

**I received and voluntarily read an e-ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.**

I love sci-fi, so I was really looking forward to reading this book. Unfortunately, my hopes were too high.

I understand that Anders is building an entirely new world, but it felt messy and gave us too much in a short period of time. There are so many characters, races, greetings, etc., that it feels bloated and hard to remember. Maybe it's because I have a lot of other things on my mind, but I ended up needing to keep a pen and paper to keep track of who was who.

I think that maybe this world would work better as a series of graphic novels (or even a TV series or movie) that could work as a prequel to introduce us to this world. It would also make it easier to distinguish characters, races, and so on.

Overall, it's a great idea that needed more work on the execution.

This book just shines. Jumping straight into an action packed story of identity and hope and questions, just a really stunning intro. The world building is fun and walks a fine edge between camp and genuine wonder.

I received an early copy in exchange for an honest review. Thanks to TOR and Netgalley.

Anders' City in the Middle of the Night made me pay attention to her as a science fiction writer. If you've read that, you can imagine how she might approach a YA space adventure. If you've read All the Birds in the Sky you know what to expect from her humor and quirky characters. This book is everything I had hoped for and then some. While a bit lighter than The Expanse, fans of modern space adventures are sure to love this. If you enjoyed seeing queer representation in Star Trek Discovery Season 3, be prepared to love this as well.

The book doesn't spend much time in a high school on Earth. We quickly join an adventure on an alien space ship with a few earthlings recruited from a variety of backgrounds to make things interesting. This allows us to learn the ways of the ship from the perspective of a newcomer. The mixture of comedy throughout makes it feel like The Orville at times, without the unnecessary dick jokes. Maybe on a re read I'll listen to The Orville soundtrack.

Anders makes good use of pronouns and consent in a way that feels natural. The action really picks up in the second half leading to an incredible standoff and satisfying ending. The stakes could not be higher. I will eagerly return if a sequel is ever released. I'll be waiting patiently for a return to the wonderful space and characters. This is some of the most fun I have had in space.

Teens who like Star Wars or Doctor Who are going to adore this book! I can't wait to recommend it in schools (in fact, I've already recommended it even though it doesn't come out until April...oops!). It's a little bit of a bildungsroman, with a main character that has that "Han Solo" snarkiness to her, and a supporting cast that is diverse in ethnicity and sexual orientation (and species). The worldbuilding is super creative. The aliens you meet and the worlds you travel to all feel unique and have their own fun flavor. Plot-wise, it did sort of do the "Rise of Skywalker" search for a Macguffin thing which is not something I love, but it ultimately ended up somewhere cool. It's certainly fast-paced! The chapters are short and often end on cliffhangers. This could be a great pick for reluctant readers who like science fiction!

Victories Greater Than Death is a very good entry into the YA space opera genre, which could probably stand to see more high quality stories like this. I will be widely recommending it. 5 stars.

Thanks to Tor and Netgalley for the eARC. Victories Greater Than Death will be released in April 2021.

3.5
I enjoyed the parts I read. I found it a unique story with interesting details and I liked how the narrative was told. However, I felt like chunks were missing. It jumped back and forth and with not much detail of things that set up the story or when it would go back and forth. I did enjoy it just felt it needed a little more to give more context.

Thank you to Net Galley for the advanced copy.

Let me start off by saying that I love how LGBTQ friendly this book is. I appreciate the pronoun usages and consistency. My child feels the same.

This book started off strong and sassy and exciting but about 1/3 of the way in i started losing interest. I’ve been reading it with my child and they were beginning to feel the same way. We decided to keep trying but couldn’t make it quite halfway.

I will give this book another try. Sometimes we aren’t in the right place for certain books. I’m hoping this is the case for this book because I really want to enjoy this book and see how it ends. Unfortunately, it’s just lagging and drawing out too much for me.

I could see this as a mini-series on TV.

As far as YA books go, this was a pretty good one! Ended somewhat abruptly, like it needed to hook us for the sequel, which I’ve noticed can be a problem in the genre. Hit all the major representation buttons pretty well (not meaning to be glib - representation is important!) The characterization felt a little thin, which might, again, just be because I’m not the target audience for YA.