This review is also featured on Behind the Pages: Ardulum First Don

To some the traveling plant of Ardulum is a legend, to others, it has become a focal point for worship. For Neek, it is a point of rebellion. The planetary government refuses to change its ways, blindly following the teachings left behind by the Ardulans. Neek makes a stand to speak out against the teachings and is rewarded with exile. Cast out into the galaxy, she finds her way aboard Mercy’s Pledge, a transport ship that doesn’t hesitate to smuggle an item or two. But when their newest cargo consists of a young Ardulan, Neek’s entire worldview is thrown off course.

Ardulum First Don will take readers on a journey across the galaxy as the main characters embark on a quest to find answers and try to keep those they care about safe. A wide array of cultures will be introduced, and readers will find themselves immersed in a multicultural world filled with various cultures, beliefs, and representations.

My favorite character was Emm. When readers first meet Emm she is a child, naïve to the politics she is fully immersed in. As an Ardulan, there are those among the various planets who wish to exploit her for their own gains. Emm undergoes a journey of self-discovery as she is thrown into conflicts beyond her control, and ends up aboard the Mercy’s Pledge. While the crew is unsure how to handle a young Ardulan, they do their best to keep her safe. But the threat grows ever larger as keeping her hidden becomes increasingly difficult. Emm’s journey was the highlight of Ardulum First Don.

But Emm isn’t the only character with challenges to overcome. Neek was indoctrinated to believe in the worship of Ardulans. However, as she grew, she began to question the beliefs of her people and whether Ardulans existed. When she is exiled from her planet, cast adrift with nowhere to call home, Yorden offers her a place aboard Mercy’s Pledge. And when Neek comes face to face with what appears to be a true Ardulan, she begins to question everything. Readers will become engaged in Neek’s emotional battle as she struggles to understand what is truth and what is a lie.

Ardulum First Don is a space adventure filled with interplanetary politics, space battles, and an underlying theme of found family. While it may have taken my mind a while to understand the biological terms used to explain the technology, the overarching story was captivating. Not to mention J. S. Fields built her characters in a way that left plenty of room for growth. Sci-fi is a hard sell for me, however, this is one series I hope to continue reading. ( )

This was a decent read. A few parts that felt a little thin or a little awkward. I didn't really feel like there was a good reason for all these people to all be so obsessed with one race of people, even given the powers they showed. I would have liked more development of the why's of the reactions among the neeks, risalians, and mmnnuggls that were all so extreme and so uniform across each entire race.

Shows promise though, and if the world gets less stark black and white as it goes, and starts showing some shades of belief - this could turn very interesting. ( )

This book was May 2018's Sapphic Book Club read hosted by @sapphicbookclub.



Note: I wrote this review in January 2018, I'm just reposting it for the book club.

**

I received a copy through NetGalley from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Read on my blog.

Ardulum is truly a sci-fi story - not just humans vaguely in space, but many developed alien species. For me, the strongest aspect of the book was worldbuilding, especially the different aliens. I loved how they didn't have the same binary gender system as humans do - one species for example has three genders, and another one has only one gender where all members use the same nonbinary pronoun. (According to the author bio, she is nonbinary and uses she/her pronouns, so it's even #ownvoices for that aspect!) I also loved other unique aspects of the cultures other than gender, for example all members of a species sharing the same name.

A unique and surprisingly clever part was the quote before every single chapter - from a radio broadcast, from a protest, from an in-world document... I feel like these quotes helped make the world feel real, show that it goes on even outside our protagonists.

Unfortunately, there were also some parts where all the foreign words and the explanation of the Ardulans' powers (all that talk of cellulose and chemical bonds) went over my head and I found it difficult to visualise what was happening, but I suppose that's my own personal problem.

I also had some complicated feelings about the metamorphosis in one of the species - I understand that they are alien beings and thus work differently, but it was still strange to see a character who was referred to as "child" for 80% of the book suddenly act and be treated like an adult while basically no time passed for anyone else.

Overall, I'd say that I loved the creative worldbuilding and the myths surrounding the vanishing planet of Ardulum. The plot felt boring at times and there were parts that were confusing or vaguely uncomfortable to read, but there wasn't really anything I hated about this book.

The book ended in a place with a lot of open questions, so I am curious to see what the sequel makes of this!

(That being said, if you see it being labelled "Lesbian" on Goodreads and go in with those expectations, you may be disappointed because there really isn't a mention of the main character's sexuality in this first book.)

My rating: ★★★★☆ ( )

This book is May's Sapphic Book Club read hosted by @sapphicliterature.

I'm a few days late but still here.

Space opera is not something I read often so I don’t have much comparison and this is why I’ll keep it short.

I had a hard start with this one. I’ve been reading just one chapter at a time at first - partially because of my book slump and partially because I needed some time to get used to all those species, their history, relations, ect. Once I got through that though, it was hard to put this book down.

I loved the Mercy’s Pledge’s crew and their chosen family dynamics. I loved the rich worldbuilding. Neek and her relationship with the Ardulans. The additional articles, broadcasts and other stuff before every chapter. I loved different representation of gender systems within different species. The battles. I hated one whole species but they deserve it… [I think that if Risalians were reluctant to share the information about their Ardulans with the rest of the Charted System, they were aware what they’re doing is WRONG.. Ugh, bad blue galaxy policemen… BAD.. ] I think it was interesting to see different mentalities of different species and different (also bad) takes on morality.

I admit I’ve done some skimming. It wasn’t that the writing was bad or there were so many unnecessary things included but I was more interested in the action itself than on dwelling on every sentence. This is probably because I’ve ventured out of my comfort zone a bit. I think my tired brain had a hard time visualising all those details (as it was a busy month for me :c) so I skipped those partially so if you're not a usual reader of space operas as well make sure to read it during some easy time just in case.
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