krispy_reading's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Wonderful storytelling. I would recommend the audiobook so you can hear the spoken native language in some dialogue scenes.
Graphic: Gun violence, Violence, and Cursing
Moderate: Racism, Blood, Animal death, Alcohol, Suicide, and Death
Minor: Cannibalism, Fire/Fire injury, and Grief
maregred's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Moderate: Alcoholism, Alcohol, Animal death, Colonisation, Death, Gun violence, Cannibalism, and Blood
cait's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Minor: Xenophobia, Murder, Racism, Blood, Animal death, Colonisation, Gaslighting, Gun violence, Mental illness, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Cursing, Death, Genocide, Grief, and Violence
aformeracceleratedreader's review against another edition
3.5
It was overall quick, but for me, slow to start. I loved the premise and loved the way the dreams people had foreshadowed the story throughout. Also enjoyed the focus on how a First Nations community dealt with an apocalyptic situation since we usually get big city, white people POVs.
I wish we had a little bit more on the motivation of the first stranger arriving at the community and how the community dealt with the aftermath. But I did enjoy the focus on community traditions and the social commentary about how first nation's/indigenous peoples are treated today.
Graphic: Alcohol, Death, and Animal death
Moderate: Classism, Colonisation, Racism, Injury/injury detail, Cursing, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, and Violence
Minor: Blood and Cannibalism
haylzno's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
I think the most chilling aspect about this novel is how... close to real it felt. Both the author and narrator did a fantastic job of creating that anxiety fueled atmosphere that left me reeling chapter after chapter.
There were moments where I felt the plot lulled enough to take me out of the story, but those instances were few and far between. I'll definitely be continuing the series
Graphic: Death, Suicide, Murder, Grief, and Blood
Moderate: Cannibalism
thesupermassive's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Graphic: Death and Murder
Moderate: Blood and Cannibalism
agnesa_ast's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Spoiler
the plot twist of justin scott being cannibal was such a poetic representation of how assimilation worked in the past/present - it would literally feed and eat away indigenous culture. CHILLS.Moderate: Blood, Alcoholism, Cannibalism, Colonisation, and Violence
Minor: Cursing
woolgatherer's review against another edition
4.25
“Yes, apocalypse. We’ve had that over and over. But we always survived. We’re still here. And we’ll still be here, even if the power and the radios don’t come back on and we never see any white people ever again.”
Rice quietly yet boldly challenges the dystopian genre with an Indigenous perspective that will have the reader reconsider the definition of “post-apocalypse.”
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, and Violence
Moderate: Cannibalism, Blood, and Grief
Minor: Alcoholism and Suicide
starrysteph's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
This is a quiet, somber tale of the apocalypse - but from the viewpoint of a group that has already faced exile and devastation and several "world-ending" events.
We follow Evan, his family, and his isolated Anishinaabe community in northern Canada. They're already quite distant from the rest of the country, and loss of cell service and internet and even power is a fairly normal event (in fact, they've only recently installed a cell tower). When a couple of family members rush back home from the south, they realize that things are falling apart in the wider world.
Their community is prepared to live off the land, but not everyone has kept in touch with traditional skills. When a group of white strangers arrive, things quickly become uneasy and then downright dangerous.
The plot is simplistic, and this is mostly a character-driven piece. I appreciated the glimpse into culture and spirit and the take on the end of the world from an indigenous point of view.
While the world feels deeply authentic, the writing itself was very dry. The premise is so compelling that I was disappointed when the prose wasn't rich at all. I didn't feel like I got nearly enough insight into the minds of the characters, and many felt unchanged from start to finish.
Though we have a wide range of personality types (many reflective of how current societal groups have reacted to our current pandemic - and this novel was written in 2018!), many of the side characters felt too similar to each other. Within this group of smaller characters, it was often difficult to remember who was who. The villain was also a bit stereotypical - a hulking, scary bad guy without any sort of history or clear motivations.
Ultimately, I felt like this short, sad piece asked a lot of compelling questions (such as: how do indigenous communities stay connected with their identities - that have so often been ripped from them - in a modern world? who is best prepared to survive an apocalyptic event?), but the follow through wasn't quite enough for me.
CW: gun violence, death, murder, violence, animal death, cannibalism, alcoholism, suicide, racism
Graphic: Murder, Alcoholism, Animal death, Violence, Racism, Gun violence, Grief, Death, Cannibalism, Blood, and Suicide
anxiousnachos's review
3.0
Content warnings: Violence, gun violence, blood, starvation, cannibalism, death, dead bodies, hunting, animal death, racism
Graphic: Gun violence, Blood, Cannibalism, Death, Murder, Racism, Violence, and Animal death