krispy_reading's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- 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
Very atmospheric writing. Characters dealing with “dominos falling one by one” type plot.
Wonderful storytelling. I would recommend the audiobook so you can hear the spoken native language in some dialogue scenes.
Wonderful storytelling. I would recommend the audiobook so you can hear the spoken native language in some dialogue scenes.
Content Warnings
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
adventurous
challenging
dark
hopeful
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- 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
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcoholism, Alcohol, Animal death, Colonisation, Death, Gun violence, Cannibalism, and Blood
cait's review
adventurous
challenging
tense
medium-paced
- 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
Content Warnings
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
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
3.5
Overall a solid, atmospheric read. I would def read more from this author.
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.
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Death, and Animal death
Moderate: Classism, Colonisation, Racism, Injury/injury detail, Cursing, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, and Violence
Minor: Blood and Cannibalism
talonsontypewriters's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Murder, Death, Animal death, Gun violence, and Violence
Moderate: Gore, Injury/injury detail, Alcohol, Fire/Fire injury, Racism, Body horror, Colonisation, and Drug use
Minor: Child abuse, Racial slurs, Suicide, Alcoholism, Sexual content, Forced institutionalization, Domestic abuse, Child death, and War
lottiegasp's review
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
This novel is about an Anishinaabe community living in northern Canada who lose all power, communications and satellite due to unknown circumstances. The story is about their survival and a white man who infiltrates and disrupts their community. I liked learning about the Anishinaabe culture and stories. Overall I found the story slow and it did not result in as much plot or action as I would have enjoyed.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death
theprimalcollective's review
adventurous
challenging
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death and Animal death
Moderate: Cannibalism, Alcoholism, Violence, and Suicide
careinthelibrary's review
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.0
**Re-read in 2022**
I liked it a bit more this time as I took it slower whereas before I blasted through on audio. Still not a favourite but I liked the chilling tension!
*original 2019 review*
Somehow this was a bit disappointing for me. The action took too long to build and by the time it was finally there, it was a little too late. And I felt that there wasn't enough character back story or character development, many felt a bit flat and could have been so much more vivid. I love the idea behind this and I'd read another by this author, but this wasn't a favourite.
I liked it a bit more this time as I took it slower whereas before I blasted through on audio. Still not a favourite but I liked the chilling tension!
*original 2019 review*
Somehow this was a bit disappointing for me. The action took too long to build and by the time it was finally there, it was a little too late. And I felt that there wasn't enough character back story or character development, many felt a bit flat and could have been so much more vivid. I love the idea behind this and I'd read another by this author, but this wasn't a favourite.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cannibalism, Violence, Death, Gun violence, and Murder
Moderate: Alcohol, Grief, Suicide, and Animal death
food insecurity, MMIWG2Sstarrysteph's review
challenging
dark
sad
slow-paced
- 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
"Our world isn't ending. It already ended."
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
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Alcoholism, Animal death, Violence, Racism, Gun violence, Grief, Death, Cannibalism, Blood, and Suicide
anxiousnachos's review
mysterious
slow-paced
3.0
This was an unnerving apocalyptic-thriller following an Anishinaabe community during Winter as their contact with the outside world goes dark. Ultimately I think the strength of this novel is also its weakness. I loved the idea of an apocalyptic novel looking at a small community so far removed from usual apocalyptic settings. It helped create such a sense of foreboding and uneasiness due to the sense of ‘not knowing’ what was going on. But the novel also felt very removed from other aspects, like the characters. There was a very literary fiction style of distance to them? A coldness? It actually kind of makes me want to start to get out my English Lit hat and start analysing how everything matches the environment they were in 😂 An unsettling literary thriller but not my favourite style of character exploration, especially for horror.
Content warnings: Violence, gun violence, blood, starvation, cannibalism, death, dead bodies, hunting, animal death, racism
Content warnings: Violence, gun violence, blood, starvation, cannibalism, death, dead bodies, hunting, animal death, racism
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Blood, Cannibalism, Death, Murder, Racism, Violence, and Animal death