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zeus_strider's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
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? Yes
1.0
I'll just say it first and foremost I am unapologetically a Parasite apologist!
I found the beginning of this book to be utterly delightful and so charming, I love the Institute they were such a captivating character and I adored them as a protagonist, watching a hive mind unknowingly creep further into danger in this uncanny winter tundra was gold it would have been five Stars⭐ if they had remained the protagonist.
As for the world building I found it to be rather delightful again in the beginning, it was all very odd and sprinkled in gingerly and just a touch of lovecraftian flair but then the book has a crisis of identity to be a to be horror or mystery, with most mysteries you want an answer but when it comes to horror answers can be a fatal. As for this book it chose to answer every question I didn't want answered.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Medical content, Medical trauma, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Police brutality
nsaphra's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Why isn’t everyone talking about this book?? I’m obsessed, this book is sickening. It’s a gothic horror narrated by a HIVEMIND that controls every doctor in the world. It has all my favorite horror elements:
- body horror
- philosophical “what is the self” horror
- medical paranoia (who’s infected? Every detail feels like foreshadowing)
- unsettling nonhuman perspective
- body horror
- philosophical “what is the self” horror
- medical paranoia (who’s infected? Every detail feels like foreshadowing)
- unsettling nonhuman perspective
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Chronic illness, Death, Infertility, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Police brutality, Medical content, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, and Pandemic/Epidemic
readundancies's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Well, I must say, this turned out to be quite the creepy little gothic horror sci-fi moment, and I frigging loved it.
The synopsis is kinda perfect. It sets the story up without giving much away and yet everything it contains is truth. And there is still so much more to wade through within the plot, so many questions I still have that will never get answered. And I’m totally fine with it it despite my endless curiosity.
The narrator collective - the (initially) nameless representative of The Institute who was connected across the globe through a host of human bodies which they simultaneously inhabited and had networked into their consciousness so that it was very hive mind-like in nature but still solitary enough that you could still perceive them as a single entity - was entirely fascinating.
And the writing! I was so incredibly enamoured by the beauty and atmosphere that Ennes cultivated. There was this general reverence for anatomy that shined through but it was also dark and domineering and clinical and yet also moving all at the same time. This is a heck of a debut. It was littered with a ton of sensitive topics and issues and I beg you to search for content warnings before picking this one but rest assured it was fucking stellar all the same.
The audiobook is a fine choice to consume the story - the narrator Abigail Thorn really captures the world and the people with her accents and it’s very smoothly delivered. I loved listening to this right before bed because it had this powerful dichotomy of Thorn’s lulling voice as she read aloud that paired so well with such the strange and bizarre narration of a creature that does not seem wholly human and perceives humanity as needing to be kept alive but also revelled in the dependency of humans and how they had a seemingly large amount of superiority over them. The Institute aided not out of kindness, they aided because that is what they were born to do and they do it best so there was no need for alternatives.
The second person perspective that cropped up from time to time was interwoven into the first person perspective a bit clonkely - I didn’t have an issue with it, I rather liked it truth be told - but it was a tad bumpy at times and I could see some people disliking the reading experience because of how confusing it could get. I do think the bumpiness could be by design however; an (un)intentional means to make the reader feel much like the narrator and how disjointed the whole ordeal that she’s going through actually is.
The themes of this novel were posited in such a satisfying manner, from those of bodily autonomy, biology versus the psyche, the human connection, trauma and abuse, rebellion of the mind from body, gender and gender identity, etc. All of them were wrapped in this creepy and darkly disturbing setting where nothing was as it seemed, vitriol was either spewed violently from the mouths of the rich and powerful or toxically in the silences that lay behind every closed door. The hopeful glimpse of freedom at the end was such a breath of fresh air after having delved into the many horrors that the novel touched upon and for a shorter novel, it really did pack a punch.
This was menacing and thought-provoking and atmospheric in a way that felt claustrophobic and suffocating and I was in my element wading through it. Truly, this was such a fantastic gothic sci-fi that lives up to both genres and I loved how unsettled the ending leaves the reader because there were so many loose ends that were not knotted but everything still seeped with this feeling of resolution. It’s a hard line to toe and I think Ennes did so beautifully.
I need a physical copy of this. I also urge anyone interested in picking it up to check out the audiobook. It was bloody brilliant and the story was truly brought to life in a way that simply reading it cannot capture. If you can, make it a hybrid read, you won’t regret it.
The synopsis is kinda perfect. It sets the story up without giving much away and yet everything it contains is truth. And there is still so much more to wade through within the plot, so many questions I still have that will never get answered. And I’m totally fine with it it despite my endless curiosity.
The narrator collective - the (initially) nameless representative of The Institute who was connected across the globe through a host of human bodies which they simultaneously inhabited and had networked into their consciousness so that it was very hive mind-like in nature but still solitary enough that you could still perceive them as a single entity - was entirely fascinating.
And the writing! I was so incredibly enamoured by the beauty and atmosphere that Ennes cultivated. There was this general reverence for anatomy that shined through but it was also dark and domineering and clinical and yet also moving all at the same time. This is a heck of a debut. It was littered with a ton of sensitive topics and issues and I beg you to search for content warnings before picking this one but rest assured it was fucking stellar all the same.
The audiobook is a fine choice to consume the story - the narrator Abigail Thorn really captures the world and the people with her accents and it’s very smoothly delivered. I loved listening to this right before bed because it had this powerful dichotomy of Thorn’s lulling voice as she read aloud that paired so well with such the strange and bizarre narration of a creature that does not seem wholly human and perceives humanity as needing to be kept alive but also revelled in the dependency of humans and how they had a seemingly large amount of superiority over them. The Institute aided not out of kindness, they aided because that is what they were born to do and they do it best so there was no need for alternatives.
The second person perspective that cropped up from time to time was interwoven into the first person perspective a bit clonkely - I didn’t have an issue with it, I rather liked it truth be told - but it was a tad bumpy at times and I could see some people disliking the reading experience because of how confusing it could get. I do think the bumpiness could be by design however; an (un)intentional means to make the reader feel much like the narrator and how disjointed the whole ordeal that she’s going through actually is.
The themes of this novel were posited in such a satisfying manner, from those of bodily autonomy, biology versus the psyche, the human connection, trauma and abuse, rebellion of the mind from body, gender and gender identity, etc. All of them were wrapped in this creepy and darkly disturbing setting where nothing was as it seemed, vitriol was either spewed violently from the mouths of the rich and powerful or toxically in the silences that lay behind every closed door. The hopeful glimpse of freedom at the end was such a breath of fresh air after having delved into the many horrors that the novel touched upon and for a shorter novel, it really did pack a punch.
This was menacing and thought-provoking and atmospheric in a way that felt claustrophobic and suffocating and I was in my element wading through it. Truly, this was such a fantastic gothic sci-fi that lives up to both genres and I loved how unsettled the ending leaves the reader because there were so many loose ends that were not knotted but everything still seeped with this feeling of resolution. It’s a hard line to toe and I think Ennes did so beautifully.
I need a physical copy of this. I also urge anyone interested in picking it up to check out the audiobook. It was bloody brilliant and the story was truly brought to life in a way that simply reading it cannot capture. If you can, make it a hybrid read, you won’t regret it.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Chronic illness, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Medical trauma, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
sarah984's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This book takes a bunch of gothic tropes (the opulent but crumbling manor haunted by past atrocities, the ailing patriarch grasping for control with his son and daughter-in-law squashed under his thumb, an outsider drawn into a terrible world they don't understand), drops them into a post apocalyptic future, and fills them to the brim with worms. I am not squeamish with descriptions usually but this one made me squirm a few times!
I really enjoyed this book's themes of identity and autonomy, and the use of language to denote the state of the main character is fantastic, however I dropped a star because I felt the ending was kind of weak and I don't like tropes that involve a race of people being genetically predisposed to certain knowledge and this winds up doing that a bit. Overall though, if you want something original and you've got a strong stomach I would heartily recommend it.
I really enjoyed this book's themes of identity and autonomy, and the use of language to denote the state of the main character is fantastic, however I dropped a star because I felt the ending was kind of weak and I don't like tropes that involve a race of people being genetically predisposed to certain knowledge and this winds up doing that a bit. Overall though, if you want something original and you've got a strong stomach I would heartily recommend it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Medical content, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child death, Confinement, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual violence, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Grief, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, and Colonisation
Minor: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Genocide, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Terminal illness, and Cannibalism
Parasite/bug/worm content Mind control Graphic birth scene