Scan barcode
andmingmingtoo's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
I felt like this book was a worthy sequel to Relic! It may have been a little harder to suspend disbelief in this one, but the aesthetics were tense in a good way. I do think that the concept of a vast underground tunnel network with its own communities is interesting, as well as gilded age-opulence falling into disrepair (and you can tell the authors had respect for the subjects they were inspired by). I also give kudos to the authors for turning something that seemed like a plot hole in the first book into a clue/reveal and for creating a evolutionary biologist/anthropologist mad scientist . This series is holding up as a good re-entry into reading for me, and I look forward to reading the next installment!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Death, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Violence, Blood, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Chronic illness, Excrement, Police brutality, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Classism, and Deportation
Minor: Genocide, Mental illness, and Misogyny
This book has a lot of murder and violence! It is a murder mystery, so people do die, but the deaths are often described in a visceral way that could be unsettling. I'm pretty squeamish, and it only bothered me a little bit though! Just be careful and safe :) Additionally, there's a big scene towards the end of a large riot, where there's a lot of fighting, insults toward homeless people, and general violence, as well as some things that could be triggering in a police brutality way like the use of tear gas.