octagon's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Gun violence, Child death, Physical abuse, Murder, Blood, and Death
Moderate: Body horror, Vomit, and Torture
Minor: Cursing and Grief
emmasrambles's review
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Child death, Cursing, Death, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, and Vomit
theintrovertedintrovert's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
A little darker than what I usually read, but definitely an intriguing start to the series. I knew this was a debut novella going in and it does read like one. But everyone has to start somewhere, right? I am left wondering how many questions the sequel novella is going to answer. The world seems interesting, but so few hints are given that I don't have anywhere near a basic understanding of it. The closest I can come to describing this novella is something akin to a cross of King, Nix's Sabriel , and a Ghibli nightmare. The magic and political systems are so vaguely described I had a hard time following some of the plot. A little more editing might have smoothed some awkward paragraph jumps. On the whole, I felt another 50 pages might have made a big difference, but I'll reserve judgement on the series as a whole for now.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Child death, Death, and Violence
Moderate: Cursing and Gun violence
Minor: Torture and Vomit
Spoiler
All the main characters die...actually, pretty much everyone dies. I'm not sure where the next novella is heading, but there's very little chance any bit character from this book will make any appearance in any sequels except in case of flashbacks because everyone dies. If you need someone to live, this is not the book for you.scifi's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
I'm shocked that this was very close to being good. I managed to secure a copy of the audiobook and let me just say, as usual, Kate and Michael do a great job with the narration here. They probably elevated the novella for me quite a bit. Now, what is this novella about?
Well, to summarize, some Inspectors find themselves in over their head when they are called to the crime scene of a gruesome murder. (And I do mean Gruesome, this is definitely "grimdark", and if you're not into that, I wouldn't bother. I however, don't mind it, and thus was not put off.) From there things just go down hill, I'm serious like, it doesn't get better for anyone at any point. Now while I found the prose to be a bit stiff, and repetitive at several points, I realize this is Greene's first novella so that is somewhat forgivable. However, it does hold the book back from being really good. That, and the fact due to the nature of this being a novella, we don't really get to know the characters all that well. Though I suspect that may be somewhat intentional because this just seems like it's just a vehicle to introduce readers to the world, the status quo, the politics, the religion, etc, and not a character driven narrative. It definitely does establish the world, and because of how this novella ends, I'm almost OK with that decision on Daniel's part. I see the vision, as it were. I definitely am interested in reading the next installment, if only to see if this series is worth continuing. I'm hoping that with novella 2 we get some stronger world building, and sense of direction for this series because as it stands, yes this was a fine quick read, but you know, what is the point? Tell me that next time.
Definitely one of the better 'booktuber' books. Though, that bar is not high, you could probably walk over it, no joke.
Well, to summarize, some Inspectors find themselves in over their head when they are called to the crime scene of a gruesome murder. (And I do mean Gruesome, this is definitely "grimdark", and if you're not into that, I wouldn't bother. I however, don't mind it, and thus was not put off.) From there things just go down hill, I'm serious like, it doesn't get better for anyone at any point. Now while I found the prose to be a bit stiff, and repetitive at several points, I realize this is Greene's first novella so that is somewhat forgivable. However, it does hold the book back from being really good. That, and the fact due to the nature of this being a novella, we don't really get to know the characters all that well. Though I suspect that may be somewhat intentional because this just seems like it's just a vehicle to introduce readers to the world, the status quo, the politics, the religion, etc, and not a character driven narrative. It definitely does establish the world, and because of how this novella ends, I'm almost OK with that decision on Daniel's part. I see the vision, as it were. I definitely am interested in reading the next installment, if only to see if this series is worth continuing. I'm hoping that with novella 2 we get some stronger world building, and sense of direction for this series because as it stands, yes this was a fine quick read, but you know, what is the point? Tell me that next time.
Definitely one of the better 'booktuber' books. Though, that bar is not high, you could probably walk over it, no joke.
Content Warnings
Minor: Body horror, Child death, Cursing, Death, Gore, Gun violence, and Murder
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