Reviews with content warning for Suicidal thoughts - The Seep

to cite another review:

"… very odd really enjoyed the beginning but went off the rails. But still I would take messy gay sci fi over better heteronormative misogynistic sci fi "

I wasn't doing really good while reading this and the story is quite depressing. There are a lot of good ideas but for me these did not connect. After a strong start the story got more messy by the chapter and the ending seemed kind of unfinished. I had hoped for more world building and deeper character development.

How the seep talked to the people was really cringy for me. Or maybe just not my kind of humor?

Kind of sad cause I was excited about a trans* protagonist without trans being THE problem - which was the case - but the story did not catch me.

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bluberrybooks's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad 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

3.5

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aely's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

It was a good book, I’ll give it that. It made me reflect on my own life, which is always a good thing, in my opinion. I just didn’t care all that much about the characters, other than the boy and he didn’t end up playing that much of a role in the story. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes dystopia and living in the present. I didn’t connect much with the characters, but I didn’t dislike any of them either. It was a good book, just not a great one.

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jenniferlynnkrohn's review against another edition

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challenging emotional mysterious reflective sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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tigger89's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful reflective sad 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

4.5

This book was incredible. I can't think of any other piece of media I've consumed that has featured a middle-aged trans women who isn't particularly femme as the protagonist, so that alone was unique. I also enjoyed the take on a utopia, where you can see how much better things are while at the same time spotting the cracks where maybe there's something less-than-perfect under the surface. Yet there isn't some grand conspiracy to uncover. This isn't the story of how the alien invaders were unmasked and repelled. The utopia is presented as a good thing, probably(though, like all good speculative fiction, it does leave you wondering a little).

Rather, this is a story that deals primarily with grief, as we follow Trina mourning not just the loss of her wife but also that of the world she remembers. She rejects the Seep, choosing to do things the old way whenever possible, a perspective that leaves her unable to cope when confronted with new views on death and rebirth. Her devotion to the old ways is ultimately so destructive that it puts her own health at risk, an apt metaphor for what humanity is doing to our planet and each other with the way we live. It's a sad story, but beautiful as well.

The one thing I thought was a little odd was how Trina's heritage was handled. She's half Jewish and half Native American. My apologies, if the nation was specified I've forgotten it and can't locate it now. While her Jewishness is reflected upon somewhat in the narrative, her Native American heritage didn't seem to be explored to any degree beyond her name: Trina FastHorse Goldberg-Oneka. Now, I'm not trying to say that a character's heritage has to be important to the plot. Of course they can just be Jewish, or Chinese, or Ojibwe, or whatever. What stood out to me here was the lopsidedness of it, where one half of her identity was recognized in the story while the other was kind of just...there. Perhaps this is a fault of the reader, that I didn't know enough to recognize the moments when it was made relevant. It's very possible.

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attackrat's review against another edition

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reflective slow-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? Yes

3.25

This book was delightfully absurd and creative. I love what Chana did with the world and how the ideas are implemented but this book is so short and it needn’t be. I was left wanting more; from the world building, the character development, and the writing in general. There was very little subtext, all of the messages that the author wanted to portray were just said by someone in the book or thought by the protagonist.

That being said, this book made me seriously question ideas about mortality, what I would do if I could choose when I died, and the privilege that comes along with being upset that everything is fixed for you. And there was delicious queer representation, the gays are eating well tonight folks.

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remimicha's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful reflective sad fast-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

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