Reviews with content warning for Rape - The Book of Etta

This is the sequel to The Book of the Unnamed Midwife, which I read back in 2014 when it first came out, about a fever that kills a massive percentage of the global population–and kills women 10 times as often, and also makes pregnancy and childbirth fatal for mother and child more often than not. Etta takes place about 100 years later. A raider for the enlightened colony of Nowhere, led and managed by women, Etta’s job is to travel around to abandoned cities to collect useful relics and other materials–and also to free enslaved women and girls and bring them back to Nowhere where they can live free and full lives. On the road, Etta dresses as a man and goes by Eddie, which if she’s honest, has come to feel more authentic than living and dressing as Etta. The rare post-apocalypic sci-fi offering that also gets pretty deep into gender diversity territory, with Etta/Eddie and other characters as well.

Content Warnings

shontellereads's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-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

4.5

So once again I loved the way this was written and how deep into the psyche of the main character we went. However, this lacked the key aspect of the first book that I enjoyed- the "end of the world"ness / post pandemic setting. Instead it kind of just felt like a backward world with lots of cult vibes. What I did enjoy was the discussion around gender identity, it was really interesting and (in my not-own-voice opinion) well done.
This was darker than the first book and I would really emphasise checking the TWs.

Content Warnings

belovedsnail's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark fast-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

4.75

A good second book in the series though perhaps a bit more rapey than I would like. Takes a turn to fantasy.

Content Warnings

readmeem's review

Go to review page

adventurous dark emotional tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

Content Warnings

bex_knighthunter's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark 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? Yes

4.5

This is up there as one of the heaviest darkest books I've ever read but I also love it - definite max max fury road vibes.

Set a century or so after the first book, this follows a gender-queer (fluid?) raider travelling around other settlements which is a fascinating way to get to see the different ways civilisation has evolved after society fragmented, and in particular the way societies views of gender have changed. The characters were so unique and interesting and real with three named genderqueer/trans characters, cultures based around polyamory, diverse sexualities depicted, and race was not ignored in this future. The town of Nowhere also charmed me and I loved learning how it had developed since the unnamed midwife. The writing was also brilliant, easy-to-read, and evocative.

The plot was mostly meandering but to be honest I quite enjoyed that (I find the minutae of survival fascinating so this was always going to be a hit) as I felt the character development and world building were always there. There were some great plot hooks planted to keep me guessing what the ending would be - but when we got to that ending... wow... I'm not even sure what to think. It was shocking and tense, and the darkest parts were not drawn out any longer than needed to tell the story which I'm thankful for, but I'm not sure I liked where the plot went. I was expecting dark but I wasn't ready for that and nearly stopped reading with only 10 pages to go!

This is not a story I'll forget in a hurry and ultimately it is so different and yet well suited to my tastes that I have to love it.

Content Warnings

More...