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patrick_dale91's review against another edition
4.0
I really thought this book was gonna be a matter of promoting themes/ideas over an actual good storyline, and my how I was proven wrong. There are still shit loads of themes and ideas popping around (global warming, transgender issue, colonialism, racism, dystopia, time travel- basically everything EVER) but they're all wrapped up in a brilliant, inventive and only sometimes confusing story. Acilde is part of a prophecy that only she can save the world by travelling back in time, changing sex at the same time...it does indeed sound bonkers, and the fact that you are often juggling between THREE different timelines one time (the present, the past and the future) only makes it more bonkers. The fact the author does it in less than 200 pages is incredible. I essentially devoured it, and my one criticism is I would have liked it to be longer; for instance, the dystopian world from the beginning of the novel felt a bit 2D, and I would have liked it to be fleshed out far more. Great read though!
itsakt_'s review against another edition
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
The idea behind Tentacle has so much potential but this book left me beyond frustrated. The writing style was completely disjointed and I was constantly confused about what was going on. Even allowing for the smoothness of the story being lost in translation, it was still incomprehensible - more so given the insanely fast pace and the amount of (potentially very interesting) things that were dropped in without being explained or revisited. I felt like I was being spoon-fed the plot and all of the themes Indiana was trying to get at, but still had to reread pages multiple times to figure out what was happening.
Having 2 alternating perspectives in a novella of 130 pages didn't really work, and I found it a shame that Acilde's storyline lost out to Argenis's, despite Acilde's being far more interesting as the trans main character with a special anemone that the blurb sold me on so well. The number of characters and all of their relationships also became overwhelming, and as some of them were featured more or given backstory in the last quarter of the book I got confused about why they weren't fleshed out properly much earlier.
I really respect for the strongly political undercurrent that ran through this book and the CRAZY fundamental idea behind it, but to do any of it justice Tentacle would need to be twice as long. It also needed to spend a lot more time developing the very interesting things and people from the first half of the book to keep them from getting lost in the sauce as it went on.
Having 2 alternating perspectives in a novella of 130 pages didn't really work, and I found it a shame that Acilde's storyline lost out to Argenis's, despite Acilde's being far more interesting as the trans main character with a special anemone that the blurb sold me on so well. The number of characters and all of their relationships also became overwhelming, and as some of them were featured more or given backstory in the last quarter of the book I got confused about why they weren't fleshed out properly much earlier.
I really respect for the strongly political undercurrent that ran through this book and the CRAZY fundamental idea behind it, but to do any of it justice Tentacle would need to be twice as long. It also needed to spend a lot more time developing the very interesting things and people from the first half of the book to keep them from getting lost in the sauce as it went on.
gwimo's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Sexual violence
aew325's review against another edition
challenging
dark
3.75
I genuinely don't know if I liked this novella. It was a wild ride and I think I might need to read it again to fully appreciate everything that happened
antimony's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
2.0
unfortunately didn't enjoy even though I was hoping to like this one. it was weird in all the wrong ways and I barely ever knew what was going on because of the extremely nonlinear writing. was hoping for a little more creepy ocean stuff. and like this blurb which locked me in barely was even accurate...."Acilde Figueroa finds herself at the heart of a Santería prophecy: only she can travel back in time and save the ocean – and humanity – from disaster. But first she must become the man she always was – with the help of a sacred anemone." the prophecy is mentioned offhand twice. the anemone never appears after the chapter that acilde takes the rainbow brite. and there was WAYY too much time spent in argenis's head ohh my god i could not stand him.
shards23's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
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? No
4.25
Utterly unlike anything else I've ever read. Her treatment of time travel is particularly intriguing.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual assault and Sexual content
rubyseemorebooks's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
3.0
Not lyrical, disjointed.
oeunoia's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
fast-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? Yes
5.0
This is one of my favourite books in the world. I've read it three times already, I want to read it every year. It's such an incredible book, I want everyone I know to read it.
bauery's review against another edition
challenging
dark
funny
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
booksandacat's review against another edition
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75