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gillianalice's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
That being said, once I got used to the brutal violence and got my feet under me, I was fully invested in the story. I didn't much care for the descriptions of the many ways David liked to kill people, or the various abuses inflicted on the librarians by their father, or Margaret's penchant for talking to decapitated heads, but it was worth reading that to get to the payoff at the end. Watching this insane story come together was incredible.
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Torture
Minor: Sexual violence
beanjoles's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Technical comments:
The author did a great job of imbuing each POV character with a distinctive voice, despite writing in the third person. I was impressed with how well these came across. That said, my expectations for the story’s tone and cadence were set by the initial chapters following Carolyn. The shift to other characters was jarring. It took me out of the story so completely that I had a hard time connecting with or accepting some of the wilder plot points. (Steve’s entire escape from the dead one’s house to the vet with Naga being a notable example.) This is an area where I feel that the author’s strengths in giving the characters distinct voices actually did the story a disservice.
On a related note, I h a t e d the way that spoken non-standard English dialects were written. (Thinking mainly of Erwin’s chapters, but also Steve’s in some places.) It’s off-putting to have entire chapters dedicated to eloquently and explicitly describing ritualized child abuse in the same book as characters who say, “lissen,” “ah’ite,” “g’wan,” “daaaayum” (four As, I checked!), and “da fuck.” Like, it felt disrespectful of the gravity of the tale because it did not feel authentic in the least. If this stylistic choice had been pulled off better then, yeah, sure, do it. But the execution was not good and got worse as the book progressed.
Otherwise, the prose was fairly strong and moving. Well, Carolyn’s parts were. I understand why we couldn’t follow her the whole way through, but would that we could’ve. :’)
Some disjointed commentary on plotting and characterization:
I really enjoyed the mythological fantasy elements, like the backstory of the king of the lions and his daughter. They went a long way toward fleshing out the world in which Carolyn, Father, and the other librarians are operating.
I would have liked a bit more from the confrontation/passing of the torch with Father at the end. It felt like he was given a pass on his HORRIFIC abuses of these kids (and, honestly, for what! Carolyn killed them all in the end anyway) and just got to be like, “I’m sorry I tortured you and your friends for 15 years but it was for ~ your greater good ~ ok.” And Carolyn is just like, “Yeah ok have fun in your new universe!” ????
The pacing was a bit uneven in the middle section of the book and felt almost frenetic by the end. It still mostly worked for me, though. Steve becoming the new sun was a nice and fitting end for his character arc.
Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Sexual violence, Suicide, Torture, Violence, and Murder
Moderate: Drug use
aducharme4's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
lori007's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Torture, Violence, and Murder
Moderate: Animal death, Drug use, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, and Injury/Injury detail
mcft37's review against another edition
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Murder, and Gaslighting
arykalden's review against another edition
4.5
The powers involved are at times simple and others staggeringly complex.
Dark, humorous, weird. If that appeals to you, definitely give it a shot, but mind the trigger warnings.
Moderate: Rape, Suicide, and Torture
Minor: Animal death
bethfern04's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Death of parent, and Murder
grunbean's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I needed to pick this up at every chance to see where it was going next. The thread isn’t the easiest to follow in all places, which is natural for a debut, but everything that is happening kept me going.
This is heavy in its content. If you don’t have the stomach for harm to every kind of creature, human or animal or deity, I would turn back now.
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Murder, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, War, and Injury/Injury detail
ouroredux's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Murder, and Alcohol
Moderate: Animal death, Death, Rape, Blood, and Death of parent
funktious's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
It contains an awful lot of child torture and murder, so check the warnings carefully. It’s all very Buffy-like, though, and I’d recommend it as being something refreshingly different to a lot of mainstream SFF right now.
Graphic: Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Suicide, and Torture
Moderate: Gore, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Rape