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annact's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
This book has it all... gender fuckery... sentient fungi...
So much fun. Imagery that will stick with me for awhile.
So much fun. Imagery that will stick with me for awhile.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Chronic illness, Death, Terminal illness, Blood, and Alcohol
Moderate: Medical content, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Vomit
hazeyjane_2's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
A very enjoyable, subtle horror book. Far too many horror stories have a narrator who is essentially just a camera (proxy for the viewer and there to record), and come to an abrupt stop with "And then the ghost/giant worm/eldritch horror erupted out of the ground and ate everyone. The end." Ruins the suspension of disbelief but also cheapens the whole story. I mean, I know you can sum up any genre in the same way; but in most quest-style fantasy, but there is at least an attempt at a reasonable explanation behind the McGuffin.
Kingfisher doesn't fall into this trap. She builds up the suspense by creating the fully fledged character of Alex Easton, who is an ex-soldier come to visit her childhood friend Madeline. Actual emotions, actual misconceptions, science (yay!) in the form of a female mycologist, and everything bubbling away just beneath the surface.The brilliant thing about this story is its sense of realism and plausibility. Kingfisher's tidbits are just subtle enough, and Easton's reactions to them just doubtful enough, to keep you on the edge of your seat wondering if this is truly a supernatural story or if there is some mundane solution to the dilemma. I actually googled the fungus to find out if it was real, because it reminded me so much of the zombie ant fungus.
Side note: It was refreshing to see a military where sex characteristics truly don't matter, so, this definitely isn't a complaint. But the sentence about "people who did not want to *be* women" rubbed me a bit the wrong way. I felt that could've been worded differently. There is nothing wrong with being a woman. Changing your clothing and pronouns does not change your sex. It may change the way people perceive you, but it does not change your actual biology (unless I missed something, and this story has some magic that allows you to become truly androgynous).
I assume that Kingfisher was trying to have her cake and eat it too: both evoke the misogyny of the late 19th century and also find a way to evade it... which I highly appreciate, don't get me wrong. I liked the way she sidestepped it.
But this is fiction. Kingfisher could easily have ignored real-world history and written an alt history in which women as a class *hadn't ever* been subject to sex-based oppression. Not even a matriarchal society, just a society where no one would have blinked at a female scientist and where women had always been soldiers without question. The anecdote about how women came to join the army felt especially on the nose. We don't always have to centre the masculine experience. Or she could've made three sexes, with no further explanation needed (male, female and ka/kan), or no sexes at all.
As it stands, in a book where men and women exist, women *are* an oppressed class and sex roles are clearly similar to those of the late 19th century in our world, I would've liked a bit more information on how Galacia's sworn (and Gallacian society in general) managed to overcome the hardwired sex binary so fast, and whether this was in the military or everywhere else as well. I realise this wasn't that story, though.
Kingfisher doesn't fall into this trap. She builds up the suspense by creating the fully fledged character of Alex Easton, who is an ex-soldier come to visit her childhood friend Madeline. Actual emotions, actual misconceptions, science (yay!) in the form of a female mycologist, and everything bubbling away just beneath the surface.
Side note: It was refreshing to see a military where sex characteristics truly don't matter, so, this definitely isn't a complaint. But the sentence about "people who did not want to *be* women" rubbed me a bit the wrong way. I felt that could've been worded differently. There is nothing wrong with being a woman. Changing your clothing and pronouns does not change your sex. It may change the way people perceive you, but it does not change your actual biology (unless I missed something, and this story has some magic that allows you to become truly androgynous).
I assume that Kingfisher was trying to have her cake and eat it too: both evoke the misogyny of the late 19th century and also find a way to evade it... which I highly appreciate, don't get me wrong. I liked the way she sidestepped it.
But this is fiction. Kingfisher could easily have ignored real-world history and written an alt history in which women as a class *hadn't ever* been subject to sex-based oppression. Not even a matriarchal society, just a society where no one would have blinked at a female scientist and where women had always been soldiers without question. The anecdote about how women came to join the army felt especially on the nose. We don't always have to centre the masculine experience. Or she could've made three sexes, with no further explanation needed (male, female and ka/kan), or no sexes at all.
As it stands, in a book where men and women exist, women *are* an oppressed class and sex roles are clearly similar to those of the late 19th century in our world, I would've liked a bit more information on how Galacia's sworn (and Gallacian society in general) managed to overcome the hardwired sex binary so fast, and whether this was in the military or everywhere else as well. I realise this wasn't that story, though.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Death, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
Minor: Vomit and War
nyssa_jo's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Death, and Terminal illness
Moderate: Grief and Alcohol
Minor: Vomit and Suicide attempt
kristinrdub's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Wonderfully creepy reimagining of Poe’s “The Fall of the House of Usher”.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Gore, and Terminal illness
Minor: Suicide and Vomit
nyssa_jo's review against another edition
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Terminal illness
Moderate: Animal death and Transphobia
Minor: Body horror, Suicide, Vomit, Grief, Murder, Alcohol, and War
sarah984's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
This novella is a retelling of Edgar Allan Poe's The Fall of the House of Usher and follows the same broad strokes of that story's plot. This is a horror story and does have some creepy parts, but there's an overall cheerful tone to most of it that makes it a quick easy read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death and Body horror
Moderate: Confinement, Death, Gore, Mental illness, Terminal illness, Medical content, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Drug use, Misogyny, Suicide, Transphobia, Violence, Vomit, and War
millionsofmax's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
A really interesting story with a mystery that grips you until the end. The moments of realization for the reader and the characters were delightful.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Death, Terminal illness, Medical content, Grief, Murder, and Alcohol
Minor: Vomit
boglord's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, and Medical content
Moderate: Death, Murder, and Alcohol
Minor: Gore, Mental illness, Misogyny, Suicide, Violence, Vomit, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
schausjk's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
This was a very fun take on the classic (which I hadn't read before this, but have since read). The places where it deviated most strongly make sense to have adapted. Kingfisher has a knack for the creepy that I find most effective when it's given room for ambiguity. I wish we had been given a little more breathing room to allow that dread to really fester, but it's already a novella length take on what was originally a short story, so I can understand wanting to keep it rather succinct.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Death, and Medical content
Moderate: Gore, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Suicide, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, and War
Minor: Xenophobia, Vomit, Death of parent, and Dysphoria
butterymax's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
This book was a really great, fun read (and quick!) in the week leading up to Halloween. Just spooky and grotesque enough without being distressing (and I’m fairly weak-stomached). I guess it delves into body horror but it wasn’t super intense for me. I wasn’t expecting humor, even, but it was funny, too! I would definitely read again and will be looking into this author’s other works.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror
Moderate: Animal death and Vomit
Minor: Suicide, Transphobia, and War
With regards to the transphobia: the characters themselves don’t identify as transgender, but are from a fictional country in which multiple genders exist. The character in question is on the receiving end of some uncomfortable questions, but handles it well, and it is not a major source of conflict.