Reviews tagging 'Alcohol'

Subcutanean by Aaron A. Reed

2 reviews

james1star's review against another edition

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adventurous 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? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Note: I read (well listened to) the seed #01893 which the author himself narrated and published for free on the Apple podcast app (I believe it’s on Spotify and his website too). 

Whilst I didn’t love this story, I do feel obligated to be more generous in my rating and review because of its uniqueness. Aaron Reed weaves together a totally bizarre and mind bending novel where each ‘seed’ is different from the next; there might be subtle changes or ones that upend the whole plot. It’s very ingenious, strange and I might be intrigued to read a different version in the future. 

For the plot, we’re following gay college (uni in the UK) age man Orion and his straight (??) best friend Niko as they move into a new off-campus house. Soon enough they discover a secret basement that’s entered under Orion’s bed (on the first floor I might add) that seemingly doesn’t end. The hallways and rooms go on forever and after thinking it’s cool… things start to go astray with the plot descending into a tale of part sci-fi and part horror with heavy undertones of a queer coming of age story too. Whilst uncovering the labyrinth that is ‘the Basement’ the two think over their friendship’s past whilst dealing with murderous doppelgängers. 

I think the first 60-ish% of this book was really great and boy was I here for it! But then it did slightly to a bit downhill, becoming ever more confusing and convoluted where the meaning and cusp Reed was trying to portray was maybe lost on me. I understand how the Basement and even the whole book can be viewed as a metaphor for Orion’s exploration into his sexuality and personal struggles, but I think more of his and Niko’s backstory would have benefited this book… it gets a little lost. I also found some of the actions to be rather unrealistic (not taking into account the obvious departure from reality that is the whole book) which I didn’t like. Some parts of queer friendships and longings were a bit frustrating to read but at the same time I did see where the author was coming from. 

Overall, this was a super weird and wacky book that I would recommend but personally I didn’t love it. 
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annact's review

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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