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chrysanthemum_days's review
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
Lady Sherlock Holmes and her assistant solve a mystery in a fantastical and or Sci-fi world.
Well 1st of all there is a lot of body horror in this book according to me. It's not done badly, infact it's an important part of the world building, it's an advanced world with people who have 'surgery' to become a 'strong' person, someone who can do math in their fingertips someone who can memorise what they see hear read etc. All kinds of augmentation you can do under the sun on human senses and intellectual abilities and physical abilities get done on the characters of this world. Quite horrific if you ask me sheesh. I'd like to stay as un'augmented as possible thank you very much especially since they have debilitating consequences as well. Not well recieved for the faint of heart, I draw a line at body horror it seems.
Apart from that, the way the author has used such augmentation of the characters and woven them into the story was mindblowing truly. Loved our main characters Din and Ana. Okay I thought this would be like any other books and have maybe a hint of romance with the mystery being the main focus but I spit my water out when I read Ana was like 50 or something. I thought uh is the author going to make an age gap romance happen? Well good for me it didn't happen and bad for me there wasn't any hint of romance (there was a mini dash of it betweenDin and Captain Strovi which was cuteee) well didn't expect to see a bi character here but we live in 2024. Anyways still loved the dynamic between Din and Ana like a mother son relationship or mentor mentee if you will. I'd protect them with my heart.
The story is part of an instalment of maybe 3 books I suppose? Not sure if I will continue reading. It took me like 12 days to finish the book, partly because the world was so complex it wasn't very readable and like I said, body horror. Oof. Anyways keeping it all aside the story is objectively wonderful. Maybe I'll continue and see.
Well 1st of all there is a lot of body horror in this book according to me. It's not done badly, infact it's an important part of the world building, it's an advanced world with people who have 'surgery' to become a 'strong' person, someone who can do math in their fingertips someone who can memorise what they see hear read etc. All kinds of augmentation you can do under the sun on human senses and intellectual abilities and physical abilities get done on the characters of this world. Quite horrific if you ask me sheesh. I'd like to stay as un'augmented as possible thank you very much especially since they have debilitating consequences as well. Not well recieved for the faint of heart, I draw a line at body horror it seems.
Apart from that, the way the author has used such augmentation of the characters and woven them into the story was mindblowing truly. Loved our main characters Din and Ana. Okay I thought this would be like any other books and have maybe a hint of romance with the mystery being the main focus but I spit my water out when I read Ana was like 50 or something. I thought uh is the author going to make an age gap romance happen? Well good for me it didn't happen and bad for me there wasn't any hint of romance (there was a mini dash of it between
The story is part of an instalment of maybe 3 books I suppose? Not sure if I will continue reading. It took me like 12 days to finish the book, partly because the world was so complex it wasn't very readable and like I said, body horror. Oof. Anyways keeping it all aside the story is objectively wonderful. Maybe I'll continue and see.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror and Death
Moderate: Sexual harassment
el_reads17's review
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror and Murder
Moderate: Gore, Violence, and Blood
kendal_reads's review
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
she did a knives out speech near the end
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, and Murder
Moderate: Gore, Violence, and Blood
Minor: Drug use, Vomit, and Classism
elzibub's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
slow-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? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Torture, Medical trauma, Murder, Toxic friendship, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
katieo156's review
adventurous
challenging
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I took this book out from the library while away, didn't finish it, and picked it up from my library the day I landed. I love the world building and the bureaucracy of it, even if I still don't know what the hell the colors mean (I'll get there!). I adore Din and can't wait for him to come into his own- I absolutely love reading a well choreographed fight, and I do presume everyone is a little bi until proven otherwise, so it was nice to be right :) Ana is hysterical and had me laughing out loud more than once. The side characters were also great, and you really feel for all of them, including the titans! What the hell is up with that and WHY do they have faces?!?!? I think the mystery was decently done, and there was enough given away that I could anticipate the twists, which I love! Readers should be able to solve it! Needless to say I will be picking up the next installment the second it comes out <3
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, and Blood
Moderate: Violence and Sexual harassment
Minor: Confinement, Drug use, and Death of parent
blacksphinx's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
When I was a kid, my grandparents bought me an anthology of all the Sherlock Holmes stories. When I got into Edgar Allen Poe, they pointed out to me that he's considered to have written the first detective story, and I read The Murders in the Rue Morgue with relish. This seed of detective/murder mystery fiction love has laid dormant all these years, but I think this is the water it needed to sprout.
This is a richly alien fantasy world with fun characters and a well-realized mystery. I am so proud I figured a piece out before our Sherlock expy laid it out for us! This book also made me realize how little the characters in the books I read swear, and once I got used to it... it was kind of nice to have a smart lady running around who says the word fuck. I also loved that the author understood that Sherlock is not a cold or mean person, which shines through in the way he writes his expy, Ana. Her and our PoV character Din have such great rapport while being their own characters. I also loved the disability representation, when it clicked that the protagonist actually had dyslexia and it wasn't some magical side effect I teared up.
Can't wait for the next book in the series!
This is a richly alien fantasy world with fun characters and a well-realized mystery. I am so proud I figured a piece out before our Sherlock expy laid it out for us! This book also made me realize how little the characters in the books I read swear, and once I got used to it... it was kind of nice to have a smart lady running around who says the word fuck. I also loved that the author understood that Sherlock is not a cold or mean person, which shines through in the way he writes his expy, Ana. Her and our PoV character Din have such great rapport while being their own characters. I also loved the disability representation, when it clicked that the protagonist actually had dyslexia and it wasn't some magical side effect I teared up.
Can't wait for the next book in the series!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Ableism, Cursing, Violence, Blood, Medical content, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Infertility, Infidelity, Fire/Fire injury, and Pandemic/Epidemic
bookwyrmknits's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-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
I think my favorite part about this book was the worldbuilding. I also enjoyed the characters and I got caught up in the mystery, but the world itself was so unique and dense that it's what stuck with me the most. Between the giant, bio-engineered air conditioning fungus and the quakes caused not by plate tectonics but by giant leviathans approaching the sea walls, this is a fantasy world where it's easy to remember that it's not OUR world, no matter how human the people seem.
And even though the people are also bio-engineered to a degree, they do feel very real, with human desires and fears. Most (if not all) of the characters we meet have changed themselves to at least a small degree, and it often seems like they felt they had to in order to get ahead in their world. The modifications they make to themselves made me wonder if I would want any of the modifications. Some people change their physical strength, others enhance their memory, and still others increase their mental aptitude for things like math or science. But the downside is that everything comes with a cost, and many of the modifications will shorten lifespans or cause mental breakdowns in later life.
If there's a downside to this book, it's that the people felt too normal compared to the setting. Yes, they are modified and super-strong or super-smart or have perfect memory. But during the scenes when they were all sitting around talking, it was easy to see them as just people. The setting, in contrast, was so much more alien.
All told, though, this was a really enjoyable murder mystery, and I'm already looking forward to the sequel. There's so much more to explore in this world, and I am really interested to see where Bennett takes his characters next. This was my first book by Robert Jackson Bennett, but it certainly won't be my last.
And even though the people are also bio-engineered to a degree, they do feel very real, with human desires and fears. Most (if not all) of the characters we meet have changed themselves to at least a small degree, and it often seems like they felt they had to in order to get ahead in their world. The modifications they make to themselves made me wonder if I would want any of the modifications. Some people change their physical strength, others enhance their memory, and still others increase their mental aptitude for things like math or science. But the downside is that everything comes with a cost, and many of the modifications will shorten lifespans or cause mental breakdowns in later life.
If there's a downside to this book, it's that the people felt too normal compared to the setting. Yes, they are modified and super-strong or super-smart or have perfect memory. But during the scenes when they were all sitting around talking, it was easy to see them as just people. The setting, in contrast, was so much more alien.
All told, though, this was a really enjoyable murder mystery, and I'm already looking forward to the sequel. There's so much more to explore in this world, and I am really interested to see where Bennett takes his characters next. This was my first book by Robert Jackson Bennett, but it certainly won't be my last.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror and Murder
Moderate: Gore and Blood
Minor: Drug use and Classism
ripxreads's review
challenging
dark
medium-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? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body horror and Violence
breezer's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-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? Yes
5.0
10/10 no notes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror and Gore
woolerys's review
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Writing - 4/5
Plot - 4/5
Characters - 4/5
World-building - 3/5
Personal tastes - 3/5
TOTAL: 3.6
When they found the accomplice and the method for the opening murder in approximately two chapters, I correctly guessed that that murder was only the tip of the iceberg. This fantasy mystery is narrated by the investigator’s assistant, who has undergone a procedure to become an “engraver,” ie someone with perfect recall. Except he’s also dyslexic and can’t remember text unless he reads it aloud to himself—a fact he’s determined to conceal as long as possible. The investigator herself is extremely direct, prone to sensory overload, and way more competent than people initially give her credit for. Overall highly readable, and I thought it made a decent attempt at bringing neurodiversity into the genre in a beneficial way.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Body horror
Specific content warning for death via rapidly-growing plants, and for a minor/in-the-past description of an infestation that reads a bit like a description of an epidemic.