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wowimreadingagain's review against another edition
adventurous
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I liked this book for some of the themes about time travel, ocean conservation, and transgenderism. I dunno, maybe it’s just because I’m trans, but I found the concept and description of Rainbow-Brite very interesting. The whole mythology of the book surrounding deities of the ocean, etc was new for me but was done well. Don’t let the long negatives section in the next paragraph fool you, I still have a positive opinion of this book overall.
I had a hard time with some of the explicit sexual mentions, even the non-SA stuff, but I have a low tolerance for that anyway. I was still able to make it through the book fine. My biggest problem with this book is the very quick jumping of perspectives. In each there are a few characters that I lost track of because the book is too short to establish them. We spend time indystopian near-future (2027 I think?), the 16th century, and around 1990-2005. That’s a lot to process for one book. Also I agree with someone else’s review that too much time is spent on the perspective of the more villainous main character. It feels like the first 30% is Acilde, 50% Argenis , then the last 20% is some of both. Finally, the ending was too quick and did leave me with some questions. I respect the book’s choice to not give detail about the effects of Acilde/Giorgio’s actions, but I struggle to understand the role of Argenis in the story beyond the one mention from Acilde about him being involved with the government in some way in Acilde’s time. It seems like all he was was a shithead who also went back in time somehow? Why was he allowed to stay with the rest of them for so long? Why did they chose that moment to finally kick him out? But the parts of the ending I do understand, I like very much. I appreciate that Acilde just gets to chill as Giorgio with a wife he loves doing work that brings them together.
I had a hard time with some of the explicit sexual mentions, even the non-SA stuff, but I have a low tolerance for that anyway. I was still able to make it through the book fine. My biggest problem with this book is the very quick jumping of perspectives. In each there are a few characters that I lost track of because the book is too short to establish them. We spend time in
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Drug abuse, Drug use, Homophobia, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Sexism, Sexual assault, and Sexual content
Moderate: Violence and Murder
Minor: Abortion
It’s important to note that several chapters in the book are from the point of view of a mysogynist racist homophobic person and his internal dialogue does not hold back on slurs or terrible descriptions.rigeloutinspace's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Incest, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Abortion, Colonisation, and Classism
This book is a challenging read and tackles a lot of challenging stuff, but i found it educational, thoughtful provoking, and inspiring. Was hard to put down once I was in it.talonsontypewriters's review against another edition
challenging
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.25
A set of expansive ideas that tries to squeeze itself into an under-200-page novella, Tentacle feels like three different narratives combined into one -- and not in a particularly good way. The writing style, or at least what of it is clear in translation, is stiff and dry, only sometimes veering into something more interesting. Information is revealed in flat blocks that make it impossible to tell what will be relevant later and what will never be referenced again, with the most key details about the plot and world buried in stream-of-consciousness rambling (and the occasional rape fantasy).
The most interesting elements of that world, like an "instant sex change" injection, are treated effectively as set dressing, never really explored in depth. Instead, the meandering plot follows uninteresting, indistinct characters through events and timelines that are equally difficult to differentiate. Despite parts of their backstories being recounted in detail, I have no sense of who most of the characters are as people... other than their bigoted attitudes.
Such views being expressed by characters is one thing, but they're present in excess and never treated with especial gravity or challenged meaningfully by the narrative, and if anything seem reinforced by it. Black characters are invariably treated with disdain, to say nothing of the constant use of the N-word (by a non-Black author and translator), and the trans protagonist is only appropriately gendered after undergoing full physical transition, with no real conscious examination of his identity and experiences. Perhaps these are purposeful qualities of the setting, but if so it's never communicated well.
Could have probably been very interesting in a different format, but the combination of dense writing and gratuitous racism/homophobia and sexual violence made it far from an enjoyable read.
The most interesting elements of that world, like an "instant sex change" injection, are treated effectively as set dressing, never really explored in depth. Instead, the meandering plot follows uninteresting, indistinct characters through events and timelines that are equally difficult to differentiate. Despite parts of their backstories being recounted in detail, I have no sense of who most of the characters are as people... other than their bigoted attitudes.
Such views being expressed by characters is one thing, but they're present in excess and never treated with especial gravity or challenged meaningfully by the narrative, and if anything seem reinforced by it. Black characters are invariably treated with disdain, to say nothing of the constant use of the N-word (by a non-Black author and translator), and the trans protagonist is only appropriately gendered after undergoing full physical transition, with no real conscious examination of his identity and experiences. Perhaps these are purposeful qualities of the setting, but if so it's never communicated well.
Could have probably been very interesting in a different format, but the combination of dense writing and gratuitous racism/homophobia and sexual violence made it far from an enjoyable read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug use, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual violence, Violence, and Medical content
Moderate: Animal death, Body horror, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Sexual content, Transphobia, and Murder
Minor: Ableism, Child abuse, Fatphobia, Incest, Pedophilia, Vomit, Antisemitism, and Abortion
horizonous's review against another edition
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Racial slurs, Rape, and Transphobia
Moderate: Drug use, Homophobia, and Sexual content
Minor: Child abuse, Pedophilia, and Abortion
◦ Sexual content = Prostitution