lanarkunas's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Infidelity, Alcohol, Death, Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, Sexual violence, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Gun violence, War, Vomit, Sexism, Death of parent, Sexual content, Pregnancy, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Grief, Physical abuse, Misogyny, Mass/school shootings, Kidnapping, Child death, Classism, and Violence
hanz's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Grief, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Sexual content, Child death, Gun violence, Violence, and War
wordsbyzahra's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
This wasn't the book for me. I can appreciate the writing. There are certainly some beautifully crafted passages in this book, but I suppose, it was not what I expected. Contrary to some reviews, particularly included on the blurb of my copy, I did not find this romantic. This is a story about many things: death, love, life, suffering, war, and the ways in which the impacts of war on people tend to manifest. I enjoyed the immersion of Russian fairy tales into 20th Century Russia, but I did not enjoy the exploration of the relationships between Marya and Koschei nor Marya and Ivan. Essentially I did not enjoy the supposed 'romance/love story' which was one of the main reasons picked it up, in addition to the immersion of Russian Fairytales. I'm disappointed that I did not enjoy the story as much as I anticipated, but I think that is more of a 'me' issue. This just wasn't the book for me.
Content Warnings
Moderate: War, Death, Toxic relationship, and Sexual content
cedence's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
sad
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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Violence, War, Death, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Infidelity, Kidnapping, Animal death, Sexual content, and Sexual violence
Minor: Cannibalism
abominablesnowaro's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Toxic relationship, Domestic abuse, and Confinement
Moderate: Child death, Sexual content, War, Torture, Violence, Blood, Body horror, Death, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, and Physical abuse
Starvationthewordsdevourer's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.0
deathless was one of my most anticipated reads this yr, so it rly rly pains me to give it this rating, making it prolly my most disappointing read of the yr so far. i didnt hate it and the book wasnt in any way bad, but it could've been more. the book's dense and got great and affecting--oft even lyrical--writing; adeptly utilizes its fairytale elements, resulting in an organic fusion of russian fairytale and factual history; original worldbuilding esp for buyan and the territorial war (how even a single leaf, a single rock is divided into the country of life's or death's); it's strangely romantic; and important, thought-provoking themes and msgs that are explored in a complex way.
however, i personally feel that this focus on hammering home the themes might have taken a toll on the story and its ~purely story~ aspect. the book's jam-packed w/ themes and while it's indeed--as a review puts it--bold and subversive, it's also confusing and somehow confoundingly lacking. while marya and koschei def deals w/ themes of love and power, i feel that their scope of story is not expansive enough to deal w/ life and death. the story's partly set in russia during world war ii, led by characters who fight decades long battles, yet a majority of it reads like a domestic drama of an open relationship. i wouldve liked more depiction of the gap between the end of part 2 and start of part 3: what was koschei and marya's relationship like during at least some of the interim 13 yrs? how was marya during her first few battles? a lot went into the start of the leads' relationship, but not enough was illustrated of its everyday meat and subtance. it just feels like a good chunk of the book shows things after they happen, and the few action it shows is not very substantial.
also i dont truly like any of the characters?? not asking for black-and-white characters who are all good or bad, but somehow they're all at least a lil unlikable lol. and after a winding path towards the end, i dont even rly get the ending either, and idk if it's bc im too dumb to understand or if the msg's too obfuscated at that point. this had a lot more potential and im just very sad that it wasnt explored.
however, i personally feel that this focus on hammering home the themes might have taken a toll on the story and its ~purely story~ aspect. the book's jam-packed w/ themes and while it's indeed--as a review puts it--bold and subversive, it's also confusing and somehow confoundingly lacking. while marya and koschei def deals w/ themes of love and power, i feel that their scope of story is not expansive enough to deal w/ life and death. the story's partly set in russia during world war ii, led by characters who fight decades long battles, yet a majority of it reads like a domestic drama of an open relationship. i wouldve liked more depiction of the gap between the end of part 2 and start of part 3: what was koschei and marya's relationship like during at least some of the interim 13 yrs? how was marya during her first few battles? a lot went into the start of the leads' relationship, but not enough was illustrated of its everyday meat and subtance. it just feels like a good chunk of the book shows things after they happen, and the few action it shows is not very substantial.
also i dont truly like any of the characters?? not asking for black-and-white characters who are all good or bad, but somehow they're all at least a lil unlikable lol. and after a winding path towards the end, i dont even rly get the ending either, and idk if it's bc im too dumb to understand or if the msg's too obfuscated at that point. this had a lot more potential and im just very sad that it wasnt explored.
Content Warnings
Graphic: War, Death, Infidelity, and Sexual content
Moderate: Violence, Confinement, Stalking, and Emotional abuse
Minor: Injury/Injury detail, Child death, and Kidnapping
realm_o_reveries's review
dark
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- 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
4.5
Beautifully written - enchanting from start to finish
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content
ryuk's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
slow-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
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body horror, Death, Grief, and Sexual content
latveria's review
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood, Body horror, Child death, Death, Grief, Infidelity, and Sexual content
lasbrumas's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
A short review for this one.
It should be noted for anyone reading this for the first time, there are times this book gets mildly NSFW (spoilered for that content) though its not extremely explicit. There are at least 3 instances I can think of, though there may be more. I was surprised to come across it so be warned!
The prose was excellent, so I couldn't find complaints there. I will say that based on others' reviews and stuff I saw on Tumblr, I went in expecting a much different book, though. Despite that, I wasn't disappointed, really? The way the book is written is much more reminiscent of fairy tales than any standard novel with a hero's journey or similar plot. There's a sort of circularness to the plot and a timelessness, despite the book's events being set during WWII. I could tell Valente really did her research into both the fairytales and the culture and setting of Russia during that time period. Even the tiniest detail felt like Valente had worked on getting it as accurate as possible. I'm not Russian though, so I would be interested to see what others from there think.
Honestly, the only reason this isn't a five is because the book didn't blow me away. It was written well and culturally rich, but in the end the plot was just okay. The characters I can't say I liked? But more in a sense that I would never want to be their friends. They're all pretty terrible people, but that's the point. They are as mean and nasty as they can be kind when it comes to it.
Overall, would I recommend it? Yes. Would I call it the greatest thing I read last year (even if I only just finished it this year)? Not really. I much preferred the immersiveness of other books. But in the end, it's not a bad book.
It should be noted for anyone reading this for the first time, there are times this book gets mildly NSFW (spoilered for that content)
Spoiler
with some mild BSDM-like scenes and one scene where Marya has sex on a deskThe prose was excellent, so I couldn't find complaints there. I will say that based on others' reviews and stuff I saw on Tumblr, I went in expecting a much different book, though. Despite that, I wasn't disappointed, really? The way the book is written is much more reminiscent of fairy tales than any standard novel with a hero's journey or similar plot. There's a sort of circularness to the plot and a timelessness, despite the book's events being set during WWII. I could tell Valente really did her research into both the fairytales and the culture and setting of Russia during that time period. Even the tiniest detail felt like Valente had worked on getting it as accurate as possible. I'm not Russian though, so I would be interested to see what others from there think.
Honestly, the only reason this isn't a five is because the book didn't blow me away. It was written well and culturally rich, but in the end the plot was just okay. The characters I can't say I liked? But more in a sense that I would never want to be their friends. They're all pretty terrible people, but that's the point. They are as mean and nasty as they can be kind when it comes to it.
Overall, would I recommend it? Yes. Would I call it the greatest thing I read last year (even if I only just finished it this year)? Not really. I much preferred the immersiveness of other books. But in the end, it's not a bad book.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Vomit, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Sexual content