A review by bungler
Dreams of Shreds and Tatters by Amanda Downum
2.0
hmm i think i would have liked this more if i??? knew what the fuck was going on???? like really i kept waiting for the worldbuilding to happen so that all the magic and demons and shit would make sense but it...never did...the writing was really nice, the characters were interesting, it’s the first time i’ve seen asexuality depicted really well (even though she called it something weird like oneiromancy, is that a word? never heard that before), there were lots of references to greek shit that i actually got for once (the Core is finally useful i suppose) but like, it didn’t actually mean anything because i was so confused about what the hell was going on. it felt more like a sequel to a pre-established world than a stand-alone novel because there was just absolutely no explanation as to what the magic/otherworld system was. kind of reminiscent of more than this in that i kept reading because i was waiting for clarity but it just never came, so i would definitely never reread. the vibe of it is also similar to ilsa j bick’s white space, kind of gothic horror with literary references, but at least white space had a sort of mad order to it, you could tell what the structure was, whereas this was just...vague and barely sketched out. scenes in the Otherworld (which was not the dreamworld? but somehow accessible through dreams? and also drugs? what?) were distinctly not otherworldly precisely because they lacked detail & because the real world was described in similar ways.
yeah overall great writing and characters but really what the fuck was the plot? read white space instead same mood more clarity
EDIT: and oh my god can we talk about how alex has a fucking...memory palace? and that shit with samantha? and wtf is a jackal? and who the fuck are the twins? and is the yellow king actually a king or just some sort of skeleton cape thing? who is dionysus in this metaphor??? is it the yellow king? he seems not chaotic enough for that role? and who was that random ass maenad at the end? so many questions and no fucking answers but i will say the only person allowed to have a memory palace ever is aloiysus x l pendergast and it’s because he’s a pretentious southern bastard but like...we forgive him
ALSO who the fuck is seker if not a vaguely egyptian deus ex machina, wtf if that ocean beast leviathan thing (hello job), THE DEVIL???? WHAT???? and can someone please. tell me. what the Brotherhood is. i am not marking this as spoilers because....nothing was explained.....these are just words that she uses as if we should know what they mean
and how dare she do this to orpheus and eurydice (fuck your greek k no one cares) hadestown deserves better, also why the damned hell would you date someone who recites beowulf (don’t answer that don’t @ me) (also WHY WOULD YOU WRITE A PASSAGE OF BEOWULF INTO YOUR BOOK WITH NO EXPLANATION AS IF READERS SHOULD JUST KNOW WHO HROTHGAR IS i really thought this man was speaking elvish and talking about lotr at least i would have respected him then)
upon writing this review and realizing how many issues i have with this book it now gets two stars it’s a hard knock life
yeah overall great writing and characters but really what the fuck was the plot? read white space instead same mood more clarity
EDIT: and oh my god can we talk about how alex has a fucking...memory palace? and that shit with samantha? and wtf is a jackal? and who the fuck are the twins? and is the yellow king actually a king or just some sort of skeleton cape thing? who is dionysus in this metaphor??? is it the yellow king? he seems not chaotic enough for that role? and who was that random ass maenad at the end? so many questions and no fucking answers but i will say the only person allowed to have a memory palace ever is aloiysus x l pendergast and it’s because he’s a pretentious southern bastard but like...we forgive him
ALSO who the fuck is seker if not a vaguely egyptian deus ex machina, wtf if that ocean beast leviathan thing (hello job), THE DEVIL???? WHAT???? and can someone please. tell me. what the Brotherhood is. i am not marking this as spoilers because....nothing was explained.....these are just words that she uses as if we should know what they mean
and how dare she do this to orpheus and eurydice (fuck your greek k no one cares) hadestown deserves better, also why the damned hell would you date someone who recites beowulf (don’t answer that don’t @ me) (also WHY WOULD YOU WRITE A PASSAGE OF BEOWULF INTO YOUR BOOK WITH NO EXPLANATION AS IF READERS SHOULD JUST KNOW WHO HROTHGAR IS i really thought this man was speaking elvish and talking about lotr at least i would have respected him then)
upon writing this review and realizing how many issues i have with this book it now gets two stars it’s a hard knock life