A review by biblio_kel
Sub Zero by Matt James
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
I love nautical horror and I love Antarctic/Arctic horror, so a story set on a ship in antarctic waters was immediately of interest to me.
I liked a lot of the concepts and ideas behind the story but I found that their implementation didn't really work for me.
One thing I found awkward about the story was how I frequently found myself feeling uncomfortable with how characters were portrayed. I suspect that the author wanted to include a diverse range of characters, but it often felt out of place, poorly done, and occasionally problematic.
By chapter seven, I had to google the author because their handling of the BIPOC characters was just so incredibly clunky.
I was not at all surprised to discover that they're white.
I think the author genuinely meant well with their representations of race but I definitely feel that they needed to have a sensitive reader go over their draft and help guide them away from using stereotypes and to help them address racism within the narrative in a considerate and authentic way.
l found the use of medical personnel within the story incredibly odd, too. Initially, it felt like there were none on the ship since a character is involved in an accident involving an unknown species and doesn't get seen to by any medical personal despite a doctor having been mentioned earlier. Plus, the lack of appropriate quarantine procedures was also difficult to accept, especially considering that it's a scientific research vessel.
There's also some weird daddy/daughter subtext stuff like the father being weirdly preoccupied with his daughter's sex life in parts and her being glad that her dad knows that she's having sex with another member of the crew and musing on it whilst actively engaging in sex. I really didn't get the relevance or necessity of that.
The ending was also abrupt. I would have liked the final chapter to describe the events on land instead of having it cut to a character explaining what happened.
Overall, the story was interesting enough and the antagonist's concept was quite intriguing but it's not a story I see myself revisiting again.
I liked a lot of the concepts and ideas behind the story but I found that their implementation didn't really work for me.
One thing I found awkward about the story was how I frequently found myself feeling uncomfortable with how characters were portrayed. I suspect that the author wanted to include a diverse range of characters, but it often felt out of place, poorly done, and occasionally problematic.
By chapter seven, I had to google the author because their handling of the BIPOC characters was just so incredibly clunky.
I was not at all surprised to discover that they're white.
I think the author genuinely meant well with their representations of race but I definitely feel that they needed to have a sensitive reader go over their draft and help guide them away from using stereotypes and to help them address racism within the narrative in a considerate and authentic way.
l found the use of medical personnel within the story incredibly odd, too. Initially, it felt like there were none on the ship since a character is involved in an accident involving an unknown species and doesn't get seen to by any medical personal despite a doctor having been mentioned earlier. Plus, the lack of appropriate quarantine procedures was also difficult to accept, especially considering that it's a scientific research vessel.
There's also some weird daddy/daughter subtext stuff like the father being weirdly preoccupied with his daughter's sex life in parts and her being glad that her dad knows that she's having sex with another member of the crew and musing on it whilst actively engaging in sex. I really didn't get the relevance or necessity of that.
The ending was also abrupt. I would have liked the final chapter to describe the events on land instead of having it cut to a character explaining what happened.
Overall, the story was interesting enough and the antagonist's concept was quite intriguing but it's not a story I see myself revisiting again.