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A review by criticalgayze
A Density of Souls by James Daniels, Christopher Rice
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
February turned out to be a rather trigger warning filled reading month, topped by this book and Gretchen Felker-Martin's Manhunt.
This book was recommended to me as part of a "12 Books from 12 Friends" Instagram reading challenge. While I probably wouldn't have read it without the prompting, I wound up appreciating it for what it was. What A Density of Souls is turned out to be an incredibly bleak, incredibly pulpy "rich people problems" thriller. Rice plops the reader into old money New Orleans and allows us to see the alliances and cruelties that upper crust social dynamics creates. To top it off, Rice makes the book incredibly Queer with most of the characters expressing or suppressing some kind of sexual "otherness." The novel moves with the kind of quip you want from a pulp thriller with enough shocks to make it propulsive, if a little outrageous at times.
The plot does get a little too wacky at the end with the inclusion of a religious extremist group that is not introduced until the back third and does not get enough time to be anything other than the impetus for a "final showdown." I also found the way Stephen is treated as some kind of irresistible force to be acted upon or cared for, depending on character motivations to also be a little weird and victim blame-y.
I read the first half of the book in ebook format, but I listened to the back half on audio as I was not devouring the thriller fast enough and was beginning to lose my taste for what should be best experienced as a binge read. While it took me a bit to get into, I did end up ultimately enjoying James Daniels's narration.
Quotes:
The fall of ancient cultures would become more familiar than the students sitting around him. (Page 24)
He sat awestruck and alienated on dorm room floors, listening to fellow freshmen confess their traumas, usually defining their entire lives in terms of mistakes made by other people (namely, their parents). Jordan felt like he didn’t belong and he was forced to ask himself, Why do these people like pain so much? And how did all this pain pass me by? (Page 122)
This book was recommended to me as part of a "12 Books from 12 Friends" Instagram reading challenge. While I probably wouldn't have read it without the prompting, I wound up appreciating it for what it was. What A Density of Souls is turned out to be an incredibly bleak, incredibly pulpy "rich people problems" thriller. Rice plops the reader into old money New Orleans and allows us to see the alliances and cruelties that upper crust social dynamics creates. To top it off, Rice makes the book incredibly Queer with most of the characters expressing or suppressing some kind of sexual "otherness." The novel moves with the kind of quip you want from a pulp thriller with enough shocks to make it propulsive, if a little outrageous at times.
The plot does get a little too wacky at the end with the inclusion of a religious extremist group that is not introduced until the back third and does not get enough time to be anything other than the impetus for a "final showdown." I also found the way Stephen is treated as some kind of irresistible force to be acted upon or cared for, depending on character motivations to also be a little weird and victim blame-y.
I read the first half of the book in ebook format, but I listened to the back half on audio as I was not devouring the thriller fast enough and was beginning to lose my taste for what should be best experienced as a binge read. While it took me a bit to get into, I did end up ultimately enjoying James Daniels's narration.
Quotes:
The fall of ancient cultures would become more familiar than the students sitting around him. (Page 24)
He sat awestruck and alienated on dorm room floors, listening to fellow freshmen confess their traumas, usually defining their entire lives in terms of mistakes made by other people (namely, their parents). Jordan felt like he didn’t belong and he was forced to ask himself, Why do these people like pain so much? And how did all this pain pass me by? (Page 122)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Hate crime, Homophobia, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Confinement, Gun violence, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Blood, Kidnapping, Death of parent, and Murder
Minor: Incest, Infidelity, Rape, and Classism