A review by uchihas
They Were Here Before Us by Eric LaRocca

challenging dark sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.0

I hated “Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke” and I hated this one decidedly less. 

Now that I’ve had time to process: I was not a fan of the first story mostly because I’m not super into the
anthropomorphism of insects
but it was written very well. The second story was alright but I’m not sure that a story that perpetuates the
gay men as zoophiles
ideology is… super cool but maybe I’m missing some underlying moral or something. Loved the third story’s karmic retribution even if it was a tough read at first. Fourth story was okay. Fifth story did not do it for me, again I wasn’t sure how to feel about the perpetration of
queer folk being sexual predators
and I think if not written by a fellow queer person it would’ve really rubbed me the wrong way. Loved the last story, very
cosmic horror
that I wasn’t expecting but am certainly not mad at! I do like LaRocca’s writing style and it felt that they had more of a voice this time. I did read it on KU but wouldn’t have been mad about spending money on it like last time LOL… 
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