Scan barcode
A review by mx_manda
Land of the Beautiful Dead by R. Lee Smith
5.0
Oh my goodness... where to even start with this one? Such a simple narrative and story line, but there's just so much going on in here that it's hard to digest and pick apart to analyze in a single reading.
Trigger/Content Warning: Suicide/self-harm
I really enjoyed this book. (Many seem to be of the opinion that this is Smith's weakest work. If that's the case, I'm beyond eager to delve into her other novels. I thought this was a perfectly fine place to start as my first Smith novel.) It was nearly perfection in my eyes; I can find very little fault with it. It was perhaps a little long-feeling in parts, due to the lack of action in the plot, but those parts were few and far between. The real meat of the story is in emotional development between two people (Lan and Azrael) who are products of a world where romance and emotions are as dead as it is.
Azrael's Ascension (the apocalypse?) happened approximately 30 years before this story takes place. No one knows for sure: time means nothing to the dead, and the living have better things to do than try to track its passage as they did in the before times. But in that time living humanity has lost almost everything. The Earth is scorched and dying. The average person is illiterate, rife with all manner of disease, dirty, hungry, and starts parceling out their body for barter at a gut-punchingly young age. (Seriously. It was so difficult to read how matter of fact everyone in this world is about trading their bodies for everything from food to travel. It made me feel physically ill whenever it was referenced.) Traveling even 20 miles is nearly impossible; the world is over-run by eaters, a nightmarish version of zombies dreamed up by Azrael as punishment to keep living humanity in their walled settlements and away from him and his beautiful dead in Haven. No one can simply die anymore; they all become Eaters in the end and must be disposed of in the most horrific way.
In contrast, dead humanity has a very different life style. Walled up in what once was London, the residents of Haven have everything the dead do not need to exist in the world: lavish banquets they have to sick up after, sturdy homes, full educations, fine clothing.... They are the keepers of the World that Was. The world now denied to living humanity, because of their reception of Azrael when he came from his underground prison. (As the story progresses, it's hard to feel much sympathy for Earth's final breathing inhabitants. They and those who came immediately before the Ascension were not their best selves and behave horribly. Every. Chance. They. Get.) Haven is a living (ha) relic; a museum dedicated to what Azrael feels was the best humanity had to offer throughout our short time on the planet. He and the dead are safe-keeping it for...? It's hard to say, as over time there are fewer and fewer humans alive to possibly pick up the pieces and try to rebuild. It seems to be mostly for his own peace of mind and an attempt to assuage his remorse at how terribly awful the consequences of his actions are.
So one can imagine how impossible a setting this world is to build true affection for anyone else in. How do you ever allow the vulnerability needed to truly trust when all you've known is trying to get the best possible deal you can with all the pieces you possess? When you need to violently protect everything you can and keep it deeply hidden? How does a man whose literal first moments after birth are so terrible learn to recognize, appreciate, or inspire any tender feelings in anyone? When all he's known since the beginning of mankind is cruelty, aggression, and pain? When his own face horrifies and disgusts even himself?
This is the bulk of the story, and why some might find it tedious. The conflict is so simple on the surface but so incredibly sticky and murky in its depths. How does Lan try to negotiate the end of the Eaters with Azrael who refuses to end them no matter what, and what happens when both start to change and head into unknown, vulnerable territory... no matter how much they both fight and try to shove it away? They're both so damaged and scared, how could one not Feel for them? Due to the length of the story, there is plenty of room to develop these characters and their relationship in a way that doesn't feel rushed or forced.
All of the secondary characters are equally well-developed and enjoyable to read. I did not have the problem of forgetting who some of them are, which happens to me in most reads. They all felt like distinct and easy to identify individuals. I cared about all of them, even when they were terrible.
Overall, this is an excellent romance that I would like to revisit in the future to see what I missed during my first read through.
Trigger/Content Warning: Suicide/self-harm
I really enjoyed this book. (Many seem to be of the opinion that this is Smith's weakest work. If that's the case, I'm beyond eager to delve into her other novels. I thought this was a perfectly fine place to start as my first Smith novel.) It was nearly perfection in my eyes; I can find very little fault with it. It was perhaps a little long-feeling in parts, due to the lack of action in the plot, but those parts were few and far between. The real meat of the story is in emotional development between two people (Lan and Azrael) who are products of a world where romance and emotions are as dead as it is.
Azrael's Ascension (the apocalypse?) happened approximately 30 years before this story takes place. No one knows for sure: time means nothing to the dead, and the living have better things to do than try to track its passage as they did in the before times. But in that time living humanity has lost almost everything. The Earth is scorched and dying. The average person is illiterate, rife with all manner of disease, dirty, hungry, and starts parceling out their body for barter at a gut-punchingly young age. (Seriously. It was so difficult to read how matter of fact everyone in this world is about trading their bodies for everything from food to travel. It made me feel physically ill whenever it was referenced.) Traveling even 20 miles is nearly impossible; the world is over-run by eaters, a nightmarish version of zombies dreamed up by Azrael as punishment to keep living humanity in their walled settlements and away from him and his beautiful dead in Haven. No one can simply die anymore; they all become Eaters in the end and must be disposed of in the most horrific way.
In contrast, dead humanity has a very different life style. Walled up in what once was London, the residents of Haven have everything the dead do not need to exist in the world: lavish banquets they have to sick up after, sturdy homes, full educations, fine clothing.... They are the keepers of the World that Was. The world now denied to living humanity, because of their reception of Azrael when he came from his underground prison. (As the story progresses, it's hard to feel much sympathy for Earth's final breathing inhabitants. They and those who came immediately before the Ascension were not their best selves and behave horribly. Every. Chance. They. Get.) Haven is a living (ha) relic; a museum dedicated to what Azrael feels was the best humanity had to offer throughout our short time on the planet. He and the dead are safe-keeping it for...? It's hard to say, as over time there are fewer and fewer humans alive to possibly pick up the pieces and try to rebuild. It seems to be mostly for his own peace of mind and an attempt to assuage his remorse at how terribly awful the consequences of his actions are.
So one can imagine how impossible a setting this world is to build true affection for anyone else in. How do you ever allow the vulnerability needed to truly trust when all you've known is trying to get the best possible deal you can with all the pieces you possess? When you need to violently protect everything you can and keep it deeply hidden? How does a man whose literal first moments after birth are so terrible learn to recognize, appreciate, or inspire any tender feelings in anyone? When all he's known since the beginning of mankind is cruelty, aggression, and pain? When his own face horrifies and disgusts even himself?
This is the bulk of the story, and why some might find it tedious. The conflict is so simple on the surface but so incredibly sticky and murky in its depths. How does Lan try to negotiate the end of the Eaters with Azrael who refuses to end them no matter what, and what happens when both start to change and head into unknown, vulnerable territory... no matter how much they both fight and try to shove it away? They're both so damaged and scared, how could one not Feel for them? Due to the length of the story, there is plenty of room to develop these characters and their relationship in a way that doesn't feel rushed or forced.
All of the secondary characters are equally well-developed and enjoyable to read. I did not have the problem of forgetting who some of them are, which happens to me in most reads. They all felt like distinct and easy to identify individuals. I cared about all of them, even when they were terrible.
Overall, this is an excellent romance that I would like to revisit in the future to see what I missed during my first read through.