A review by punkrockingnerd
Deathless, by Catherynne M. Valente
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Mkay, I have some thoughts. First off, I highly recommend reading this review because it goes a lot more in-depth: https://cultcrumbs.com/2021/12/05/deathless-leaves-much-to-be-desired/
First off, this was advertised to me as a "historical fiction." It is not. If you look it up online, it gets categorized as "romance fantasy." It is not. This is a niche book trying to be too much, and unlike Everything Everywhere All At Once, it never comes together in an "A-ha!" moment. This is an adaptation of a fairytale, with some real-world settings thrown into the background. This can work (see: The Hazel Wood), but it requires either a) the characters realize that they're in a story and try to fight fate every step of the way, ala Greek tragedy, or b) the story itself is so interesting and entrancing that the readers don't realize how basic the characters are.
Deathless tries to have the best of both worlds, but it ends up with the worst of both: it has a fascinating setting, but it keeps getting distracted by developing the characters, and the characters get development until a vital plot point needs to happen, then they act it out with robotic obedience.
Not to mention there were a few things that just made me uncomfortable while reading this, particularly the dominating nature of the romances parading as... well, romance. If you want your characters to have the horniness levels of Gomez and Morticia Addams, go nuts, but you need to establish a mutual love and respect. Idk, it may just be me, but if you wanna tie someone up for spicy hour, I'd really prefer if there was a conversation beforehand making sure everyone involved was okay with it. This is a novel, not Fifty Shades of Gray.
Overall, it has great prose and some QUALITY lines that can be used in web weaving posts, but it tries too much, and it never really comes together, so it may not hold up in repeated readings.
First off, this was advertised to me as a "historical fiction." It is not. If you look it up online, it gets categorized as "romance fantasy." It is not. This is a niche book trying to be too much, and unlike Everything Everywhere All At Once, it never comes together in an "A-ha!" moment. This is an adaptation of a fairytale, with some real-world settings thrown into the background. This can work (see: The Hazel Wood), but it requires either a) the characters realize that they're in a story and try to fight fate every step of the way, ala Greek tragedy, or b) the story itself is so interesting and entrancing that the readers don't realize how basic the characters are.
Deathless tries to have the best of both worlds, but it ends up with the worst of both: it has a fascinating setting, but it keeps getting distracted by developing the characters, and the characters get development until a vital plot point needs to happen, then they act it out with robotic obedience.
Not to mention there were a few things that just made me uncomfortable while reading this, particularly the dominating nature of the romances parading as... well, romance. If you want your characters to have the horniness levels of Gomez and Morticia Addams, go nuts, but you need to establish a mutual love and respect. Idk, it may just be me, but if you wanna tie someone up for spicy hour, I'd really prefer if there was a conversation beforehand making sure everyone involved was okay with it. This is a novel, not Fifty Shades of Gray.
Overall, it has great prose and some QUALITY lines that can be used in web weaving posts, but it tries too much, and it never really comes together, so it may not hold up in repeated readings.