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mackenzi's reviews
204 reviews
Authority by Jeff VanderMeer
challenging
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Saiyuki, Vol. 1 by Kazuya Minekura
adventurous
dark
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence
The Death of Jane Lawrence by Caitlin Starling
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Interesting and unexpected!
As with The Luminous Dead, I find myself bouncing off Starling's writing style a bit, if only for personal reasons. I've said in previous reviews, but my brain does a right awful job of imagining things visually. I didn't even know one could imagine things while reading until I was in college, so I'm right bad at it. I really enjoy chunky, descriptive, poetic writing to make up for my own total inability to get swept away, and I like the settings of books to feel like a character in and of themselves. Starling's work doesn't get there for me, but it's close enough that I can keep reading them. She seems to lean a little towards what, in my mind, is the "bestseller canter" of snappy, quick, lean writing. The two books I've read of hers so far are a nice in-between, this one probably a little less atmospheric than Luminous Dead if only by its expanded setting.
The only other downside to this book is the lack of a few interesting sensations I was so looking forward to. This novel has a lot of nebulous sensory experiences; it gets weird and funky, highlights pain and blood and seems relatively explicit about it. It can be an interesting sensory journey for the right reader. And in the begining it had some delectable dark romantic tones- so I was ultimately disappointed that the only sex scenes were fade to black. We get so many other sensations described in these books, but not sex? Kind of a bummer, especially because the start of the book did such a good job of building up the temptation. Similarly, I felt like there weren't a whole lot of scares. Renton was the most chilling aspect of the book, and I enjoyed his creepy presence however brief it was. Otherwise I was not stoked to any great height either carnally or through fear. These two things led to a somewhat slow start and the middle of the book felt a little, eh, like where are we going? When is something going to happen?
Fortunately, things do start to happen, and a lot. I am glad the book turned to such a strange place, and I really couldn't know what was going to happen at any given time. It was odd and entertaining, and while I could have imagined a more intricate and truly trippy book that was about twice as long as this one, The Death of Jane Lawrence that we did get is just fine. And the snappy, lean writing serves it well through the last 20-30 percent of the novel. Still not especially scary, nor atmospheric, but at this point you're along for an interesting ride, and a new type of ending to the Gothic Horror/Gothic Romance genre, which frankly, does need more endings.
Overall, not an ~amazing~ book for me personally; really wish it had pushed a little further in both sex and/or fear categories, as well as it's trippy wibbly-wobbly timey-wimey aspects, but an interesting novel nonetheless. I'd love to see the movie version of this, especially since the author says she was inspired by Crimson Peak. And I'll continue to check out Starling's work, with the expectation she isn't quite the writing style I crave, but tells interesting stories nonetheless.
As with The Luminous Dead, I find myself bouncing off Starling's writing style a bit, if only for personal reasons. I've said in previous reviews, but my brain does a right awful job of imagining things visually. I didn't even know one could imagine things while reading until I was in college, so I'm right bad at it. I really enjoy chunky, descriptive, poetic writing to make up for my own total inability to get swept away, and I like the settings of books to feel like a character in and of themselves. Starling's work doesn't get there for me, but it's close enough that I can keep reading them. She seems to lean a little towards what, in my mind, is the "bestseller canter" of snappy, quick, lean writing. The two books I've read of hers so far are a nice in-between, this one probably a little less atmospheric than Luminous Dead if only by its expanded setting.
The only other downside to this book is the lack of a few interesting sensations I was so looking forward to. This novel has a lot of nebulous sensory experiences; it gets weird and funky, highlights pain and blood and seems relatively explicit about it. It can be an interesting sensory journey for the right reader. And in the begining it had some delectable dark romantic tones- so I was ultimately disappointed that the only sex scenes were fade to black. We get so many other sensations described in these books, but not sex? Kind of a bummer, especially because the start of the book did such a good job of building up the temptation. Similarly, I felt like there weren't a whole lot of scares. Renton was the most chilling aspect of the book, and I enjoyed his creepy presence however brief it was. Otherwise I was not stoked to any great height either carnally or through fear. These two things led to a somewhat slow start and the middle of the book felt a little, eh, like where are we going? When is something going to happen?
Fortunately, things do start to happen, and a lot. I am glad the book turned to such a strange place, and I really couldn't know what was going to happen at any given time. It was odd and entertaining, and while I could have imagined a more intricate and truly trippy book that was about twice as long as this one, The Death of Jane Lawrence that we did get is just fine. And the snappy, lean writing serves it well through the last 20-30 percent of the novel. Still not especially scary, nor atmospheric, but at this point you're along for an interesting ride, and a new type of ending to the Gothic Horror/Gothic Romance genre, which frankly, does need more endings.
Overall, not an ~amazing~ book for me personally; really wish it had pushed a little further in both sex and/or fear categories, as well as it's trippy wibbly-wobbly timey-wimey aspects, but an interesting novel nonetheless. I'd love to see the movie version of this, especially since the author says she was inspired by Crimson Peak. And I'll continue to check out Starling's work, with the expectation she isn't quite the writing style I crave, but tells interesting stories nonetheless.
Splintered by Jamie Schultz
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Awesome. A nice tall glass of cold water after a long drought.
It's been years since I read book 1, but I finally tracked down a used copy of this one (doesn't seem to be in many book stores I visit, thank you library sale) and I blazed through it in just a couple days.
This series is SO RAD. I am not into much popular fantasy and modern magic series- any book with a "magic system" can feel offputting to me. Too formulaic and ordered and clean. This shit Jamie Schultz is writing, on the other hand, is dank. The occult is something scraped over cement in sharpie over graffiti, it's cutting off your fingers, it's something that could immolate you if you write a sigil wrong, it's half made up in any given moment and it's always bad news. Even the demons can't force it, have to follow rules even they don't know, and it's messy. Oh boy is it messy- there is so much rotting meat, thinning skin, and blood in these pages it's kinda crazy. Not to mention the setting; Los Angeles, California. Somewhere warm, sunny, urban/city sprawl. Way too many people. Too many cars. It's just fucking nice to not be in some faux-European setting, or faux-New York for that matter. What a breath of fresh air.
Book one, Premonitions, had Karyn as the main POV character. Her confusing, gloopy, shadowy visions of the future slowly overwhelming her gave the impression of watching this all play out on a black and white television. It was bleak and mysterious, and primarily focused on the heist, the thrill of a con. Splintered is a slightly different flavor of horror. It has Anna, dedicated best friend and determined professional thief, as the primary POV character, and Anna can see much more clearly- and now the bright sun of L.A. seems to shine over everything, from the piles of dead locusts to the aforementioned chopped off fingers, all of the rotting bodies, the abandoned architecture, the trails of blood, the Twilight Zone eerie suburbs. Splintered leans less in the heist direction and harder into horror- the soaked in red kind. There are whole chapters of blood and slime and chunks, and it's delightful. Both books were cool, and I hope the next book offers another slightly new perspective.
The main characters are still just as interesting. I have a lot of respect for this series giving us some lesbians (or at least wlw) as primary characters, and for how many women are in these books period. Characters in the "Arcane Underworld" series are all sorts of shades of grey, but in a believable, needs-driven way that is a lot more nuanced than the usual "theif with a heart of gold" type characters who seem to be dicks for no reason. Everyone has their own motivations, which are less "good and evil" and more "what are my needs, and what am I willing to do to others to achieve them, and how bad do I feel about it after the fact." And from every side and every faction there are women. Cult leaders, cult followers, burglars, kidnappers, FBI, practicing occultists, murderers, ones who do violence and ones who avoid it and ones who care about others and ones who don't. Women who have romantic ambitions and women who have other ambitions, some women who have no ambitions. You might say this book passes the Bedchel test several times over, and honestly, it's fucking refreshing. Just letting women exist in this crazy world shouldn't be such a notable thing, but once you notice how little that happens in media in general, you really start to crave it. And this book delivers!
Anyway, if you like heist/crime thrillers where you root for the criminals, or where every character is a criminal, and you like the setting to be somewhat horrifying, and you want something different than a lot of the more popular dark urban fantasy series out there, I recommend this series very highly. A great one for any avid genre fiction reader.
It's been years since I read book 1, but I finally tracked down a used copy of this one (doesn't seem to be in many book stores I visit, thank you library sale) and I blazed through it in just a couple days.
This series is SO RAD. I am not into much popular fantasy and modern magic series- any book with a "magic system" can feel offputting to me. Too formulaic and ordered and clean. This shit Jamie Schultz is writing, on the other hand, is dank. The occult is something scraped over cement in sharpie over graffiti, it's cutting off your fingers, it's something that could immolate you if you write a sigil wrong, it's half made up in any given moment and it's always bad news. Even the demons can't force it, have to follow rules even they don't know, and it's messy. Oh boy is it messy- there is so much rotting meat, thinning skin, and blood in these pages it's kinda crazy. Not to mention the setting; Los Angeles, California. Somewhere warm, sunny, urban/city sprawl. Way too many people. Too many cars. It's just fucking nice to not be in some faux-European setting, or faux-New York for that matter. What a breath of fresh air.
Book one, Premonitions, had Karyn as the main POV character. Her confusing, gloopy, shadowy visions of the future slowly overwhelming her gave the impression of watching this all play out on a black and white television. It was bleak and mysterious, and primarily focused on the heist, the thrill of a con. Splintered is a slightly different flavor of horror. It has Anna, dedicated best friend and determined professional thief, as the primary POV character, and Anna can see much more clearly- and now the bright sun of L.A. seems to shine over everything, from the piles of dead locusts to the aforementioned chopped off fingers, all of the rotting bodies, the abandoned architecture, the trails of blood, the Twilight Zone eerie suburbs. Splintered leans less in the heist direction and harder into horror- the soaked in red kind. There are whole chapters of blood and slime and chunks, and it's delightful. Both books were cool, and I hope the next book offers another slightly new perspective.
The main characters are still just as interesting. I have a lot of respect for this series giving us some lesbians (or at least wlw) as primary characters, and for how many women are in these books period. Characters in the "Arcane Underworld" series are all sorts of shades of grey, but in a believable, needs-driven way that is a lot more nuanced than the usual "theif with a heart of gold" type characters who seem to be dicks for no reason. Everyone has their own motivations, which are less "good and evil" and more "what are my needs, and what am I willing to do to others to achieve them, and how bad do I feel about it after the fact." And from every side and every faction there are women. Cult leaders, cult followers, burglars, kidnappers, FBI, practicing occultists, murderers, ones who do violence and ones who avoid it and ones who care about others and ones who don't. Women who have romantic ambitions and women who have other ambitions, some women who have no ambitions. You might say this book passes the Bedchel test several times over, and honestly, it's fucking refreshing. Just letting women exist in this crazy world shouldn't be such a notable thing, but once you notice how little that happens in media in general, you really start to crave it. And this book delivers!
Anyway, if you like heist/crime thrillers where you root for the criminals, or where every character is a criminal, and you like the setting to be somewhat horrifying, and you want something different than a lot of the more popular dark urban fantasy series out there, I recommend this series very highly. A great one for any avid genre fiction reader.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood and Injury/Injury detail
The Jungle by Clive Cussler
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
Got this from the library because my mom and grandma constantly go on and on about how great Clive Cussler novels are. This was just alright- a little good and a little bad. Probably not gonna get any more of these, but if I ever do it'll probably be another Juan Cabrillo, just to see if the supercomputer shows up again.
Many fans will hate me saying this, but Juan Cabrillo is super gay. Like if he had a deviantArt account it would be 100% bara beefcake art, and good quality art too because Juan has taste. It has been a long time since I've read some hyper-machoism that circles back around to homoromanticism and boy is it refreshing.
The action was interesting, if never quite edge-of-seat, because we never actually worry about any of these characters. They're all Resident Evil 5 levels of boulder-punching super-soldiers, especially our lead, so you're not for a second wondering if they're gonna make it. They obviously are, so rather than a thriller it's a popcorn munching showcase of action in beautiful and exotic locations.
The settings were interesting and fun, and it was cool to read about the nitty-gritty of missions being carried out. Many details that would never make it into a film are written carefully into this book, and it really makes a difference as to the quality of the story.
To top it off, the end pulled into some kinda insane ridiculous sci-fi territory that ALMOST makes me want to read the next book, because that shit was cool as hell. Seriously, a supercomputer? On top of the supership with the supercrew that we're already reading? I am digging the dorky sci-fi aspects, never would have expected it going in.
Unfortunately this is all wrapped up in some of the expected but still disappointing gobbldygook. The first 2/3 of the book gets away with little enough Islamaphobia that it might be bearable, if it's something you can deal with in a book anyway, but by the end it's laughably bad. Even the supposedly redeemable Muslims were evil. There's a list of demands given by a terrorist which includes stopping aid to Isreal (you know, the country attempting genocide over all Palestinians) and stopping the banning of headscarves for Muslim women in European countries. They should have left it at declassifying extremists as terrorist groups. The sprinkles on the cake are the little moments of fawning over the American military, the unabashed praise for "nine-twelvers" and all the mentions of third world countries being so much shittier than 'Merica- the very irony, when they even set a portion of the book in post-Katrina Louisiana. But hey, thinking critically about America is not something that comes naturally to these characters, even when(view spoiler). Is this a hint of doubt? Somehow our character is still torn as to whether or not the CIA deserves to have almost total and complete power over the entire globe, politically and ecenomically, and that remains an open thread for future books in this series to handle.
Also laughable was the couple paragraphs near the end where Blonde Boy Next Door Supersoldier MacD muses on his daughter's life- where he is essentially an absentee dad, and "as long as she's happy he's okay with it." Pat on the back for this dude, having his own parents raise his kid so he doesn't have to think about her. Moments after this observation, the literal head of the CIA helicopters into his backyard and tells him the fate of this great country and possibly the world (not paraphrasing there) is relying on him, so he's gotta jet off to shoot more Muslims. For 'Murica! It all just goes to show that this is fantasy fluff for deadbeat assholes, the kind of guys who fantasize about having a family somewhere ~over there~ that they can get all worked up imagining having to protect from jihadists (or trans people in public bathrooms, or gay people at pride being "too sexual" as it more often is these days) but god forbid they have to imagine even for a second being in their kids life on a daily basis. But that's the target audience, so Clive's estate will not have to worry if these things will keep selling.
Mostly it's just embarrassing to read, which is a shame because there was plenty great stuff to enjoy too. Ah well, it got me through a few days at work and that's something.
Many fans will hate me saying this, but Juan Cabrillo is super gay. Like if he had a deviantArt account it would be 100% bara beefcake art, and good quality art too because Juan has taste. It has been a long time since I've read some hyper-machoism that circles back around to homoromanticism and boy is it refreshing.
The action was interesting, if never quite edge-of-seat, because we never actually worry about any of these characters. They're all Resident Evil 5 levels of boulder-punching super-soldiers, especially our lead, so you're not for a second wondering if they're gonna make it. They obviously are, so rather than a thriller it's a popcorn munching showcase of action in beautiful and exotic locations.
The settings were interesting and fun, and it was cool to read about the nitty-gritty of missions being carried out. Many details that would never make it into a film are written carefully into this book, and it really makes a difference as to the quality of the story.
To top it off, the end pulled into some kinda insane ridiculous sci-fi territory that ALMOST makes me want to read the next book, because that shit was cool as hell. Seriously, a supercomputer? On top of the supership with the supercrew that we're already reading? I am digging the dorky sci-fi aspects, never would have expected it going in.
Unfortunately this is all wrapped up in some of the expected but still disappointing gobbldygook. The first 2/3 of the book gets away with little enough Islamaphobia that it might be bearable, if it's something you can deal with in a book anyway, but by the end it's laughably bad. Even the supposedly redeemable Muslims were evil. There's a list of demands given by a terrorist which includes stopping aid to Isreal (you know, the country attempting genocide over all Palestinians) and stopping the banning of headscarves for Muslim women in European countries. They should have left it at declassifying extremists as terrorist groups. The sprinkles on the cake are the little moments of fawning over the American military, the unabashed praise for "nine-twelvers" and all the mentions of third world countries being so much shittier than 'Merica- the very irony, when they even set a portion of the book in post-Katrina Louisiana. But hey, thinking critically about America is not something that comes naturally to these characters, even when(view spoiler). Is this a hint of doubt? Somehow our character is still torn as to whether or not the CIA deserves to have almost total and complete power over the entire globe, politically and ecenomically, and that remains an open thread for future books in this series to handle.
Also laughable was the couple paragraphs near the end where Blonde Boy Next Door Supersoldier MacD muses on his daughter's life- where he is essentially an absentee dad, and "as long as she's happy he's okay with it." Pat on the back for this dude, having his own parents raise his kid so he doesn't have to think about her. Moments after this observation, the literal head of the CIA helicopters into his backyard and tells him the fate of this great country and possibly the world (not paraphrasing there) is relying on him, so he's gotta jet off to shoot more Muslims. For 'Murica! It all just goes to show that this is fantasy fluff for deadbeat assholes, the kind of guys who fantasize about having a family somewhere ~over there~ that they can get all worked up imagining having to protect from jihadists (or trans people in public bathrooms, or gay people at pride being "too sexual" as it more often is these days) but god forbid they have to imagine even for a second being in their kids life on a daily basis. But that's the target audience, so Clive's estate will not have to worry if these things will keep selling.
Mostly it's just embarrassing to read, which is a shame because there was plenty great stuff to enjoy too. Ah well, it got me through a few days at work and that's something.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Torture, Murder, and War
Precious Blood by Jonathan Hayes
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
I can't read digitally during work so I have been scrounging through what paperbacks are accessible, leading me to some mid-2000's pulp. The first "I gotta have something to read or I'll die" paperback was Precious Blood by Jonathan Hayes. One of my clients very kindly gave this to me since she was getting rid of her father's old books. Predictably, the 99 year old war vet with dementia who used to own this book has more interesting, personal, and heartfelt stories to tell than Precious Blood.
I could get through this book because something in my head, while not being terribly impressed with it, will always be able to read a serial killer story. For the same reason I spent most of 2018 watching every single prodecural detective show on Netflix (and from any country, in any language- I covered a lot of bases), I was able to blaze through Precious Blood during work and not be bored. If you're someone who will basically read any serial killer novel, and get some enjoyment even for just comparing it to the dozens of others you've read, you might find this can help you pass the time. But I wouldn't recommend anyone go out of their way to read this.
Pros:
-Decently written, the author is a forensic pathologist so all of the forensic/autopsy stuff seemed legit. I wouldn't have minded more, because the stuff in between was kinda drab.
-The kidnapped gal does get at least a small gesture of revenge against the serial killer, however tiny. She is not a total damsel in distress.
-Having a fun time seeing the killer set up the whole murder around Catholic Saints, which are the Pokemon of the religious world. One can be into saints like one is into baseball cards,
Cons:
-Multiple gorgeous thin white women being terribly murdered and their bodies put on display- it's honestly boring- look, I watched so many detective shows. This book could have been ONE episode of CSI: New York. MAYBE a two-parter because they like to stretch the serial killers out. But when a book takes four or five times as long to get thru but still gives you the exact content of one episode of a detective show, or a decent detective movie, you really start to want more out of your book experiences. And all I got was a bunch of dead college girls- AGAIN!
-If you are sick to death of religious-mania serial killers I got some bad news! This guy has no other personality traits and every journey inside his head is essentially "can't believe these slutty girls, I had better purify them." It's uninspired. We've seen this guy before and we will see him again. This is nothing.
-The 9/11 stuff is also uninspired. Look, I get it- even at age 10 I remember the shock and fear that people felt, and we lived across the entire country. This is a horrific thing to witness, I can't imagine what it must have been like in New York at the time. But Jenner's PTSD is about as impersonal as you can get. Absolutely nothing I couldn't write myself, as someone who experienced 9/11 as a story on the news at age 10 and all of the adults around me being freaked out. There isn't even an event that bothered him, just general 9/11 memories. It is barely part of the story and adds no depth.
- This Jenner dude is boring as heck. Unappealing, uninteresting, bland. Look, I'm not immune to the "young woman in my t-shirt teaches me about tenderness and love and saves me" fantasy. I actually loved it in Lady in the Water. We all want to be cuddled by someone beautiful and we all want to be loved and treated with compassion and I think this fantasy appeals to so many people because so many of us crave that level of acceptance on some level. But Jenner is such a boring-ass blank slate that the only reason it could happen here is poor Ana's trauma with being almost killed by a serial killer, and how is that flirty or fun or any good at all? I guess this character really is just a means for middle aged white men who lead totally unremarkable lives to project onto, because this man has nothing besides his mild interst in aromatherapy, which is only mentioned once.
-It ends as abruptly as a 40's black and white romance movie, which I suppose means he wants us to read the next book, but unless I happen to find book #2 on one of my client's bookshelves that probably won't happen. Sorry bud.
I could get through this book because something in my head, while not being terribly impressed with it, will always be able to read a serial killer story. For the same reason I spent most of 2018 watching every single prodecural detective show on Netflix (and from any country, in any language- I covered a lot of bases), I was able to blaze through Precious Blood during work and not be bored. If you're someone who will basically read any serial killer novel, and get some enjoyment even for just comparing it to the dozens of others you've read, you might find this can help you pass the time. But I wouldn't recommend anyone go out of their way to read this.
Pros:
-Decently written, the author is a forensic pathologist so all of the forensic/autopsy stuff seemed legit. I wouldn't have minded more, because the stuff in between was kinda drab.
-The kidnapped gal does get at least a small gesture of revenge against the serial killer, however tiny. She is not a total damsel in distress.
-Having a fun time seeing the killer set up the whole murder around Catholic Saints, which are the Pokemon of the religious world. One can be into saints like one is into baseball cards,
Cons:
-Multiple gorgeous thin white women being terribly murdered and their bodies put on display- it's honestly boring- look, I watched so many detective shows. This book could have been ONE episode of CSI: New York. MAYBE a two-parter because they like to stretch the serial killers out. But when a book takes four or five times as long to get thru but still gives you the exact content of one episode of a detective show, or a decent detective movie, you really start to want more out of your book experiences. And all I got was a bunch of dead college girls- AGAIN!
-If you are sick to death of religious-mania serial killers I got some bad news! This guy has no other personality traits and every journey inside his head is essentially "can't believe these slutty girls, I had better purify them." It's uninspired. We've seen this guy before and we will see him again. This is nothing.
-The 9/11 stuff is also uninspired. Look, I get it- even at age 10 I remember the shock and fear that people felt, and we lived across the entire country. This is a horrific thing to witness, I can't imagine what it must have been like in New York at the time. But Jenner's PTSD is about as impersonal as you can get. Absolutely nothing I couldn't write myself, as someone who experienced 9/11 as a story on the news at age 10 and all of the adults around me being freaked out. There isn't even an event that bothered him, just general 9/11 memories. It is barely part of the story and adds no depth.
- This Jenner dude is boring as heck. Unappealing, uninteresting, bland. Look, I'm not immune to the "young woman in my t-shirt teaches me about tenderness and love and saves me" fantasy. I actually loved it in Lady in the Water. We all want to be cuddled by someone beautiful and we all want to be loved and treated with compassion and I think this fantasy appeals to so many people because so many of us crave that level of acceptance on some level. But Jenner is such a boring-ass blank slate that the only reason it could happen here is poor Ana's trauma with being almost killed by a serial killer, and how is that flirty or fun or any good at all? I guess this character really is just a means for middle aged white men who lead totally unremarkable lives to project onto, because this man has nothing besides his mild interst in aromatherapy, which is only mentioned once.
-It ends as abruptly as a 40's black and white romance movie, which I suppose means he wants us to read the next book, but unless I happen to find book #2 on one of my client's bookshelves that probably won't happen. Sorry bud.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Torture, Violence, Religious bigotry, and Murder
These Lifeless Things by Premee Mohamed
dark
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Burn by Peter Heller
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Cursing, Death, and Gun violence
Moderate: Violence, Abandonment, and War
Minor: Vomit and Death of parent
Thin Air: A Ghost Story by Michelle Paver
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0