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shalini_rasamdaa's reviews
735 reviews
Dawn by Octavia E. Butler
5.0
Review for the whole trilogy.
This is the most terrifying book I have ever read. Before I read this, I'd thought Margaret Atwood's The Handmaiden was my boogeyman book. Some people are terrified of books about demons or serial killers, but none of those things can be as terrifying to me as the complete loss of personhood like in Atwood's world.
Butler's book takes that up to eleven, and then some. She describes spiritual violation and cultural takeover with a tone of complete inevitability. There is no sense of escape, only that you must abide or die. I think that this book would be especially terrifying to readers from conquered nations and cultures, who have had to assimilate with their oppressors and lose everything that made them who they are. The worst part is that there's no "hero side" or "villain side", the alien conquerors aren't really "bad", and the humans conquered aren't really "good". It's just complete loss and defeat to superior technology (both medical and weaponry). It's very reminiscent of certain periods in the world's history. It's very upsetting and gave me quite a few sleepless nights. I don't think I'll be able to read this again for a very long time.
This is the most terrifying book I have ever read. Before I read this, I'd thought Margaret Atwood's The Handmaiden was my boogeyman book. Some people are terrified of books about demons or serial killers, but none of those things can be as terrifying to me as the complete loss of personhood like in Atwood's world.
Butler's book takes that up to eleven, and then some. She describes spiritual violation and cultural takeover with a tone of complete inevitability. There is no sense of escape, only that you must abide or die. I think that this book would be especially terrifying to readers from conquered nations and cultures, who have had to assimilate with their oppressors and lose everything that made them who they are. The worst part is that there's no "hero side" or "villain side", the alien conquerors aren't really "bad", and the humans conquered aren't really "good". It's just complete loss and defeat to superior technology (both medical and weaponry). It's very reminiscent of certain periods in the world's history. It's very upsetting and gave me quite a few sleepless nights. I don't think I'll be able to read this again for a very long time.
Grey Mask by Patricia Wentworth
2.0
Quick read, terribly melodramatic. The family conspiracy plot was par for the course, but I liked Margaret and Charles's chemistry. It was actually realistic, the little barbs and jealousies of lovers parted unwillingly. They had their happy ending.
The damsel in distress made me wonder if perhaps she was mentally challenged and the writer was conveying this without offending the sensibilities of the time. Her behaviour choices were very strange.
That said, Miss Silver's role was small but effective. She was an unsettling shadowy figure herself.
The villain was a nice choice, if predictable. The ending was wrapped up off scene and for the life of me, I don't know why the villain felt a need to monologue. Very silly and quite ruined the reveal.
The damsel in distress made me wonder if perhaps she was mentally challenged and the writer was conveying this without offending the sensibilities of the time. Her behaviour choices were very strange.
That said, Miss Silver's role was small but effective. She was an unsettling shadowy figure herself.
The villain was a nice choice, if predictable. The ending was wrapped up off scene and for the life of me, I don't know why the villain felt a need to monologue. Very silly and quite ruined the reveal.
Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Harry Clarke by David Cale, Billy Crudup
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
The Devil's Evidence by Simon Kurt Unsworth
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
The Devil's Detective by Simon Kurt Unsworth
adventurous
challenging
dark
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I love detective mysteries, I love fantasy and spec-fic, so when those two are combined I will
absolutely feel some type of way so I was positively biased towards this book even before I started.
The Devil’s Detective takes place entirely in Hell, and our hero Thomas Fool is an Information Man for Hell (roughly a sort of policeman). His job is to receive crime cases, and mark it as “Do Not Investigate, until The Case(™) arrives that leaves him questioning everything he knows. Of course it’s a murder case, and the setting has such a noir vibe that you’re unsurprised to learn that the victims are mainly sex workers.
David Rintool is a great narrator and brings Thomas Fool’s character to life (there are places where he gets overwrought and it feels unnatural but it’s all good) and Unsworth’s writing is grimly efficient and descriptive, clinically describing the horrifying (and really, really viscerally disgusting) realities of life in Hell. Can’t help feeling sorry for those people, even though if they’re in Hell, there’s a reason they’re there, I mean some of those people I felt sorry for might have tortured a dog to death, so there’s that conflict.
I was hooked completely from the first line to the last, even though this story doesn’t use groundbreaking mystery devices (apart from the setting) and it was obvious from the start who is pulling the puppet strings and who the villain is, but to have it all laid out was still an exciting ride. Fantastic worldbuilding - just when you think Hell couldn’t get worse, it does. And man, the tragedy of it all. Looking forward to what the Fool gets up to in the next story.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence