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The setting was vivid and complex, the characters, diverse, and the plot mysterious. But overall, not for me.
I wouldn’t say no to trying it again in print, we will see.
Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Gore, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
It's a classic hero's journey type of story and it's being told in such a different way that it surprised me. The POV switches really keep you focused on the story and actually thinking about it at the beginning in a way that's kind of impossible to describe.
I loved the prose and the almost lyrical way this story is told as if reciting it from memory out loud like a folk tale.
I also loved the main characters. I was rooting for them from the very beginning, especially Keema who always seemed to be the butt of the joke and got shit on for his missing arm. He deserved nice things. And June was just trying to make up for his past, for following the orders he was given without thinking about them. I have to admire his determination throughout the novel.
I will say that it took me a while to get used to the POV switching and I think that hindered my ability to grasp the world building and the story set up a bit, especially since I was listening to it rather than reading it physically. I knew that it was going to be a challenge in this format going into the book, so I just want to make sure others are aware of that as well.
On the surface, this is a hero's journey with a love story, but if you dig deeper this novel is about rising up against tyrannical government and healing what has been broken. It is beautifully written, even with the slightly confusing POV switches, and I would definitely recommend it to anyone who reads fantasy books.
Graphic: Ableism, Bullying, Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, Cannibalism, War, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Alcoholism, Misogyny, Sexism, Alcohol
☆ Writing Style 3/5 (definitely not for everyone)
☆ Characters 4/5 (a huge cast)
☆ Plot 3/5 (A relatively simple plot told in a very convoluted way)
☆ Setting 5/5
☆ Feels 3/5
☆ Spiciness 2/5
☆ Gore 5/5
If this were a movie it'd be rated: R for mild sexual situations, violence, body horror, frequent mentions of sexual assault, disturbing imagery, dismemberment, cannibalism, gore...this one goes to some really dark places
☆FOR FANS OF: Dark fairy tales; The Neverending Story
Ultimate verdict: ☆☆☆/5
☆☆☆Best Character Award goes to:☆☆☆ "You"
Review: A story of a thousand voices
This is one of the densest, hardest to read, most imaginatively told novels I've ever read. You'll know probably within the first 40 pages if this is for you or not. Every single character is purposefully given a POV even if it's just a single line, and the perspective changes from first, second, and third. All the different tenses are used. While this is incredibly cool, it can be extremely off-putting to the detriment of the story itself.
If you have the stamina to endure the way this story is being told to you, you get a very dark adventurous fantasy tale that spans literal generations of people and what's real and unreal is questionable at best. The story takes place in the Inverted Theatre, a literal theatre of dreams and nightmares, and the whole novel feels just as hazy and bizarre as trying to piece together a fever dream.
Graphic: Ableism, Bullying, Death, Gore, Physical abuse, Suicide, Blood, Grief, Cannibalism, Murder, Injury/Injury detail
Graphic: Ableism, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual content, Slavery, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Medical content, Dementia, Kidnapping, Grief, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Cannibalism, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Abandonment, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Trafficking, Cannibalism, Murder, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
Highly recommend the audiobook version, the narrator was a perfect pairing for the text and gave the entire work that extra dimension that drove home each level of the story.
Graphic: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Bullying, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Murder, War
Moderate: Torture, Alcohol
Minor: Cannibalism
The inclusion of the whispers of the dead peppered throughout add a ton of depth and nuance to an already multi-dimensional story.
I think the reason why it didn’t get a higher rating from me had more to do with my tendency to space out and struggle through dense fantasy. Especially in a book this long, the writing has to be naturally propulsive, or else it becomes too easy to simply give up in the event that you hit a slog 250 pages in, only realize you’ve still got half the book to go.
That happened to me here. Somewhere around the 370-480 page section of the story, I had to force myself to push on. All in all, I thought the ending was satisfying, but maybe it would’ve been easier for me to get through if the story hadn’t tried to do SO much.
Graphic: Ableism, Bullying, Child death, Death, Gore, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Cannibalism, Death of parent, War