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adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
INCREDIBLE writing (can feel everything down to the minutia), but a feels like we are seeing a refraction of the world - a more violent and hard and hopeless version where unimagined cruelty is the norm. Second person narration brought me in - it really elevated the stories on stories in stories that are woven into this, and the theatre provided a container that was incomparable. SUCH incredible characters, and the way it all comes together in the end???? PHEW
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Violence, Blood, Cannibalism, Abandonment, War, Injury/Injury detail
adventurous
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Sexual content, Violence, Cannibalism
Moderate: Animal death, Gore, Torture, Blood, Murder
Minor: Child death, Emotional abuse, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I am at a loss of words to describe this book. I haven't read a book this good since...I don't even know.
I feel something moved inside me.
I will absolutely check out the author's other book(s)
Wow.
Just wow.
I feel something moved inside me.
I will absolutely check out the author's other book(s)
Wow.
Just wow.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, Alcohol, War, Classism
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This is a very confusing book, so you need to be ready for that. If you're overwhelmed, check out my video on TikTok (https://www.tiktok.com/@sarahmore.books/video/7497192155472022806) or Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/p/DI3amNFoNLY/) for some basic, spoiler-free background to hopefully avoid some of the frustration and confusion before reading this book.
Themes: love, power, duty, guilt, pride, intergenerational, interconnected past and present, time, stories, divinity, meaning/purpose
Themes: love, power, duty, guilt, pride, intergenerational, interconnected past and present, time, stories, divinity, meaning/purpose
Style (1): I could tell from the very first paragraph that it was beautifully written in a very literary style. Strangely, it was written in second-, third-, and even first-person, changing mid-sentence. It was confusing at first, but you get used to it once you figure out how to expect the changes (usually signaled by italics and new section headings). Overall, I enjoyed the style of writing very much (once I figured it out), although I remain unconvinced of what is gained (other than fun) by switching perspectives mid-sentence (e.g., "a boy... looked at his commander and I realized that I was standing beside the bravest pesron..." vs. "a boy... looked at his commander and he realized that he was standing beside the bravest person...").
Plot (0.5): It was mostly original though at least one theme was taken from popular mythology (the minotaur ), which felt cheap as it was not cited as a retelling). It did not always feel coherent as new fantastical elements would continuously shock the reader in ways that felt jarring instead of immersive, at least to me (e.g., Jun and Keema fall into a dream of the Sleeping Sea; suddenly the Third Terror transformed into a giant??) . I simply wasn't always convinced by all the fantasy elements. I'm not sure how to describe it other than to say that it wasn't "realistic" or "authentic" enough for me. I'd love to know myself how a writer could "convince" a reader of the veracity of such fantasy elements.
Atmosphere/Setting (0.5): The setting was so descriptive that it was easy to imagine the details of the scenes, but it was a serious struggle at times, especially in the first 130 pages, to understand which of the 3 main settings was being described and what the connection between them was. (I've posted a video on TikTok and Instagram describing the settings to help new readers, linked above). Moreover, it was not always immersive, such as when the setting would change very suddenly and not always to a setting we were already familiar with. While I like the writing style in general, this aspect could have used some work so that the reader would have felt a bit more guided, the change would have felt less drastic, and it wouldn't have kicked the reader out of the fantasy immersion.
Characters (1): I love characters who are a little mad or who grapple with internal dissonances, so Jun was a favourite. The Daware man was also lovingly stubborn. Even the tortoise that they unfortunately called The Defect was adorable. The main characters were believeable and each had their own hidden motivations which were revealed as the story went on. There were also many other snippets of thoughts or happenings from random or tangential characters throughout which was fun (again, once you got used to the style). There were selfish, ambitious, loyal, and love-struck characters, a little bit of everything. Also, the main romance subplot was a frustratingly nice slow burn.
Enjoyment (0.25): I must admit that I was extremely frustrated with this book for a long time, especially the first 130 pages. I seriously considered DNF-ing it, but I persevered because everyone seems to love it. I think I would have liked it more if not for the hype that raised my expectations and I think part of me enjoys the fact that I simply figured out wtf is going on in this book now that I've finally finished it. Putting that aside, I enjoyed the overall story and message, but there were parts that were very frustratingly confusing or uncomfortable to read about (such as cannibalism and some gore).
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Gore, Incest, Violence, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Murder
Minor: Ableism, Animal death, Body horror, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Animal death, Body horror, Confinement, Death, Genocide, Gore, Violence, Blood, Cannibalism, Murder
adventurous
challenging
dark
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Amazing epic with a unique storytelling approach. We observe most of the adventure through the reenactment of events on a stage set in a dreamscape. I loved the play between narrative perspectives and almost meta aspect of telling a story within a story. Queer (m/m) representation and truly the only reason it wasn’t a 5 is that I think some of the descriptions were too intense for me. Otherwise 5 star book, highly recommend for a new epic adventure.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Violence, Excrement, Murder, War, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Torture, Cannibalism
Minor: Rape, Sexual assault
dark
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
What a gruesome, beautiful story. (Though maybe a bit too gruesome for gruesome’s sake?)
It faces head-on how thoughtlessly cruel humanity can be, but also tells a story of community, love, and hope despite that.
And incredible unique storytelling! A story weaving between ancestral folk tales of bloody capricious gods and the crushing isolating reality of the present.
And for all that the story says it’s a love story (and it is!) it is a slow burn, realistic, and bittersweet story.
——Rambling below——
Cultural diaspora: The relationship of a person and their family’s cultural identity was such a strong theme in this. I think the discussion of this theme is so important in today’s world — where so many people have moved thousands of miles from their home and started a new life in a new country. The majority of the time their new home encourages/forces cultural integration.
America is a huge proponent of this, with our “melting pot” ideology— it’s so often seen as a positive, disregarding that a person would have to cut away or dilute the distinguishable parts of your culture to be one “cohesive” American culture. (Even “white Americans” have lost their identities. Rarely do we celebrate any cultural holidays that would be common in our home countries or if we do they are only the ones that could be commercialized (St. Patrick’s, Oktoberfest))
The fact that the MC had a complicated relationship with his heritage (never having set foot on his people’s land, not one living relative having done so, and hiding or mocking his heritage) but still was able to experience the Inverted Theater… it was beautiful. I’m torn that he won’t remember any of it. Hopefully, in his subconscious, something will spark a change so he could find happiness/purpose in his life.
It faces head-on how thoughtlessly cruel humanity can be, but also tells a story of community, love, and hope despite that.
And incredible unique storytelling! A story weaving between ancestral folk tales of bloody capricious gods and the crushing isolating reality of the present.
——Rambling below——
Cultural diaspora: The relationship of a person and their family’s cultural identity was such a strong theme in this. I think the discussion of this theme is so important in today’s world — where so many people have moved thousands of miles from their home and started a new life in a new country. The majority of the time their new home encourages/forces cultural integration.
America is a huge proponent of this, with our “melting pot” ideology— it’s so often seen as a positive, disregarding that a person would have to cut away or dilute the distinguishable parts of your culture to be one “cohesive” American culture. (Even “white Americans” have lost their identities. Rarely do we celebrate any cultural holidays that would be common in our home countries or if we do they are only the ones that could be commercialized (St. Patrick’s, Oktoberfest))
The fact that the MC had a complicated relationship with his heritage (never having set foot on his people’s land, not one living relative having done so, and hiding or mocking his heritage) but still was able to experience the Inverted Theater… it was beautiful. I’m torn that he won’t remember any of it. Hopefully, in his subconscious, something will spark a change so he could find happiness/purpose in his life.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Death of parent, Murder
Moderate: Cannibalism
adventurous
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
Minor: Sexual content, Excrement, Vomit
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Absolutely stunning and lyrical, I loved every moment of this. I read this like I was in a trance. I had to slow down and enjoy it, chew on it. I want to read this again when my heart needs something beautiful.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death, Body horror, Death, Gore, Torture, Violence, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Ableism, Sexual violence, Excrement, Cannibalism
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
This book was so tremendously good and I feel changed now that it's finished, but also it was so intense and I'll probably never have the emotional capacity to read it again. 5 stars but I now need to read something light to regain my equilibrium.
Content Warnings
Graphic: War
Moderate: Animal death, Cannibalism