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readundancies's review
dark
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
I am on a fucking roll with reads right now.
This one was no different. I was living my best radioactive life here.
I also immediately fell in love with Valery from like the first couple pages. He’d named a prison rat Boris. BORIS. That is simply the most perfect name for a rat, and I will not be taking comments regarding that claim at this time.
Ok, so as a student becoming a nuclear energy worker in the medical field, the lack of dosimeters in this story is terrifying. And as we slowly get more clues from Valery’s research, I was getting more and more tense and anxious. I can’t even imagine being in Valery’s position, I would be drowning in a sea of perpetual desperation knowing what he knows and not being able to do fuck all about it. The death that lingered around every corner of City 40 would force anyone into a state of deep antipathy just to numb one enough to be able to survive another day.
The discussions on ethics and morality and sacrifice for the greater good were frustratingly based in reality and it’s depressing as fuck. But so we’ll written. Natasha Pulley sure knows how to write in a manner that can provoke an emotional response in her readers. Because the writing is chilling. I had goosebumps. Like this shit was dark. We’re talking human atrocities being commonplace and enforced in a manner that is beyond callous and unfeeling, beyond immorality, kind of dark. It was transactional and frigid and hollowed out to the point where the nothingness that remains is sinister.
How to describe how much the writing unnerved me? Well, my anxiety was a physical presence, sitting next to me. I was all tense and uncomfortable with the plot and its focus on radiation effects on humans, and it’s entirely due to the phenomenal writing. It’s got this quiet and sort of understated brilliance to it, and Valery’s perspective specifically has this soft honesty to his voice. I glommed onto his character immediately.
This was such a good read, truly. There was this hopefulness amongst all the dark topics and themes that the plot delved into, and Valery was like a port in the storm, a Lighthouse signalling out to those who are lost (aka the readers).
The ending is rather out of place however. We get a resolution but it’s rather odd and awkwardly tacked on based on everything that comes before it, and there’s still a lot that could have been addressed that just isn’t. Let’s also not gloss over the discussion on gender roles that occurs which I think was supposed to be reflective of the time period and instead just came off as strange and unnecessary.
I also understand why this book is polarizing based on historical inaccuracies and historical figures who were included, as well as the fact that you can totally tell that the author is not Russian at all based on the dialogue alone. I think the historical angle is understandably a main gripe for some, but coming from a STEM background, I was drawn to the prose concerning the chemistry and physics. And I can only gush that I really enjoyed those science aspects, especially since I have both a chemistry and a radiation sciences degree. I thought they were not only written in a manner that made sense for those that may not be familiar with radiation to any large degree but also in a way that just added to the serene and lulling prose.
I’ve also seen some criticism regarding female portrayal in Natasha Pulley’s books. In this case, I understand but I don’t think it was maliciously misogynistic, I think it’s part to do with the nature of the content and how dark it is and also the fact that the characterization outside of Valery and Shenkov is decidedly lacking. All of the secondary characters are very surface level, not a lot of substance, or not a lot of substance that’s explored. More of the former I think.
Regardless, I think if you like a genre defying read, this is not a bad bet. Because this book was so many things: a sweet little queer love story (not to be confused with a romance, a love story), a political thriller, a historical nightmare that dredges up a very dark part of the Cold War, a brief introduction to nuclear radiation written with an eye for science, a glimpse into the dark annals of academia and the lines humanity will cross against morality and ethicality when it comes to the pursuit of knowledge, and a tale of survival despite the odds and in the face of extreme adversity choosing to take a stand with kindness in your heart and a smile on your face.
This one was no different. I was living my best radioactive life here.
I also immediately fell in love with Valery from like the first couple pages. He’d named a prison rat Boris. BORIS. That is simply the most perfect name for a rat, and I will not be taking comments regarding that claim at this time.
Ok, so as a student becoming a nuclear energy worker in the medical field, the lack of dosimeters in this story is terrifying. And as we slowly get more clues from Valery’s research, I was getting more and more tense and anxious. I can’t even imagine being in Valery’s position, I would be drowning in a sea of perpetual desperation knowing what he knows and not being able to do fuck all about it. The death that lingered around every corner of City 40 would force anyone into a state of deep antipathy just to numb one enough to be able to survive another day.
The discussions on ethics and morality and sacrifice for the greater good were frustratingly based in reality and it’s depressing as fuck. But so we’ll written. Natasha Pulley sure knows how to write in a manner that can provoke an emotional response in her readers. Because the writing is chilling. I had goosebumps. Like this shit was dark. We’re talking human atrocities being commonplace and enforced in a manner that is beyond callous and unfeeling, beyond immorality, kind of dark. It was transactional and frigid and hollowed out to the point where the nothingness that remains is sinister.
How to describe how much the writing unnerved me? Well, my anxiety was a physical presence, sitting next to me. I was all tense and uncomfortable with the plot and its focus on radiation effects on humans, and it’s entirely due to the phenomenal writing. It’s got this quiet and sort of understated brilliance to it, and Valery’s perspective specifically has this soft honesty to his voice. I glommed onto his character immediately.
This was such a good read, truly. There was this hopefulness amongst all the dark topics and themes that the plot delved into, and Valery was like a port in the storm, a Lighthouse signalling out to those who are lost (aka the readers).
The ending is rather out of place however. We get a resolution but it’s rather odd and awkwardly tacked on based on everything that comes before it, and there’s still a lot that could have been addressed that just isn’t. Let’s also not gloss over the discussion on gender roles that occurs which I think was supposed to be reflective of the time period and instead just came off as strange and unnecessary.
I also understand why this book is polarizing based on historical inaccuracies and historical figures who were included, as well as the fact that you can totally tell that the author is not Russian at all based on the dialogue alone. I think the historical angle is understandably a main gripe for some, but coming from a STEM background, I was drawn to the prose concerning the chemistry and physics. And I can only gush that I really enjoyed those science aspects, especially since I have both a chemistry and a radiation sciences degree. I thought they were not only written in a manner that made sense for those that may not be familiar with radiation to any large degree but also in a way that just added to the serene and lulling prose.
I’ve also seen some criticism regarding female portrayal in Natasha Pulley’s books. In this case, I understand but I don’t think it was maliciously misogynistic, I think it’s part to do with the nature of the content and how dark it is and also the fact that the characterization outside of Valery and Shenkov is decidedly lacking. All of the secondary characters are very surface level, not a lot of substance, or not a lot of substance that’s explored. More of the former I think.
Regardless, I think if you like a genre defying read, this is not a bad bet. Because this book was so many things: a sweet little queer love story (not to be confused with a romance, a love story), a political thriller, a historical nightmare that dredges up a very dark part of the Cold War, a brief introduction to nuclear radiation written with an eye for science, a glimpse into the dark annals of academia and the lines humanity will cross against morality and ethicality when it comes to the pursuit of knowledge, and a tale of survival despite the odds and in the face of extreme adversity choosing to take a stand with kindness in your heart and a smile on your face.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Torture, Violence, Death, Physical abuse, War, Cancer, Child death, Confinement, Gaslighting, Murder, Vomit, Blood, Chronic illness, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Medical content, Medical trauma, Infertility, Miscarriage, Abortion, and Terminal illness
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