Reviews with content warning for Child death - Our Hideous Progeny

Reviews tagging 'Child death'

Our Hideous Progeny by C.E. McGill

52 reviews

g_monaghan's review against another edition

adventurous emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

The pacing was a bit slow in the middle and the descriptions of the monster may turn a few stomaches but a great contribution to modern gothic feminist literature.
"Pride was the sin of believing oneself capable of great things, worthy of better. It was the worst sin a woman could commit. Had I pride? Of course"

Content Warnings

midnightbookgirl's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark mysterious slow-paced

4.5

Definitely a slow read, but worth it for fans of Frankenstein/The Historian/Discovery of Witches.

Content Warnings

thealmightykatt's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous mysterious 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? No

4.5

Content Warnings

throwback682's review against another edition

Go to review page

Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No

4.0

The great niece of Victor Frankenstein tries to make it big in the science world by following in her uncle’s footsteps. Meanwhile she must battle sexism (and her own sapphic yearnings), and grapple with the morality bringing a creature to a life of suffering.

Content Warnings

danielles_reads's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

I was SO excited to read this, as I've heard so many great things! But sadly, it turned out pretty meh.

My main complaint is that it is just SO LONG! A LOT of time is spent on describing the minutiae of the science of the experiment, including the various logistics, like gathering animal test subjects, mixing chemicals, etc. etc. And I just really don't care. It's funny because I often felt like this book really nailed the mid-1800s vibe and tone, including the looooong and meandering plot of popular 19th century classics! It reminded me of how I felt reading The Tenant of Wildfell Hall—like ok, this is pretty good, but it's exhausting. But I have a lot less patience for modern novels full of padding compared to classics.

I did really like Mary, even if she felt like a feminist caricature sometimes. Her feelings of loneliness and insecurity at her "weird" interests really got to me though, which helped strengthen her character. I was so happy when she started becoming close to Maisie, and finally had a friend. Her relationship with the Jamsetjees was great too.

I found myself really surprised by Henry's character arc though. I know it's true that some men in real life transform into a monster after getting married, but it was so jarring to see that in fiction with no transition. Henry seemed to genuinely care about Mary's interests when they were courting, but then he became a complete monster (though I will say he sometimes had good points about the creature). I feel like his character would have been a lot better if he was more nuanced—like if he was

still a gambling addict and obsessed with getting his scientific revenge, while still actually caring the bare minimum about Mary's feelings??

I was also really annoyed that the beginning of the book really made it seem like he died,

but he did not? And him being put on trial for Mary's crime still does feel unfair to me, not matter how justified the crime was or how much of an asshole he was. Like what exactly is Mary's plan for the rest of her life since Henry is still alive??

Honestly the best part of this book was

Mary shooting Finley Clark right between the eyes.

I'm okay with one evil male character, because that's real life, and after a whole book of aggravation, it was SO satisfying to see his comeuppance.

Though I am surprised this is labeled as lgbtqia+ on StoryGraph, and seemingly advertised as such, because it is such a minor part of the narrative. I thought Mary's falling out with Catherine was really sad because they were so cute, but it never really went anywhere. Mary never actually makes a move on any other female character and only had a slight hint of sapphic longing. I kept hoping for

Mary and Maisie to at least admit their feelings for each other

, but nope. Go girl, give us nothing.

One thing that was majorly lacking in this book is actual reflection and philosophy of the making of the creature. For one, it was really weird to me that Mary finds the papers of her uncle that warned about the dangers of making a creature, and then goes, wow, this is brilliant, I have to do this myself! And Henry doesn't have any qualms about it either. Like what??? It's like someone reading a dystopian sci-fi novel and wanting to recreate the technology that caused or worsened the dystopia, just because they had a personal connection to it. And then there were obvious parallels with the creature and Mary's

miscarriage

, though she kept denying it to herself for some reason. Like yes, not all women are maternal, but it's okay to be a woman and maternal!! Especially considering the best possible ending to this book would be

letting the creature go free.

I loved that. (Though I saw a few reviews mentioning that since this story took place in Inverness, it should have been the origin story of the Loch Ness monster, and WOW, what a missed opportunity! That would've been so cool)

I really liked the premise, and some of the characters, but in the end, I felt pretty let down by the slow pace and lack of deep introspection (especially compared to the original Frankenstein). Honestly, I think I would have DNFed this if it weren't the last book I was reading for a readathon. One good thing though is that it kinda makes me want to reread Frankenstein...

Content Warnings

caity_h's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-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

5.0

Content Warnings

inkwellimps's review against another edition

Go to review page

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? It's complicated

5.0

This book is the book that convinced me to give modern fiction a try again. I thoroughly enjoyed this elaboration on Frankenstein--I was extremely invested in the characters Mary and Maisie, as well as the Victorian worldbuilding. I could feel Mary's passion for science as if it was my own.

Content Warnings