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teddybo's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Drug abuse, Sexual content, and Violence
reading_rainbow_with_chris's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
“The Blade Between” by Sam J. Miller
Ronan returns to Hudson, the city of his childhood…and of his nightmares. While Ronan is unhappy to be back, he is drawn there by mysterious forces and the gentrification of the city he does and does not remember. In the process of reconnecting with old friends (and enemies), Ronan uncovers something about the city that, much like gentrification, can never fully be taken back. I have adored Miller’s writing since I first read “The Art of Starving” about five years ago. Talking with a friend recently, I finally was able to pin down why. One thing I find Miller does masterfully is make relationships crackle with electricity. They always feel alive to me, and the relationship between agents in the text then infects the mood of the scene palpably. This book is no exception. Despite the inherent unlikeability of some (maybe many) of these characters, Miller’s dialogue and descriptive character nonverbals charge the book with something undeniable, creating a chemistry that keeps me invested in what happens next for these characters. Likewise, the mood of this book is exceptional, never so dark it drags but never light enough that we forget the all-to-real core of the narrative. My one wish for this particular Miller novel, however, was that I left better understanding the rules of the world. By the end of the book, I think I had a general understanding but I found myself with lingering questions about some of the unseen forces at play (which I will not describe for fear of spoilers). But I don’t think that could be done in the novel here, which felt tight and appropriately scoped as was. It’s almost like…I needed a prequel, a historical retrospective of Hudson where we see the rules of this town building upon itself over the decades/centuries. If Miller ever writes this prequel, I will be among the first to order! All in all, this is another excellent addition to Sam J. Miller’s already wonderful collection of writing, even if I found myself still missing some pieces of understanding. Definitely a recommend.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Addiction, Death, Drug abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Suicide, Violence, and Dementia
Minor: Gun violence
parasolcrafter's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
pain. pain and agony and suffering
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Kidnapping
flying_monkey's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Hudson is a small town that was once made rich through the whaling industry. Hundreds of magnificent animals ended their long lives here, flensed and gutted, their fat rendered for lamp oil, their bones destined for corsetry and their flesh - well unlike in Japan, Americans didn't even eat it, so it was burried in massive pits all around the town. The end of the whaling industry saw a precipitous decline into poverty and irrelevence until recently, New York City property prices started to drive New Yorkers to Hudson, leading to new investment and highly controversial gentrification.
This much is fact, however Sam Miller, author of excellent cli-fi / neo-cyberpunk novel, Black Fish City, uses these facts as the basis for a much wilder take on what's really going on in this town. It's a novel in which Hudson is haunted by the spirits of being that may or may not be the long-dead whales, where seawater seems to be seeping into basements and people's lungs, and where the arguments over gentrification get vicious and violent. The novel starts with the return to the town of Ronan Szepessy, a hip gay NYC photographer who fled homophobic Hudson years before, leaving behind his butcher father and the friend he loved in high school. Now he's back and he's not entirely sure why. Maybe it's to see his father, maybe it's to see his old friend Dom and his wife Attalah and disrupt their marriage, maybe it's to hook up with a guy named Katch, although the only problem with that is he seems to be dead.
Ronan's arrival seems to precipitate something. A simmering anti-gentrification movement, supporting the evicted and the marginal long-term and particularly black residents of Hudson, suddenly gets jet-fueled, the drugs get better, and fake Grindr and Tindr handles created by Ronan to troll pro-gentrification inhabitants suddenly seem to have lives and appetites and politics of their own. Soon there are gangs of whale-masked vigilantes with harpoons roaming the streets, people are making plans and making bombs, and the (also gay) head honcho of the multi-million dollar arts company, Penelope's Quilt, which no-one quite understands, is framed for a disgusting crime.
Quite a few reviews have praised this work, and its fusion of literary novel with elements of SF and horror, but I found that not only were the politics of the novel unclear and sometimes pretty nasty, even when it comes to queer issues (and I believe Miller is gay himself), but that the novel seemed constantly on the verge of spiraling out of control. There is just too much that Miller tries to cram into the work; it's like the book has ADHD.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death and Violence
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Homophobia and Suicide