Reviews

Of One Blood; Or, the Hidden Self by Pauline E. Hopkins

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rainbowrachel's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious slow-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? It's complicated

2.0

Content Warnings

clarag's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark mysterious sad medium-paced

4.0

keishasliterarylabyrinth's review

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4.0

It’s a messy society book with excursions, death, drama, white-passing black people….. it had everything expected from a book written in 1902…and it still had a black cultural lens. You can definitely see the influence this book has had on black sci-fi/ speculative fiction and ethnogothic. I loved it.

whimsicalyme's review against another edition

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4.0

When @poisonedpenpress reached out to me to review Of One Blood, I was intrigued. It’s considered a horror classic but I hadn’t read it. I am pleased to say that this book surprised me in so many ways!

The book is known by 2 names: Of One Blood or The Hidden Self

Hopkins’ work here is transcendent, bending genres from horror to sci-if. Despite being written in 1902-3 deals with racial issues that are still relevant in 2021.

I found the writing magical at times, dramatic in others. The plot is filled ghosts, psychic like visions, hidden cites, and plot twists. It’s a quick read at 180 pages.

This book feels as if it is a very important part of history and should be read for that reason amongst others. I rated this ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ and think this is the perfect book to pick up for Black History Month if you are a fan of horror or sci-if fan.

Thank you @poisonedpenpress for my advanced reader’s copy of the book to review.

kateriv's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Loveable characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

i liked the plot but was confused what ideas she was trying to get across about unity vs. discrimination and the hidden self. some parts of what she was saying felt contradictory.

Telasser is so much more advanced than the contemporary world, but they need a contemporary man to lead them? to teach them … what exactly? also all the main women die, and why did Candance who is this great and powerful leader have to bow to him?? the newbie? also charlie “changed” way too quick to be authentic