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ruthlessreads's review against another edition
The writing was extremely poor. So much so that it was incredibly difficult to tell whose viewpoint we were in at any given point. The characters relied very heavily on stereotypes & were generally one dimensional. The one character that was given more dimension was consistently treated poorly & discussed negatively even by people that she was supposed to be close with. The body horror was near constant & added nothing to the plot. Every single sexual scene was written to shock & disgust not just the reader but also to make the characters feel shame & disgust with themselves & people like them. Not only that but the aftermath of the sexual encounters left either one or both characters involved feeling violated in some way. Again, this book relies on and heavily perpetuates negative stereotypes about trans people specifically and the LGBTQ+ community & women in general. (I came across this while writing this review but this is the same author who proudly proclaimed on Twitter "I'm a woman, and a professional author, and I've never written anything without at least one rape scene in it." which she defends by saying that not writing these scenes in media is pretending it it doesn't exist in real life. So, that sounds like a lot of internalized misogyny to me & it really comes across in her writing.) This book was marketed as a narrative that would turn the gender plague trope on its head but I don't believe that the author succeeded in subverting a single thing about it. Beyond that, the writing was just bad. It's the literary equivalent of movies like Human Centipede which have no cinematic value and only want to shock, disgust, and upset the viewer. The authors desire to upset the reader overwhelms anything else she might have to say about...anything. As such, it seems that plotting was planned around specifically horrible things that the author wanted to describe but that don't actually make any sense in respect to the narrative.
I, frankly, can't believe this book was published. It's bad from a technical standpoint. The writing, pacing, plotting, and character development are all over the place. The horror serves no purpose to the plot & the author seems to be seeking up upset, overwhelm, or disgust the reader. But's it's also bad from the standpoint that it relies on & perpetuates negative stereotypes about marginalized communities that already suffer a lot of harm & hate. I think we can do better in 2022.
Please check the content warning. I tried to tag literally everything I could for readers who might struggle with the graphic nature of the book.
Graphic: Ableism, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Confinement, Deadnaming, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Trafficking, Grief, Cannibalism, Medical trauma, Murder, Outing, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Cursing, Pregnancy, Alcohol, and Dysphoria
ecn's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Almost every character was white and it FELT like it. However, it feels realistic for white people to stick together and but think of others in a post-apocalyptic world. I did have a lot of issues though with the two non-white characters essentially not being developed and only used by the main characters. Sure they grow together but ugh.
The entire book could have been condensed but the ending came way too quickly. The pacing felt off and made it hard to read, especially with every few paragraphs/pages switching off to another character. at times it felt dizzying trying to understand who was who for a bit.
Overall, I enjoyed the book for what it was but think I would have enjoyed it more as a movie.
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Infertility, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Blood, Excrement, Medical content, Grief, Cannibalism, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Murder, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment, Dysphoria, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
bonemade's review
- 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
4.5
Graphic: Body horror, Cursing, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Transphobia, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal death, Deadnaming, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Blood, Dysphoria, and Classism
Minor: Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Pregnancy, and Outing
machinations's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Body horror, Cursing, Deadnaming, Gore, Hate crime, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual content, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Cannibalism, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Body shaming, Cancer, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Toxic relationship, Outing, and Dysphoria
Minor: Ableism, Child abuse, Pedophilia, Racism, Xenophobia, Antisemitism, and Classism
atenderwitch's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Body shaming, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Deadnaming, Death, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Genocide, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infertility, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Trafficking, Grief, Cannibalism, Medical trauma, Murder, Outing, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment, Dysphoria, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
kingweirdo's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
but
This is one of the most touching, heartbreaking, brutal books I've ever read. I was so in love these characters, and even sickly attached to the villain narrator. Every chapter held a gut-punch, whether it was a horrible death, or act of violence, or a transphobic microaggression, or just the horrible things that the characters said to themselves while surviving the actual end of the civilized world.
And while this book is PACKED with blood and guts, bullets and knives, and breathtaking fights to the death, the world is so smartly built and the premise is SO wrought with symbolism. The entire conceit establishes a Binary sex problem and then immediately starts dismantling it and showing a dozen gaps in that easy essentialism. It asks us horrifying questions about identity and community, it leaves no population unscrutinized, it reminds us of how much there is to fear from our fellow humans, and it also gives us such remarkable tenderness.
I wept. I usually hate series, but I'm honestly begging the author to extend this universe and give us more.
Graphic: Body horror, Body shaming, Deadnaming, Death, Fatphobia, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Cannibalism, Murder, Toxic friendship, Dysphoria, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal death, Cancer, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Infertility, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Slavery, Suicide, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Outing, Alcohol, and Classism
Minor: Child death, Self harm, Sexual harassment, and Colonisation