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wildeflower's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Graphic: Cursing, Outing, Blood, Body horror, Misogyny, Excrement, Gore, Homophobia, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Transphobia, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Grief, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Rape, Gun violence, Sexual assault, Murder, Vomit, Sexism, Torture, Violence, and War
Moderate: Drug use, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Outing, Cancer, Child death, Fatphobia, Death of parent, Deadnaming, and Classism
This is a book about a group of transwomen trying to survive an apocalypse where they're being hunted by literal TERFS, and so there is so much trans violence, slurs, hate crimes, etc. towards trans women / trans femmes.britttobegorey94's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: War, Violence, Sexual content, Sexism, Pregnancy, Physical abuse, Murder, Torture, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Medical content, Child death, Outing, Deadnaming, Death of parent, Transphobia, and Rape
flags'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
4.5
Graphic: Torture, Suicide, Sexual violence, Cannibalism, Gore, Violence, Drug use, War, Sexual harassment, Murder, Transphobia, Sexual content, Pregnancy, Sexual assault, Gun violence, Deadnaming, Physical abuse, Body horror, Vomit, Outing, Misogyny, Hate crime, Sexism, Self harm, Injury/Injury detail, Dysphoria, Death, Classism, Body shaming, Medical content, Alcohol, Rape, Racism, and Child death
Moderate: Religious bigotry
ramreadsagain's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.0
My rating for this honestly could have gone either way so I have decided to go down the middle with three stars. At its core it's a (not original but in quite an original setting) critique on TERFs and how their transphobia is so overpowering that they pretty much stop caring about anything else. Even the literal zombie-cis-men overrunning the planet. There is a lot of emphasis on their hypocrisy, as they allow some trans women to live as sex workers for their own gratification (in a 'turning a blind eye' kind of way but ultimately killing them too), as well as force-transitioning young men for their army (their solution to the threat of male puberty turning them into monsters). They will allow trans existence and transition under their own terms, as long as they can control the bodies exactly how they want. They consider their castrated/medically transitioned young men to be women, but fake women, because they have the right genitals, highlighting how TERFs' view of womanhood only really extends to external sex characteristics.
Another important point is the critique of TERFs' 'feminism' which never extends beyond simply a society of role reversal. They envision and want to create a world of female supremacy still within the violent, oppressive capitalist system. At several points in the book, characters note how the TERFs are 'no better than men' and 'doing to them what men did to women'.
Overall I rate this positively because of the above, as I do believe this should be an important part of queer literature.
The book has just as many downsides though which do bring my rating down. Violence for violence's sake seems to be just how the author writes but it was a bit much, and at some point you just become a bit numb to it. The characters do also seem to recover very quickly from life-threatening injuries. I really didn't like the constant sexual content, which was usually uncomfortable, graphic, and repulsive. The POVs were often difficult to work out, with characters not having a distinct voice, and it wasn't clear when POVs changed until you saw a different 'narrator name' a few paragraphs in. This meant I often had to reread sections to understand them from someone else's POV to whose I originally thought it was. The characters themselves were unlikeable, which is not an issue in and of itself but they weren't even really distinguishable from each other. The book also had a slump in the middle third that was quite difficult to push through and the book felt much longer than it is.
The book's treatment of fat people and POC made me uncomfortable. Size and race were often used as the only descriptor for a character, and Indi's extreme self hatred and the constant reference to her size (in quite inventive ways) got old very fast. The TERFs were also constantly referred to as nazis or neo nazis, which was a poor decision in my opinion. They did not demonstrate massive levels of white supremacy (unlike many irl TERFs - I understand the use of neo nazi when referring to actual twitter terfs at times) which made the descriptor just feel like a quip.
Graphic: Body horror, Body shaming, Death, Fatphobia, Hate crime, Medical trauma, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Blood, Cannibalism, Cursing, Dysphoria, Medical content, Self harm, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Vomit, War, Sexism, Gore, Genocide, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Rape, Sexual assault, and Transphobia
Moderate: Deadnaming, Child death, Pregnancy, Excrement, Outing, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship
bites_of_books's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
This is a book where the author has zero sympathy for the reader, they describe everything in raw and gory detail and hold back nothing. The atmosphere is rich in the toxic nature of the characters and also the general anxiety that it is to live in a world where various groups of people are trying to survive. We follow Fran and Beth, two trans women who are trying to survive in a world where they hunt men who have turned feral in order to harvest their organs for selling and also to acquire the hormones they need to avoid turning into these feral beasts. To top that, they also need to be wary of a group of TERFs who are building an army, trying to be the new law of the land.
I highly encourage you to read and listen to trans reviewers since a lot of the book is from that perspective. Trans experiences are not represented in literature enough and even less in horror so this book is highly valuable because it does put those experiences front and center.
The overall plot of the book jumped around a bit too much for my liking, it seemed like the first half of the book was about one thing while the second half focused on something completely different. While our main characters arcs do take precedence, there were a couple of other characters that came in and out of the story never fully solidifying their connection to the main characters.
I'd highly recommend checking all the content warnings, if you do want to venture into this book. I'd say that if you like apocalypse stories with a completely different perspective, full of gore that doesn't hold back, this might be the book for you.
Graphic: Child death, Cursing, Death of parent, Eating disorder, Gore, Grief, Lesbophobia, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, War, Antisemitism, Body horror, Cannibalism, Blood, Body shaming, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Medical trauma, Murder, Pregnancy, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Suicide, Deadnaming, Death, Fatphobia, Hate crime, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Outing, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Torture, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Dysphoria, Slavery, Transphobia, and Violence
captainfez's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Hate crime, Body shaming, Blood, Self harm, Panic attacks/disorders, Slavery, Pregnancy, Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, Forced institutionalization, Rape, Transphobia, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Police brutality, Physical abuse, Murder, Mental illness, Violence, War, Medical trauma, Gore, Genocide, Dysphoria, Death, Deadnaming, Confinement, Cannibalism, Cancer, Body horror, and Child death
nixieba25f's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Body shaming, Cannibalism, Child death, Cursing, Deadnaming, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Domestic abuse, Hate crime, Medical content, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Murder, Outing, Pregnancy, Religious bigotry, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, War, Ableism, Blood, Confinement, Death, Grief, Gun violence, Racism, Rape, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Bullying, Dysphoria, Fatphobia, Genocide, Gore, Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, Torture, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, and Cultural appropriation
booknerd85's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Death, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Blood, Body horror, Cannibalism, Dysphoria, Eating disorder, Gore, Grief, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Murder, Outing, Pregnancy, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Transphobia, and Violence
Moderate: Body shaming, Child death, Cursing, Deadnaming, Drug use, Genocide, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Slavery, War, Ableism, Classism, Confinement, Fatphobia, Gun violence, Infidelity, and Trafficking
emmague89's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Abandonment, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Torture, Suicide attempt, Physical abuse, Miscarriage, Medical trauma, Grief, Gaslighting, Forced institutionalization, Fire/Fire injury, Fatphobia, Excrement, Emotional abuse, Eating disorder, Dysphoria, Drug use, Domestic abuse, Alcohol, Biphobia, Blood, Body horror, Body shaming, Transphobia, Trafficking, Sexual violence, Self harm, Mass/school shootings, Gore, Genocide, Drug abuse, Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Cannibalism, Child death, Chronic illness, Classism, Colonisation, Confinement, War, Vomit, Violence, Toxic friendship, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Stalking, Slavery, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Sexism, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Religious bigotry, Rape, Racial slurs, Racism, Pregnancy, Police brutality, Panic attacks/disorders, Murder, Misogyny, Mental illness, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Infertility, Homophobia, Hate crime, Gun violence, Animal cruelty, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Cultural appropriation, Cursing, Deadnaming, Death, and Death of parent
lycheejelly's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Alcoholism, Infidelity, Medical content, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Rape, Self harm, Grief, Hate crime, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Outing, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Death, Sexual violence, Trafficking, Abandonment, Alcohol, Blood, Body shaming, Bullying, Drug use, Body horror, Cannibalism, Cursing, Deadnaming, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Violence, War, Dysphoria, Gore, Gun violence, Infertility, Torture, Toxic relationship, and Transphobia
Minor: Abortion, Misogyny, Child abuse, Suicide, Animal cruelty, Panic attacks/disorders, Pregnancy, Addiction, Cancer, Child death, Excrement, Incest, and Miscarriage