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katreena's review against another edition
2.5
Graphic: Ableism, Body horror, Body shaming, Cursing, Deadnaming, Death, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Incest, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Lesbophobia, Outing, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic
scarletranger's review against another edition
However, that doesn't make the writing solid. Even given the unique genre, things like similar sentence structures, bland, one-dimensional characters, and an over-reliance of forcing the message down the reader's throat make this an unenjoyable experience. And as someone who identifies as non-binary, the message of "all cis-het people suck!" is just as harmful as the reverse.
The worst offense, though, is that in the writer's anger (and it's clear that she wrote this out of anger), she somehow found a way to make TERF's hatred make sense? For context: this is a world where anyone with too much testosterone turns into a zombie that rapes, kills, and eats anyone they smell estrogen on. Trans-women have to find ways to keep getting estrogen, or else they are doomed to the same fate.
In a zombie apocalypse, it would be dangerous and stupid to harbor someone with a bite simply because you don't want to seem like a bigot. Why, then, should TERFs allow trans-women into their compounds, to live near their groups, when at any moment they could turn into the dreaded man? TERFs are some of the worst scum on earth, and yet this book makes their fears and hatred legitimate.
It doesn't help that one of the main characters (a trans-woman) immediately starts fantasizing about raping the TERFs the moment she sees them because she's so horny, all the time. When this book isn't preaching at you, it's throwing rough sex in your face with no lead-up. Just a "Wanna fuck?" and there they go! Whether that's because of the genre or poor character-building, I don't know.
This book was clearly written in anger. If the author had any joy in this project, it would have been the sadistic glee of saying "all men are murderous rapists just waiting for an excuse" and being able to make them suffer. At least, that's how it reads, and that experience sucks.
To any writers out there: when you try to force your message too hard, not only does it feel like you're talking down to the reader, it leaves you open to "proving the point" of whoever you're opposing. And that can offer dangerous ammunition. This is a book TERFs could easily hold high and say, "Look! Even they know we're right! They're dangerous and should be kept away from us." And that is one of the worst things a book can do: hurt the very people it claims to represent.
Graphic: Body horror, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Cannibalism, Murder, Toxic friendship, Dysphoria, and Pandemic/Epidemic
f18's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I constantly kept losing track of which POV the story was in at any time. I attributed this to the narrator not pausing long enough between scene breaks, but I see that has come up in reviews of the physical book as well. I think the character voices (not the narrator's but the author's ) blurred together.
There's just something about the metaphor of
I've seen some very good critiques of this by trans readers as well. I think this book was the final nail in the coffin for me with this subgenre... but I'll probably torture myself and watch the show anyway.
Graphic: Cursing, Death, Fatphobia, Gore, Gun violence, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Transphobia, Violence, Cannibalism, Dysphoria, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Body horror, Drug use, Hate crime, Homophobia, Slavery, Suicide, Medical content, and Grief
Minor: Animal death, Child abuse, Deadnaming, Incest, Racism, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Death of parent, and Cultural appropriation
spoilers for Rebecca by Daphne DuMaurier, tooth trauma , misandry, gendered slurs, execution, mention of student/teacher relationshipsavazelena's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Animal death, Body shaming, Cursing, Deadnaming, Death, Fatphobia, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Medical content, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Outing, Dysphoria, War, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Cancer, Domestic abuse, and Death of parent
zombiezami's review against another edition
Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Murder, Toxic friendship, Dysphoria, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Ableism, Biphobia, Body shaming, Deadnaming, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Infidelity, Racism, Medical content, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Outing, Abandonment, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Minor: Animal death and Panic attacks/disorders
rkpaulson96'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
3.75
The book starts off strong, right in the middle of action and character exposition. The middle slows down quite a bit, I thought, though the last third is all action with satisfying character growth payoff. The ideas and themes Felker-Martin explores are vitally relevant today given the rise of modern fascism and its accompanying transphobia.
Graphic: Body horror, Cursing, Death, Genocide, Gore, Hate crime, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Grief, Cannibalism, and Pandemic/Epidemic
peachylite'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
3.75
Graphic: Body horror, Body shaming, Child death, Cursing, Death, Fatphobia, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Sexual content, Transphobia, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy, Outing, Dysphoria, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Child abuse, Eating disorder, Mental illness, Rape, Vomit, and Trafficking
Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Deadnaming, Emotional abuse, Incest, Physical abuse, Self harm, Terminal illness, and Cultural appropriation
rachaelwho's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Body horror, Cursing, Deadnaming, Death, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Medical content, Trafficking, Cannibalism, Murder, Pregnancy, Outing, Toxic friendship, Dysphoria, War, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Slavery
Minor: Child death
our_lady_of_perpetual_bad_luck's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Infertility, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicide, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Cannibalism, Murder, Pregnancy, Outing, War, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Ableism, Body shaming, Cursing, Drug use, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Outing, Toxic friendship, Dysphoria, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Minor: Animal death, Bullying, Cancer, Confinement, Deadnaming, Panic attacks/disorders, Terminal illness, Excrement, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, and Alcohol
tales_told_in_gold'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? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Death, Gore, Rape, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Transphobia, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Body horror, Cursing, Fatphobia, Misogyny, Cannibalism, Medical trauma, and Dysphoria
Minor: Eating disorder, Racism, and Outing