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xjr's review
4.0
Easy to read. Most difficult words are medical ones and those are usually explained within the story.
Slow start: introduction of this new post apocalyptic male zombie world, main characters and concepts.
Medium middle with tense parts: tension starts building up, conflict set up and red flags are placed.
Fast end: imo, the last third of the book went by super quick. Lots of action, plot and character development.
As a zombie fic, it's amusing and pretty gruesome in some parts. The more medical parts are quite gruesome, while regular fights (guns, knives) are decent.
As social commentary I am conflicted. While most characters are complex, the overall message is muddled. I agree with it overall, but many (smaller) points are debatable. I think it works as a great starting off point for discussions about today's society and human psychology, identity and sexuality.
Slow start: introduction of this new post apocalyptic male zombie world, main characters and concepts.
Medium middle with tense parts: tension starts building up, conflict set up and red flags are placed.
Fast end: imo, the last third of the book went by super quick. Lots of action, plot and character development.
As a zombie fic, it's amusing and pretty gruesome in some parts. The more medical parts are quite gruesome, while regular fights (guns, knives) are decent.
As social commentary I am conflicted. While most characters are complex, the overall message is muddled. I agree with it overall, but many (smaller) points are debatable. I think it works as a great starting off point for discussions about today's society and human psychology, identity and sexuality.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Transphobia
Moderate: Fatphobia and Sexism
Minor: Racism
jaimc's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
- 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
3.75
This book is like a feral animal caught in a trap.
It lashes out violently at every subject it touches: trans women, cis women, terfs, men, sexism, fatness, ugliness, the unfairness of life. But all this is in service of developing deeply wounded characters. No one exists in this world without deep shame and anger. The trans protagonists reflect on their bodies and identities with unfiltered cruelty that is often difficult to read.
While I suspect some trans readers will find this raw vulnerability cathartic, I imagine it will be deeply triggering for others. And that's before we even get to the grossness of the splatter-punk gore.
This book will not be for everyone. It boomerangs from brutal violence, to dark humor, to genuinely heartbreaking reflection, to camp, to eroticism, back around to violence. But, it's an interesting read if you have the stomach for it.
It lashes out violently at every subject it touches: trans women, cis women, terfs, men, sexism, fatness, ugliness, the unfairness of life. But all this is in service of developing deeply wounded characters. No one exists in this world without deep shame and anger. The trans protagonists reflect on their bodies and identities with unfiltered cruelty that is often difficult to read.
While I suspect some trans readers will find this raw vulnerability cathartic, I imagine it will be deeply triggering for others. And that's before we even get to the grossness of the splatter-punk gore.
This book will not be for everyone. It boomerangs from brutal violence, to dark humor, to genuinely heartbreaking reflection, to camp, to eroticism, back around to violence. But, it's an interesting read if you have the stomach for it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Transphobia, and Violence
Moderate: Animal death, Fatphobia, Racism, and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Child abuse and Deadnaming
yellowvans's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Cursing, Death, Fatphobia, Gore, Hate crime, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Grief, Outing, and Dysphoria
Moderate: Deadnaming, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Animal death and Death of parent
lakecryptid's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
sad
tense
fast-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
4.75
This book really gripped me the whole time I was reading it-- I think I read it nonstop over a period of like 2 days, often late into the night. It pulled me into the story even when I had just planned to read a page or two while "multitasking" at cooking or working on personal projects. I was initially intrigued by the premise before the book came out, because I've read or seen so many different "gender apocalypse" stories which conveniently leave out trans people. As a trans woman myself, I obviously want to see a familiar perspective that is often neglected in fiction (I definitely need to broaden my horizons, but I think this is the first novel I've read with trans women protagonists), but I also think it's just good world-building, showing that the author has done some research and is willing to dig into the complicated nitty-gritty of what the effects of their chromosome apocalypse (or hormone plague or whatever) would actually be like, beyond a tired "battle of the sexes" type of story. I think that this book succeeds at telling a deeply human story of survival in the face of apocalypse, in such a way that the supernatural man-beasts take a back seat to the bone chilling political and genocidal violence that threatens to drown the main characters. That could be a plus or minus depending on how much sci-fi chaos people want in their post apocalypse, but I personally think this is the smart way to tell a post apocalypse story, in which the zombies or monsters become just another faction, or weapon, for the characters to navigate.
The level of violence in this book is a lot, and the constant peril that the trans characters are in, in addition to the persistent self hatred and interpersonal vitriol, is often overwhelming. It was heartbreaking to read about Beth and Fran's fraught relationship, and seeing the former woman express such beautiful compassion and love, and be met with such deep rejection and loneliness, even from her close friend, was crushing, if accurate. It's sad that the level of trans misogyny and transphobia feels so believable and true to the current moment. Fran's character is understandably grating a lot of the time, and at times it feels like she and Beth almost veer into stereotypes, but not quite. The complex internal narratives and contradictions of the characters save them from being one-note, or simple didactic archetypes to illustrate a political point. I appreciated that in the context of Fran, her betrayal of her friends was not excused, or easily forgiven, but neither was she made into a completely hate-able cast off (in my mind, that would have played into ideas of trans disposability that the story really tries to oppose). Her selfishness is abominable, and deeply human. . Speaking as a trans woman, I feel like Fran and Beth can represent different aspects that live inside all of us. Learning to look at the ugly parts of our personal image, and learning how to turn away from selfishness and towards solidarity, is an extremely difficult thing to do, but an act of reflection that I think this story really tries to draw out.
By far the most difficult sections of the book to read were the passages from the POV of Ramona, the TERF soldier. Those parts of the book, unfortunately sometimes felt the most didactic, and the closest to what would have been a worse book as a whole-- a graphic morality tale in which the transphobe POV finds her humanity through the fridging of her favorite sex object. I don't think this was the intention at all, but unfortunately, Feather is one of the few regular characters in the book whose interior narrative we never see. Even a single passage showing their perspective during one of Ramona's scenes would have made a huge difference. .
I recently finished the book, and upon reflecting more on the story, something I noticed was how all violence, including sexual violence, is presented in the book. The characters are always making pragmatic and strategic decisions about how much violence they can endure, at what cost, and when they can afford to fight back. This kind of grim pragmatism in perspective feels jarring and gross to read, and it should. It's the honest reflection of a bunch of people living through nonstop trauma, in which there often is no "safe" choice, and the only ways the characters can exercise control is by trying as hard as they can to pick how and when they can resist, and when they have to dissociate to live and fight another day. I've read criticisms that the violence and sex in the book is often described in a uniformly graphic style, regardless of the context. I can see that as a valid criticism, since it could be seen as not making a distinction, for example, between consensual sex and sexual violence, or violence and sex at all. In my view, that distinction is still there, but the stylistic unity across scenes shows that in the minds of the characters, the horrible violence they have endured never really leaves their minds, or bodies. It haunts them as they run, as they fight, as they hold their loved ones and are re-traumatized by their enemies. It's gruesome and crushing to read, but in my mind, those are some of the most realistic and affecting parts of the story that really make an impact about the type of world the characters are living in, and what types of perspectives they have been forced to abandon through trauma.
The level of violence in this book is a lot, and the constant peril that the trans characters are in, in addition to the persistent self hatred and interpersonal vitriol, is often overwhelming. It was heartbreaking to read about Beth and Fran's fraught relationship, and seeing the former woman express such beautiful compassion and love, and be met with such deep rejection and loneliness, even from her close friend, was crushing, if accurate. It's sad that the level of trans misogyny and transphobia feels so believable and true to the current moment. Fran's character is understandably grating a lot of the time, and at times it feels like she and Beth almost veer into stereotypes, but not quite. The complex internal narratives and contradictions of the characters save them from being one-note, or simple didactic archetypes to illustrate a political point. I appreciated that in the context of Fran,
By far the most difficult sections of the book to read were the passages from the POV of
I recently finished the book, and upon reflecting more on the story, something I noticed was how all violence, including sexual violence, is presented in the book. The characters are always making pragmatic and strategic decisions about how much violence they can endure, at what cost, and when they can afford to fight back. This kind of grim pragmatism in perspective feels jarring and gross to read, and it should. It's the honest reflection of a bunch of people living through nonstop trauma, in which there often is no "safe" choice, and the only ways the characters can exercise control is by trying as hard as they can to pick how and when they can resist, and when they have to dissociate to live and fight another day. I've read criticisms that the violence and sex in the book is often described in a uniformly graphic style, regardless of the context. I can see that as a valid criticism, since it could be seen as not making a distinction, for example, between consensual sex and sexual violence, or violence and sex at all. In my view, that distinction is still there, but the stylistic unity across scenes shows that in the minds of the characters, the horrible violence they have endured never really leaves their minds, or bodies. It haunts them as they run, as they fight, as they hold their loved ones and are re-traumatized by their enemies. It's gruesome and crushing to read, but in my mind, those are some of the most realistic and affecting parts of the story that really make an impact about the type of world the characters are living in, and what types of perspectives they have been forced to abandon through trauma.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Murder, Pregnancy, Outing, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail
machinations's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- 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
Hell yes. Cried at the end. Much smarter people than will have more interesting words to say about Manhunt, but I think one of the biggest things that stood out to me was that this is one of the few books I’ve ever read where each sentence is beautifully, horrifically crafted; whole stories within sentences.
Content Warnings
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
kylajaynebooks's review
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
sad
tense
slow-paced
- 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
*wow*
This read like a movie - it was brutal, nasty, horrifying, real, depressing, funny, reflective, sarcastic and I loved it so much.
It has so much to say and really makes you question feminism and how it absolutely does not always include everyone. It explores gender identity, mental illness, toxic relationships, eugenics, sex work, genocide and dictatorships
Just wow this was a gory disgusting sexy masterpiece
This read like a movie - it was brutal, nasty, horrifying, real, depressing, funny, reflective, sarcastic and I loved it so much.
It has so much to say and really makes you question feminism and how it absolutely does not always include everyone. It explores gender identity, mental illness, toxic relationships, eugenics, sex work, genocide and dictatorships
Just wow this was a gory disgusting sexy masterpiece
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Body horror, Body shaming, Child death, Cursing, Deadnaming, Death, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infertility, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Police brutality, Medical content, Trafficking, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Abortion, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Dysphoria, War, and Injury/Injury detail