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suzea's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
forthesanityof1's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- 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? Yes
4.5
Absolutely loved it! Definitely check and heed trigger warnings for this one because they aren't for the faint of heart. I loved the narrative structure. It took a couple of switches to get into it, but I ultimately ended up really appreciating how the author used it to her advantage. I loved seeing the convergence. I thought the nods the Persephone were exactly as gritty and dark as I was hoping they would be. I didn't go into this looking for romance like it's so often marketed and I don't think other people should, either. You will be disappointed and most likely sickened. I adored the ending and it's open ambiguity/slight trend towards unhappiness. There is only one reason I'm not giving it 5 stars: I wanted a bit more development-even 10 pages throughout the entire book-on the structure of Eleusis and what the final days of Earth may have looked like. I think that would have added some weight to the narrative. Other than that, highly reccomend if you're in the right headspace!
impending_feta's review against another edition
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
doddyaboutbooks's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
3.0
Make sure you are familiar with the myth of Persephone and Hades before wading in, you will be lost otherwise.
elliotvanz's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
slow-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? It's complicated
3.0
Be forewarned: this book is very dense and very grim. This is not a light read by any means, both in structure and content. That said, if you can stomach the sexual assault, abuse, murder, and all around bleakness the writing is worth showing up for. The world building was interesting and engaging, and I found many of the characters multifaceted and interesting. I also appreciated that the skeleton upon which the story was built was a Persephone retelling (very loosely). Still, I could never really sink into this one. It was slippery and I always felt like I was floating along the surface of the story. I'm not sure if that was due to a distance in the writing or my own headspace at the time. I'm glad I read this one but it isn't one I'm likely to revisit.
cass_lit's review against another edition
3.5
First off, please read the content warnings. I know that’s self-explanatory, but I think it’s especially true here. Among other things, there are two scenes depicting child rape that almost made me stop reading. While I don’t agree with using this as plot points, I understand it’s the atrocities of war that the author was trying to portray. I ended up continuing reading, and I’m glad I did. I picked this up at the bookstore not having heard about it, but I’m always looking for more modern sci-fi by authors of Color. And I love a good Persephone retelling - though I now honestly wouldn’t market it as that, I didn’t pick up on it at all.
The novel switches in between three different timelines following three different characters, and you don’t find out how they’re all connected until the last quarter of the book (although I’d guessed at a few of them). The Twins’ story was probably my favorite, but maybe only because Stefonie and her mom’s were so depressing. There was also a sentient software POV occasionally, which I love! The aliens were unique and their relationship with humans is, unfortunately, easy to grasp. The underlying questions of who’s responsible for war and what constitutes “justice” for the harm done are definitely applicable to real life.
I wish we’d gotten a little more about the world they were living in. I couldn’t picture it at all, but the idea of the four areas of the planet were so interesting. I would’ve liked to know what made Day, Dawn, Dusk, and Night so different!
goldenluck's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
This wasn't really a Persephone retelling. It was kinda just edgy trauma porn. The bad guys in the end made no sense. The actual bad guys (the racist rapists) got no ending and no punishment. The main character didn't get any justice and never left her abusive relationship. It just kinda started sad, got sadder, ended sad. It sucked.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape and Domestic abuse
rachelguthro's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
literaturesciencealliance's review against another edition
challenging
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
This is a very dark sci-fi retelling of Persephone. There are on page graphic depictions of child abuse, there are children soldiers and the world itself is very dark. None of these things bothered, my issue was that although I found the world intriguing and the narrative structure compelling (although very convoluted and confusing) I was kept at a distance from the characters so I was never truly immersed in the story. I really appreciated the project of this work and wished it was the start of a series instead of a standalone to flesh out the global/intergalactic conflict a bit more. I did like this enough to try more works by this author because the ideas and world were extremely interesting to me and it was like nothing I have read before, which I am always looking for.
quirkycatsfatstacks's review against another edition
2.0
I hate to say it, but Destroyer of Light will be one of my (very) rare DNF's for the year. I really wanted to read it, as the mere description of “Matrix meets Afro-futuristic retelling of Peresphone' was more than enough to grab my attention. However, this book is simply too graphic for me. I hate backing out of this read, but sometimes self-care has to take priority.