Reviews with content warning for Self harm - Eye of the Ouroboros

Reviews tagging 'Self harm'

Eye of the Ouroboros by Megan Bontrager

2 reviews

henrygravesprince's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny mysterious sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

In the interest of full disclosure, this review is specifically regarding a DRC copy of the book from Net Galley, so while I imagine this eBook was pretty close to finalized, some details may have been changed between my copy and the official release.

If you’re looking for a popcorn read with X-Files overtones, thematic cues from Fullmetal Alchemist, and undertones of Stranger Things, I’d point you in the direction of Eye of the Ouroboros. The strongest aspect of the book to me is that you can tell the author had a lot of love for the story and characters; the weakest aspect is perhaps that we miss out on a lot of the development of the characters and the lead-up to the book. To be honest, this isn’t normally what I would recommend, but I think it could be improved by just making it longer—the book feels like it should be a hundred, maybe two hundred pages longer, to let the narrative simmer some. It feels like it should be a huge

cosmic

horror/sci-fantasy hybrid in order to deliver what it has to offer. I hope Bontrager keeps publishing her work, as I think it has a lot of potential, but whether or not I’ll read whatever comes next, I’m not sure. I don’t think I would have picked this book up if it didn’t catch my attention with its Appalachian setting, but I am ultimately happy I did.

Overall, the narrative feels consistent and clear, and I imagine the author knew well what she was intending to write—I just wish the rest of the work had been given more time and substance in order to make the book as effective as possible. The book isn’t lacking in its plot so much as it leaves me wanting more character work and a more concrete sense of setting (the Appalachia of this book isn’t a bad portrayal, but it doesn’t really feel distinct, either; the slight anti-authority bend of the plot feels more authentic to Appalachia than anything else). Conflict is pretty consistently woven into the plot, and the stakes remain high throughout the book. The pacing is very fast, and I wish it started off with a more even pace to allow the reader to adjust to Theo’s “normal” before getting thrown into the meat of the plot; while adding more development and exposition to the beginning would slow the pace down, I think it would do wonders for actually getting readers invested and on board.

I enjoy the themes that the book eventually lands on regarding desperation, sacrifice, and family (both found and biological), but I wish they had been built up to a little more. Subplots are more implied than included—I would have liked to have seen the development of interpersonal relationships between the cast through secondary narratives, instead of just being told about them. Characterization and cast dynamics are relatively consistent, but leave something to be desired in that a lot of the development and background is more “tell” than “show”. The cast grew on me, but I wish the characters were delved into more, so that I could have gotten genuinely attached to them.

The writing style is overall consistent and suits Theo’s perspective well, having a similar sort of edge. Description lends itself to a surreal tone sometimes, which I don’t necessarily mind for this book; in some parts, it’s incredibly effective, though in others, it occasionally feels a bit overwritten, as if it’s been put in as a way to compensate for the lack of other narrative elements. Dialogue falls into a kind of exaggeratedly snarky cadence, which feels pretty in tune with the tone of the book. I noticed a few spelling and grammatical errors that may well have been adjusted for the final published version of the book. Syntax was occasionally difficult to parse because of the flowery prose, while word choice was often very direct, making sentences a bit obscure at times but stylistically interesting.

Content Warnings

bookeduntil's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Content Warnings

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