Reviews - The Half Life of Valery K

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786 reviews for:

The Half Life of Valery K

Natasha Pulley

4.3 AVERAGE

bfls's review against another edition

4.0

Beautifully written but very hard to read. The subject matter was so grim.

jesiki's review against another edition

4.5

dark emotional informative reflective sad tense slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

dkreading's review against another edition

5.0

If this is your first Natasha Pulley book, you're in for a treat, and if you're a fan of her other novels, you'll be likewise enthralled by The Half Life of Valery K. One of my favorite things about Pulley's novels are the main characters who are generally lonely, broken or breaking men that are struggling to do what they think is right in the midst of extremely trying circumstances. They're flawed, far from perfect, and sometimes perpetrators of shocking violence. The main characters of The Half Life of Valery K absolutely fit the trend and I loved all of their interactions!

It may sound strange to say that I deeply enjoyed this book when so much of it is grim, especially when you consider it's based on actual events. Radiation, human testing, imprisonment, torture, coercion, starvation -- it's all there and described through Valery's stark and sometimes disassociated narration. But despite all the horrors Valery has witnessed, he still retains a fragile resiliency and a store of tricks to help him survive and find simple joys and beauty. He's also clever and determined, and his piecing together the truth behind City 40's facade is every bit as thrilling as a spy novel, albeit with a lot more science.

At times harsh but always moving, The Half Life of Valery K combines history, science, and raw humanity in a compelling narrative that I could not put down.

I received an eARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

sue_reilly's review against another edition

5.0

It's historical fiction but written for genre readers. I loved it.

knitteddookers's review against another edition

5.0

dark emotional hopeful medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

sweetsandhorror's review against another edition

5.0

This was way outside my usual genres of choice, but I loved it. Historical fiction based on a real Russian radiation catastrophe in the 60s, much like Chernobyl, but with a queer romantic undercurrent between two very traumatized men desperately trying to find a way to make up for past crimes. The science was explained well, the plot was very interesting, especially given it was based on real events, and I just adore when I pick up a random, cool looking book and it just so happens to be gay. It’s like winning the lottery. The romance was so subtle that I wondered if I was just projecting onto it for a while, but that worked well overall for the plot. I also feel like I learned a lot about radiation, which is very cool. Highly recommend this.