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tigger89's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
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
4.5
This book was incredible. I can't think of any other piece of media I've consumed that has featured a middle-aged trans women who isn't particularly femme as the protagonist, so that alone was unique. I also enjoyed the take on a utopia, where you can see how much better things are while at the same time spotting the cracks where maybe there's something less-than-perfect under the surface. Yet there isn't some grand conspiracy to uncover. This isn't the story of how the alien invaders were unmasked and repelled. The utopia is presented as a good thing, probably(though, like all good speculative fiction, it does leave you wondering a little).
Rather, this is a story that deals primarily with grief, as we follow Trina mourning not just the loss of her wife but also that of the world she remembers. She rejects the Seep, choosing to do things the old way whenever possible, a perspective that leaves her unable to cope when confronted with new views on death and rebirth. Her devotion to the old ways is ultimately so destructive that it puts her own health at risk, an apt metaphor for what humanity is doing to our planet and each other with the way we live. It's a sad story, but beautiful as well.
The one thing I thought was a little odd was how Trina's heritage was handled. She's half Jewish and half Native American. My apologies, if the nation was specified I've forgotten it and can't locate it now. While her Jewishness is reflected upon somewhat in the narrative, her Native American heritage didn't seem to be explored to any degree beyond her name: Trina FastHorse Goldberg-Oneka. Now, I'm not trying to say that a character's heritage has to be important to the plot. Of course they can just be Jewish, or Chinese, or Ojibwe, or whatever. What stood out to me here was the lopsidedness of it, where one half of her identity was recognized in the story while the other was kind of just...there. Perhaps this is a fault of the reader, that I didn't know enough to recognize the moments when it was made relevant. It's very possible.
Rather, this is a story that deals primarily with grief, as we follow Trina mourning not just the loss of her wife but also that of the world she remembers. She rejects the Seep, choosing to do things the old way whenever possible, a perspective that leaves her unable to cope when confronted with new views on death and rebirth. Her devotion to the old ways is ultimately so destructive that it puts her own health at risk, an apt metaphor for what humanity is doing to our planet and each other with the way we live. It's a sad story, but beautiful as well.
The one thing I thought was a little odd was how Trina's heritage was handled. She's half Jewish and half Native American. My apologies, if the nation was specified I've forgotten it and can't locate it now. While her Jewishness is reflected upon somewhat in the narrative, her Native American heritage didn't seem to be explored to any degree beyond her name: Trina FastHorse Goldberg-Oneka. Now, I'm not trying to say that a character's heritage has to be important to the plot. Of course they can just be Jewish, or Chinese, or Ojibwe, or whatever. What stood out to me here was the lopsidedness of it, where one half of her identity was recognized in the story while the other was kind of just...there. Perhaps this is a fault of the reader, that I didn't know enough to recognize the moments when it was made relevant. It's very possible.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Drug use, Abandonment, Addiction, and Grief
Moderate: Body horror
Minor: Death and Suicidal thoughts
abiofpellinor's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Death, Drug use, Drug abuse, and Alcoholism
nick13's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
fast-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
4.0
What did I just read? This story had so much going on with a really amazing concept and idea and while I thought the writing to be a little not-so-well paced, i.e. a six year time jump that isn't mentioned until several chapters later, and I found the ending to be a bit lackluster imo, the world in this novel is just astounding. With that in mind, it would be criminal to give this book less than four stars and something I'd recommend to anyone who likes really weird and interesting worlds.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism and Body horror
Moderate: Grief, Drug abuse, Drug use, Death, and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Racism and Murder
nikenacs's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
fast-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
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Alcoholism, Addiction, Suicidal thoughts, Drug use, and Drug abuse
Moderate: Death and Racism
firstknight's review against another edition
challenging
dark
funny
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
fast-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
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief
Moderate: Alcoholism, Sexual content, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Drug use, and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Racism, Excrement, Death of parent, and Death
asexualandriod's review against another edition
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- 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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Grief, Drug use, Alcohol, and Addiction
Moderate: Cultural appropriation, Racism, and Alcoholism
Minor: Sexual content
The content warnings for drug use and addiction are in reference to the alien lifeforms that are present in the book. They are microscopic, in things like food and water, and their elevated presence exhibits similar symptoms to highs from drugs. The narrative surrounding the aliens is often framed as an addiction.thereaderfriend's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Interesting character driven story about a trans fmc existential journey after an alien invasion. Found the ending rushed and not great but I liked the rest of it. Relatable and intriguing. The world building was fascinating and well developed too. Really liked that the alien invasion wasn't what popculture usually displays as violent but was so with the slow, creeping influence of the seep until humans weren't willing to live without them. Was bone chilling in ways :)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Alcoholism, and Death
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Drug use, and Racism
Minor: Transphobia
drlove2018's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
reflective
tense
fast-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
4.0
A bit disappointed by the ending, but *wow* is this a ride! The first hundred-ish pages of this is the most exciting read I’ve experienced in a while
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cultural appropriation and Grief
Moderate: Drug use, Racism, Alcoholism, and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Medical content and Violence
inamerata's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
My memories are who I am. You take away my memories, you erase me. Existence is memory. Do you understand? You’d kill me. You’d murder Trina FastHorse Goldberg-Oneka, daughter of Rita and Samuel, a child of love. Trans woman. Artist. Doctor. Healer. Native American. Jew. You erase my memories, and you erase my lineage of ancestors—their pain, their triumphs, their passions, their dreams. No matter if the memories bring me pain. It’s my pain! Let me have it.
An interesting and sometimes frustrating read. I enjoyed the brisk writing, and the premise is neat. (How do you handle a ‘benevolent’ invasion? What do you do when your wife decides to use space magic to become a literal infant? What does utopia mean for people who don’t fall in line?) Porter digs into some interesting ideas about grief, intentions, relationships, memory, identity, etc. here.
Trina is an enjoyable protagonist; she’s dealing with internal and external angst, struggling to figure out what to keep and discard from her past, what to accept or reject from the weird new future. Sometimes she messes up, and sometimes she’s in the right railing against those around her. Honestly, I think Trina is in the right a lot more than she is not. Many other characters are pretentious, annoying, and/or just nonsensical, and it’s fun to root for her.
However, there were a few things that tripped me up. I’m still not sure how to describe my feelings toward the epilogue, where Trina’s actions made sense, but the narrative thought didn’t.
By The Seep’s own thesis, Deeba was wrong. She did kill herself by reverting to infancy, and she wanted her wife to either kill herself, too, or become her fucking mother. (Honestly, fuck Deeba.)
It is beautiful and brave to go toward a new beginning. The entire book builds toward Trina growing and moving forward with a clear head. Cursed with immortality, everyone in The Seep will have to choose when to end their current selves. So why is going "back" suddenly beautiful? How is being too chickenshit to speak plainly brave?
I also rolled my eyes at the painfully ignorant/reductive takes like "pets and eating meat are WRONG because we are all animals," especially because characters eat fish regularly. We also see carnivores, even obligate carnivores, still exist and are actively part of this society as sapient moral beings, but the story never engages with what that means for their diets. (Also, if you can see the life the wood that became your furniture...why no introspection on eating plants? Why isn’t a more holistic cycle of life brought up as at least one possible norm?)
Finally, it was odd to have a Native American protagonist whose indigenous identity is supposed to be climatically important, and then it's just never brought up outside her name and a single line. Throughout the book, we see Trina actively engage with all her other identities mentioned in the quote I pulled above, but we never even learn her tribe’s name.* In an invasion story set in North America, after the dissolution of the United States, Trina’s complicated feelings toward the Seep and its “utopian” plans never touch on what that means for her as a Native person. Which may be a good thing, as Porter is not Native American, but then why is Trina? Why in this story?
*In a 2021 Mechanical Dolphin interview, Porter confirms Trina was meant to be "Mohegan from the Connecticut area," and that she wishes she’d made that explicit. So, I guess Trina calling herself an "old wolf" might be a nod to this, but that’s not my place to decide.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Drug use, and Grief
Moderate: Racism and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Body horror and Transphobia
yavin_iv's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Colonisation, Death, Grief, and Drug use
Moderate: Medical content, Cultural appropriation, and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Transphobia