Reviews tagging 'Suicidal thoughts'

The Death I Gave Him by Em X. Liu

31 reviews

woolerys's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense 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? Yes

3.0

As a retelling of Hamlet, it did interesting and original things, and hit a good balance of same/different as far as telling the same story differently. As a novel, it was poorly paced and way, way too long. So much detail, mostly serving to add tension to each and every scene, but when used with such abundance it backfired and I ended up slogging through at a snail’s pace instead. I didn’t care for the “reconstructed from research” format as a reading experience, either, though it was a cool concept in theory. That said, I did really appreciate the rotating point of view and the way it allowed us to get close to three main characters, and I also enjoyed the reworked ending with new takes on the old themes of justice and purpose.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Murder, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, and Death of parent

Moderate: Confinement and Sexual content

cassie7e's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious 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

4.5

One of my best reads for 2024 so far! The plot is not at all straightforward and consisntely kept the tension. The main characters felt complex and believeable and I loved the AI getting POVs. I also loved the format of the story being told through snippets of interviews, articles, and playbacks of the system recordings. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Self harm, Murder, Violence, Blood, and Death

Moderate: Grief, Body horror, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Gun violence, Gore, and Death of parent

kravold's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective tense fast-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts and Murder

kwthor's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Cursing, Suicidal thoughts, and Violence

Moderate: Gun violence and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Infidelity

samisreading's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Mental illness, Murder, Death of parent, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Violence, and Blood

Minor: Sexual content

lbelow's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense

5.0

Such a masterpiece of a book! The way it's written, cobbled together from "primary" sources and alternating from one to another to give a linear timeline, had me glued to my seat. The pacing is on point, the emotion is gut-wrenching, the relationships are convoluted, and the main character (Hayden) is so deeply, beautifully flawed and hurting. This book felt visceral in a way I'm sure I won't forget anytime soon!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Mental illness, Sexual content, Death of parent, Confinement, Gore, Grief, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Self harm, and Gun violence

caidyn's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective tense fast-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

4.75

Such a unique Hamlet retelling. It felt very loosely a retelling and definitely more its own thing. Queer, sci-fi, murder mystery, life and death. So good!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Suicidal thoughts, and Self harm

lilacs_book_bower's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

This book is really interesting, and I definitely recommend it, but I don't want to read it ever again.  This is the weirdest locked room mystery, queer Hamlet re-telling that will ever exist.  Hayden's (Hamlet) father has been murdered and now the lab that the main characters are in has been locked down while Hamlet tries to avenge his father.  There are a lot of clever bits and allusions, and I definitely like that the Ophelia character has more of a personality, but she still feels lacking and her story still revolves around Hayden/Hamlet.  I am not sure how I feel about the Horatio character.  He is AI now and really in Hayden's head.  I don't want to say more due to spoilers, but I like the idea of Horatio and what happens, but I am not sure I buy into the execution. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Murder, Self harm, Grief, Medical content, Violence, Suicidal thoughts, Death, Death of parent, and Gore

laurareads87's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

The Death I Gave Him caught my attention immediately: a queer locked room Hamlet? Yes! It did not disappoint. The structure - the story told through a combination of essays, pager transcripts, camera footage, letters, and some fictional insertions - is brilliant and effective. The writing is beautiful and the tension is at times unbearable. While there won't be too much 'surprise' in the plot elements for any reader familiar with Hamlet, Liu's book is a novel exploration of the themes of the play - an ambitious work. Highly recommend.

Content warnings: anything you'd expect from a Hamlet reimagination - death, murder, blood, minor gore / injury detail, suicidal thinking, grief

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Murder, Grief, Death, Suicidal thoughts, and Blood

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail

bibliomania_express's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Death of parent, Violence, Confinement, Murder, Self harm, Medical trauma, Medical content, Grief, and Body horror