Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.54 AVERAGE
3.54 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Not sure how I felt about this. Definitely wanted to find out what happened, but I guess my feelings are as complicated as the situation . I am not one to rubberneck for car crashes, but I found myself stopping the car for this one.
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
tense
dark
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
props to this book for asking the question - what if the third gender was artificial intelligence and could help you jork it?
going back and forth between a 3 and a 3.5 rating for this book. it has its moments and can be really good, but sometimes it felt like the only reason behind character motivations was “it’s hamlet” rather than having any real substance. loved the writing and the stylistic choices of the book, though.
i would also struggle to classify this as a locked door mystery, because even if you’ve never seen or read hamlet, you’ve engaged with its many retellings to know the story. it’s also….not very queer, unless having ai in your body is considered gay.
overall, not a terrible read. fast and engaging. hilarious to make rozencrantz and guildenstern one character but minus points for making him the most boring one.
going back and forth between a 3 and a 3.5 rating for this book. it has its moments and can be really good, but sometimes it felt like the only reason behind character motivations was “it’s hamlet” rather than having any real substance. loved the writing and the stylistic choices of the book, though.
i would also struggle to classify this as a locked door mystery, because even if you’ve never seen or read hamlet, you’ve engaged with its many retellings to know the story. it’s also….not very queer, unless having ai in your body is considered gay.
overall, not a terrible read. fast and engaging. hilarious to make rozencrantz and guildenstern one character but minus points for making him the most boring one.
I’m not much of a Shakespeare fan but I was attracted to this Sci-Fi retelling of Hamlet with its description of a lockdown due to a murder in a science lab working on a project called the Sisyphus Formula that can heal serious wounds and even possibly reverse death. Don’t be fooled by the “locked-room thriller” description, this is still Hamlet, there is a locked lab, and there is murder, but the culprit is not a mystery to anyone who’s studied Hamlet and its themes of mortality, revenge and madness. The characters names are just slightly different from the original but easily deduced such as Hayden for Hamlet except for Horatio, who takes the form of the AI who runs the lab facility known as Elsinore, and Rasmussin who appears to be an amalgamation of the courtier characters.
The format of this story was intriguing though a bit convoluted. It’s told through the eyes of an undefined future student who researched the events that occurred in 2047 for their master’s thesis then subsequently wrote a book about what they considered the digital dark ages. It also includes excerpts from a memoir style article written by Felicia Xia in first person and various interviews with her after the events, and transcripts from data in the facility archived by Horatio for Hayden, his Uncle Charles, Felicia, her father Paul and Rasmussen. All the information is compiled with footnotes that give the reader details about the origin of the data, which parts are accurate and what is interpreted from any missing data as well as information about the currently obsolete technology and methods, and a few ambiguous details about the current state of the world outside the facility.
The first half the book had me enthralled, trying to work out all the missing pieces, figuring out the characters and who they represented, their motivations in this version of the story and why. However, around the midpoint, it slowed down for me, and the rest just failed to keep my interest. The love Horatio felt for Hayden was obvious in his actions and care, but there were some cyber-sensual scenes that felt unnecessary amid the chaos. The relationship between Hayden and Felicia was complicated and twisted with both affection and vengeance and similarly between Hayden and his uncle, as well as his parents, though neither are on the page for much of the book, their presence is palpable.
3.5 stars: Recommended to fans of SciFi and Hamlet themes.
Thank you to Netgalley and Rebellion Publishing for a copy provided for an honest review.
The format of this story was intriguing though a bit convoluted. It’s told through the eyes of an undefined future student who researched the events that occurred in 2047 for their master’s thesis then subsequently wrote a book about what they considered the digital dark ages. It also includes excerpts from a memoir style article written by Felicia Xia in first person and various interviews with her after the events, and transcripts from data in the facility archived by Horatio for Hayden, his Uncle Charles, Felicia, her father Paul and Rasmussen. All the information is compiled with footnotes that give the reader details about the origin of the data, which parts are accurate and what is interpreted from any missing data as well as information about the currently obsolete technology and methods, and a few ambiguous details about the current state of the world outside the facility.
The first half the book had me enthralled, trying to work out all the missing pieces, figuring out the characters and who they represented, their motivations in this version of the story and why. However, around the midpoint, it slowed down for me, and the rest just failed to keep my interest. The love Horatio felt for Hayden was obvious in his actions and care, but there were some cyber-sensual scenes that felt unnecessary amid the chaos. The relationship between Hayden and Felicia was complicated and twisted with both affection and vengeance and similarly between Hayden and his uncle, as well as his parents, though neither are on the page for much of the book, their presence is palpable.
3.5 stars: Recommended to fans of SciFi and Hamlet themes.
Thank you to Netgalley and Rebellion Publishing for a copy provided for an honest review.
At once a testament to the mind as a prison and the bleakness of our existence, and how we find ways to continue living in spite of this, I have a feeling this is one I will revisit often.
I would like to thank NetGalley and Rebellion, Solaris for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.
The Death I Gave Him was a very entertaining, fast paced thriller, featuring an endearing AI, melodrama for days and vibrant characters you'll love to hate... well, at least for me. I'm looking at you, Felicia
The Death I Gave Him was a very entertaining, fast paced thriller, featuring an endearing AI, melodrama for days and vibrant characters you'll love to hate... well, at least for me. I'm looking at you, Felicia
1- doesn’t work that well on audio
2- a more literary mystery than traditional locked-room thrillers
3- a great book at a wrong time for me
2- a more literary mystery than traditional locked-room thrillers
3- a great book at a wrong time for me
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes