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3.54 AVERAGE
3.54 AVERAGE
dark
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
2 stars + 4/10.
Had high expectations for this one, but I thought both the writing and the characters were very sloppy. While I haven't read Hamlet in a while, I think the characters, especially Hayden, are quite two-dimensional. Very emo-boy Tumblr-era character writing. Premise is cool, but I don't think 100% delivered, although the different forms of "media" that make up the "account" were a good touch.
Had high expectations for this one, but I thought both the writing and the characters were very sloppy. While I haven't read Hamlet in a while, I think the characters, especially Hayden, are quite two-dimensional. Very emo-boy Tumblr-era character writing. Premise is cool, but I don't think 100% delivered, although the different forms of "media" that make up the "account" were a good touch.
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
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
What a fucking read! I added this one to my TBR ages ago because I’m a nerd for a Shakespeare retelling and boy, did this novel exceed any expectations I had!!!
The prose is incredible and delicious and has the same heft and weight as Shakespeare’s own incredible words. I also really appreciated the sci-fi angle of Horatio while maintaining the heart and humanity of the characters, him included.
The format of the story wasn’t my favorite but I was able to overcome that due to all the other things that blew me away.
I’m gonna have to read this one again at some point. So so so good!
The prose is incredible and delicious and has the same heft and weight as Shakespeare’s own incredible words. I also really appreciated the sci-fi angle of Horatio while maintaining the heart and humanity of the characters, him included.
The format of the story wasn’t my favorite but I was able to overcome that due to all the other things that blew me away.
I’m gonna have to read this one again at some point. So so so good!
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
3.5 rounded up
This is billed as a "queer sci-fi retelling of Shakespeare's Hamlet as a locked-room thriller" which I definitely think it delivers on! I thought the narrative structure was fascinating, as the story is essentially set up as a retelling of a historical event, pieced together from various sources with a bit of narrative flair thrown in. It makes for an interesting read, full of unreliable (and unlikable) narrators. I read this with a book club, and most members found the unlikability of most of the characters to prevent any real connection from forming--which is a common issue I've seen in other reviews as well. I personally didn't find it so massive that I couldn't enjoy it, but YMMV. Not totally sure how I feel about the ending, and I do think there were SO many open threads about the future/world-building that it became distracting. But on the whole, I thought this was an interesting read, and I'd definitely keep an eye out for more from this author.
This is billed as a "queer sci-fi retelling of Shakespeare's Hamlet as a locked-room thriller" which I definitely think it delivers on! I thought the narrative structure was fascinating, as the story is essentially set up as a retelling of a historical event, pieced together from various sources with a bit of narrative flair thrown in. It makes for an interesting read, full of unreliable (and unlikable) narrators. I read this with a book club, and most members found the unlikability of most of the characters to prevent any real connection from forming--which is a common issue I've seen in other reviews as well. I personally didn't find it so massive that I couldn't enjoy it, but YMMV. Not totally sure how I feel about the ending, and I do think there were SO many open threads about the future/world-building that it became distracting. But on the whole, I thought this was an interesting read, and I'd definitely keep an eye out for more from this author.
I love the story of Hamlet, and I love retellings, so I was super excited to pick this one up. I was especially intrigued by the fact that Horatio was portrayed as an AI system - it felt like a really unique way to address the 'is he real or not' debate about Horatio. Overall, I did enjoy this twist on Hamlet, and I liked how it was set up, but it just didn't hit the mark on a few things.
Sometimes a cover entices you enough to look into a book without knowing anything about it and oft times you will find yourself being disappointed by the inside material compared to what initially drew you to the book - this book was NOT the case. This book has a very evocative cover, and the writing inside is stunning and laced with poetic notes that had me rereading bits I had just read just to soak up all the feelings that held onto the carefully chosen words.
Bonus points of it being a reimagined Hamlet story, but make it queer and science fiction based. That checks off so many boxes I didn't even know I had.
The Death I Gave Him follows Hayden (our modern day Hamlet) stumbling upon the body of his murdered father in the Elsinore Labs where he works with his uncle Charles, research assistant and ex-girlfriend Felicia Xia, her father and head of security Paul Xia, and technician Gabriel Rasmussen - and one of them is the perpetrator of the grisly murder. Hayden, who idolized his father, is bound and determined to uncover the truth of his father's murder and the conspiracy around it with the help of the labs AI system affectionately named Horatio with whom he shares a deep and intimate connection with. The story lends to its claustrophobic feelings and paranoia with being trapped in a place you once felt the most safe in and where everyone is a suspect and you can't trust anyone in fear.
The format of the book is told in a retelling of events by way of autobiographical notes, transcript logs, camera footage descriptions, and it is done so splendidly that you will find yourself immediately immersed in the mystery and deep dive into all the characters psyches and who they all are to the story as a whole. No one is all good or bad. All the characters are varying shades of grey and landing somewhere on the 'I hate to love to them' scale which made for a compelling read when the tension is high and you left in the dark about where the story was progressing towards. It really helps you understand the overall plot to an extent if you remember the general plot of Hamlet as it follows a similar trajectory but with the welcomed science fiction element added - Shakespeare + Scifi are two things I never thought would works as well as they did here.
I don't want to give away too much about the queer element of the story, but if you know anything about Shakespeare's Hamlet you will already know about the 'close friendship' that Hamlet and Horatio shared. The way it is written is in such an interesting and intimate way in The Death I Gave Him that at first I didn't know how I felt about it until around mid point in the novel and it hit me hard at how well constructed it all was and how attached I was to their connection. If you don't love Horatio by the end I would be very surprised!
I cannot wait for this to come out and I can recommend it to all my Shakespeare sci-fi loving friends who will no doubt devour this in no time!
Many thanks to Netgalley, Rebellion Publishing, and the author for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!
Bonus points of it being a reimagined Hamlet story, but make it queer and science fiction based. That checks off so many boxes I didn't even know I had.
The Death I Gave Him follows Hayden (our modern day Hamlet) stumbling upon the body of his murdered father in the Elsinore Labs where he works with his uncle Charles, research assistant and ex-girlfriend Felicia Xia, her father and head of security Paul Xia, and technician Gabriel Rasmussen - and one of them is the perpetrator of the grisly murder. Hayden, who idolized his father, is bound and determined to uncover the truth of his father's murder and the conspiracy around it with the help of the labs AI system affectionately named Horatio with whom he shares a deep and intimate connection with. The story lends to its claustrophobic feelings and paranoia with being trapped in a place you once felt the most safe in and where everyone is a suspect and you can't trust anyone in fear.
The format of the book is told in a retelling of events by way of autobiographical notes, transcript logs, camera footage descriptions, and it is done so splendidly that you will find yourself immediately immersed in the mystery and deep dive into all the characters psyches and who they all are to the story as a whole. No one is all good or bad. All the characters are varying shades of grey and landing somewhere on the 'I hate to love to them' scale which made for a compelling read when the tension is high and you left in the dark about where the story was progressing towards. It really helps you understand the overall plot to an extent if you remember the general plot of Hamlet as it follows a similar trajectory but with the welcomed science fiction element added - Shakespeare + Scifi are two things I never thought would works as well as they did here.
I don't want to give away too much about the queer element of the story, but if you know anything about Shakespeare's Hamlet you will already know about the 'close friendship' that Hamlet and Horatio shared. The way it is written is in such an interesting and intimate way in The Death I Gave Him that at first I didn't know how I felt about it until around mid point in the novel and it hit me hard at how well constructed it all was and how attached I was to their connection. If you don't love Horatio by the end I would be very surprised!
I cannot wait for this to come out and I can recommend it to all my Shakespeare sci-fi loving friends who will no doubt devour this in no time!
Many thanks to Netgalley, Rebellion Publishing, and the author for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Cursing, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Medical content, Suicide attempt
The Death I Gave Him by Em X. Liu is a queer Hamlet retelling that is a sci-fi thriller. I read a short story by Em X. Liu last month am I was excited to read a full novel by them. I’m also a huge Shakespeare fan so this seemed perfect for me.
I will say as far as retellings go, this is one of the better ones. The way technology is used to allude to the original play was interesting and the characters felt similar enough to the Hamlet characters. This is a book that if I didn’t know going in that it was supposed to be a retelling, I think I would have picked up on it. The story itself was also very compelling. I read this book in two sittings because I wanted to know what happened. Which hasn’t been the case for a lot of books lately.
I think the downfall of this book is just the writing style. Having footnotes in any story is a huge risk because it can take the reader out of the story. I don’t think it was necessary for this story to have them. The prose itself is a bit overwritten. Some of the dialogue felt too Shakespearean even though this takes place in a completely different time.
I do enjoy this author’s ideas for stories and will continue to read more as they come out. This is a very solid 3.5 star for me
Thank you so much to netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book ahead of its release. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
I will say as far as retellings go, this is one of the better ones. The way technology is used to allude to the original play was interesting and the characters felt similar enough to the Hamlet characters. This is a book that if I didn’t know going in that it was supposed to be a retelling, I think I would have picked up on it. The story itself was also very compelling. I read this book in two sittings because I wanted to know what happened. Which hasn’t been the case for a lot of books lately.
I think the downfall of this book is just the writing style. Having footnotes in any story is a huge risk because it can take the reader out of the story. I don’t think it was necessary for this story to have them. The prose itself is a bit overwritten. Some of the dialogue felt too Shakespearean even though this takes place in a completely different time.
I do enjoy this author’s ideas for stories and will continue to read more as they come out. This is a very solid 3.5 star for me
Thank you so much to netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book ahead of its release. All thoughts and opinions are my own.