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3.54 AVERAGE
3.54 AVERAGE
A solid 4 stars! I listened to the audiobook, and while at times I was a little less tuned in, I thought the overall story was compelling and the characters (particularly Horatio) were interesting. Would have loved if there were more drawn out of Horatio and Hayden's relationship, but what was there was interesting enough for sure. Neat twist on Hamlet.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
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
I just found it very easy to put this book down and had no desire to pick it back up. Since this was a library loan, I've decided to dnf and return it unfinished. I may return to this another day but I just don't think it was for me
*I received an eARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.*
I think this is 100% a case of "it's not the book, it's me" here. I love the premise. A sci-fi locked room thriller but make it Hamlet and also gay, literally everything about this book screamed new favorite. And I was left... bored?
I want to believe it came down to my reading experience. I picked it up via audio in a rather busy time of my life so I found myself only listening a little bit at a time over a longer period of time than it usually takes me to read a book, so I was never able to sink into the narrative the way I would have wanted to. I also think that some of the narrative structure would have worked better reading with my eyes rather than via audio. Though Catherine Ho narrates and I have historically loved her work. So while this didn't 100% work for me, I will absolutely be trying this again at some point and reading it physically when I have more time to dedicate to the story.
As it is, there was a lot to love here. I liked the narrative voice a lot and will absolutely be checking out any more of Em X. Liu's work. I was impressed by the imaginative nature of the work and the way Liu wove in sci-fi elements throughout the story. This is ambitious and intriguing and I want so badly to love it.
I think this is 100% a case of "it's not the book, it's me" here. I love the premise. A sci-fi locked room thriller but make it Hamlet and also gay, literally everything about this book screamed new favorite. And I was left... bored?
I want to believe it came down to my reading experience. I picked it up via audio in a rather busy time of my life so I found myself only listening a little bit at a time over a longer period of time than it usually takes me to read a book, so I was never able to sink into the narrative the way I would have wanted to. I also think that some of the narrative structure would have worked better reading with my eyes rather than via audio. Though Catherine Ho narrates and I have historically loved her work. So while this didn't 100% work for me, I will absolutely be trying this again at some point and reading it physically when I have more time to dedicate to the story.
As it is, there was a lot to love here. I liked the narrative voice a lot and will absolutely be checking out any more of Em X. Liu's work. I was impressed by the imaginative nature of the work and the way Liu wove in sci-fi elements throughout the story. This is ambitious and intriguing and I want so badly to love it.
I'd been anticipating this book since it was announced at the end of 2021. The King of Infinite Space is one of my favorite novels, so another queer Hamlet retelling was high on my radar. I read nearly 40% before it clicked that The Death I Gave Him just wasn't clicking: the characters, the scenario, the structure. I skimmed the remainder and am glad I stopped when I did; because I don't see myself having enjoyed it. Pretty bummed about this one.
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This was fine. I understood that it was a retelling of Hamlet, which isn’t my fave Shakespeare. The Horatio… stuff was perplexing and uncomfortable. Things with Felicia were equally uncomfortable. I was annoyed a lot of the time.
dark
emotional
mysterious
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
mysterious
medium-paced
"Do you want to live because you want to live, or because you’re afraid to die?"
➽ I was intrigued by The Death I Gave Him from the time it was announced! It was pitched as a queer sci-fi Hamlet retelling and while I've never read Hamlet, I still enjoyed this one! The story follows Hayden, who finds his father murdered in their lab and is terrified that their research of the Sisyphus formula (a way to live forever) was compromised. With the lab on lockdown, tensions rise between the remaining employees of Elsinore Labs: Hayden's ex Felicia and her father, Hayden's uncle, a research intern and the AI system Horatio. I loved the setup and the oppressive atmosphere of the story. I didn't realize this would be told in a mixed-media format, so I was pleasantly surprised! Even better: the whole book is constructed as a research paper from an unknown author who is piecing together the incident at Elsinore Labs and how the tragedy that night could have happened. The story includes snippets from Felicia's paper about her experience, text messages, transcribed video footage and footnotes from the author about context information. Horatio and Hayden's POVs are pieced together from the neurological implant that connected them the entire night! I loved the structure and execution of this idea, it definitely made the book stand out!
➽ I was engrossed in this story of mortality, ethics and the price of living forever. I liked the writing because it was vivid but easy to read, so I flew through this book. This isn't the most action-packed book, but the tension between the characters and the sense of foreboding was so good. Everyone is locked in together and they know one of them is the murderer of Graham Lichfield. Hayden is a complicated, flawed character who struggles with his own mortality, mental health and the need to protect his research. There's still some bad blood between him and his ex Felicia that keeps coming up in the tense situation. Their past is still haunting them and Felicia reflects on why she broke up with him. Their interactions, grief and lingering fondness despite everything was so well-written. Felicia isn't always likeable, but her character is so intriguing. I liked that she got to tell her own story and all the complicated, angry feelings that come with what happened.
➽ The story is definitely intense, as things quickly go sideways. Hayden is already struggling with the grief of losing his father, but generally, he's also unstable and struggling with depression and suicidal thoughts. There aren't any big twists in the murder mystery, but the raw feelings and desires of the characters make up for it! Hayden's relationship with the resident AI Horatio was the main selling point of the book for me. Horatio experiences Hayden's emotions through the neurological implant, so their bond becomes closer than ever before. The AI seems to be the only one Hayden can truly trust to have his back. I have to admit I was a bit disappointed that their dynamic took a backseat and therefore wasn't as prominent at times. Things become a bit more explicitly romantic between them in the very end, but I was honestly expecting a bigger AI romance! There was a lot of untapped potential with Horatio's identity as an AI and exactly how he came to be.
➽ In the end, for a book that was pitched as a queer retelling, it barely has an explicit on-page queer representation. Hayden and Horatio's homoerotic tension blooms into romance only in the very end and Hayden's orientation is never mentioned on page. I wouldn't have minded this if the book hadn't used the representation in the pitch/synopsis. I'm just worried others will go into the book expecting explicit representation and end up disappointed.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Murder, Injury/Injury detail
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A queer retelling of Hamlet that’s also something of a locked room mystery. Really good writing and a dynamic story that unfolded at a nice pace, just never fully pulled me into the angst and action.
I never connected with any of the characters, nor did I find any of them likable. Maybe this is why I didn’t fully invest in the outcome. When I can, I like to read the original inspirational material first before reading a reimagining like this book, but in this case, I didn’t. I’ve never read Hamlet, but if I had a better familiarity with the story, maybe I could’ve tracked the significant events and character motivations better.
I listened to the audiobook and enjoyed the pristine narration of Catherine Ho.
I never connected with any of the characters, nor did I find any of them likable. Maybe this is why I didn’t fully invest in the outcome. When I can, I like to read the original inspirational material first before reading a reimagining like this book, but in this case, I didn’t. I’ve never read Hamlet, but if I had a better familiarity with the story, maybe I could’ve tracked the significant events and character motivations better.
I listened to the audiobook and enjoyed the pristine narration of Catherine Ho.