Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.54 AVERAGE
3.54 AVERAGE
dark
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
Intensely readable and engaging, but it did lean really heavily on the source material. I enjoyed it as a Hamlet retelling but am not sure whether it would’ve succeeded for me without that context.
dark
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
It’s not exactly a retelling of Hamlet, I’d argue it’s better than that. Liu’s revisions make you feel the heart of WS’s story viscerally, and the ending isn’t what you’d expect. Very dark yet oddly hopeful. Really enjoyed this.
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
going into this my expectations were soooo high because the premise sounds so amazing. 25 years in the future, elsinore labs (run by an AI named horatio) is locked down when the body of dr graham lichfield is discovered by his son, hayden. the few people in the building, including felicia xia and dr lichfield’s brother, quickly surmise the killer is among them.
even though each plot point closely mirrors that of the source material, hamlet, TDIGH still holds the reader in suspense, making for an electric and thrilling locked room mystery. liu effortlessly interweaves the themes of the original play while modernizing the characters in stunning interpretations. i seriously cannot get enough of the ophelia character, dear lord.
the narrative is so unique, told in multimedia format written by a grad student giving an accurate yet entertaining historical account of the tragedy at elsinore labs. there are footnotes and gruesome murders and gay robot sex. i will never get over the absolute literary genius of this novel. like who even thinks of this stuff!!!!
even though each plot point closely mirrors that of the source material, hamlet, TDIGH still holds the reader in suspense, making for an electric and thrilling locked room mystery. liu effortlessly interweaves the themes of the original play while modernizing the characters in stunning interpretations. i seriously cannot get enough of the ophelia character, dear lord.
the narrative is so unique, told in multimedia format written by a grad student giving an accurate yet entertaining historical account of the tragedy at elsinore labs. there are footnotes and gruesome murders and gay robot sex. i will never get over the absolute literary genius of this novel. like who even thinks of this stuff!!!!
The best interpretation of Hamlet I have ever read. Clean, clever and oh so deliciously written.
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
50 pages in, i knew i was reading something i would be thinking about for years. i am a huge fan of hamlet, gore, and emotional distress, so this may have been synthesized in a lab specifically for my pleasure. this book could've been a home run if it were just the gorgeously gross prose and the deliciously meticulous retelling, but horatio really sent it into masterpiece territory for me. the structure alone makes it deserve awards. this book also pulled off one of the greatest accomplishments any retelling can: i was so engrossed by the character dynamics that i briefly forgot about the fates of some of them and still felt shocked by some deaths.
Thank you to Netgalley for an eARC of The Death I Gave Him in exchange for an honest review!
For a good deal of this book, I was torn between giving 3 or 4 stars. I've settled on a 3-star rating. The book was good -- slightly above average -- but will not be memorable for me. It was a great futuristic take on Hamlet ... the end. In the absence of the Hamlet tribute, the whole story felt merely like a standard mystery set in the 2040's. With the exception of the neuromapping and the technology that was being developed at Elsinore, it felt like there could've been some more concrete world building to solidify the setting and distinguish the book from other futuristic thrillers.
The pros? The writing was exquisite. Lyrical, often clinically and scientifically poetic. Liu is a talented author in terms of prose. It was third-person writing done well, and that has to be commended! Also, the structure and formats of the ways in which the story was told were ambitious -- and those ambitions paid off, because it framed the plot so well.
The cons? The characters, the "surprises," and being able to determine the plot twists far ahead of them occurring.
In true Shakespearean fashion, the characters were all unlikeable and infuriating -- which can often be to the benefit of a story by giving the reader conflicting emotions. In this case, I found that it was a disservice in the end. I will say that the relationship between Hayden and Horatio was fascinating, especially when that relationship became romantic in nature. It was one of the more thought-provoking aspects of the novel.
However, Felicia was absolutely maddening. By 60% in, I simply could not stand her.
The continuous roundabouts of whiplash, betrayal and "plot twists" started to become stale a bit over halfway through the story. I started to expect them, to the point where they left no impact anymore when they happened. The book felt like it could've been maybe 50 pages shorter and still left the same impression. Therefore, I was somewhat just ready for the book to end.
Overall, this book was an ambitious attempt at Hamlet in a futuristic, sci-fi setting. Some of it worked, some of it didn't. The book was a bit out of the realm of what I normally choose to read, but was an overall enjoyable experience.
Hits shelves in September 2023!
For a good deal of this book, I was torn between giving 3 or 4 stars. I've settled on a 3-star rating. The book was good -- slightly above average -- but will not be memorable for me. It was a great futuristic take on Hamlet ... the end. In the absence of the Hamlet tribute, the whole story felt merely like a standard mystery set in the 2040's. With the exception of the neuromapping and the technology that was being developed at Elsinore, it felt like there could've been some more concrete world building to solidify the setting and distinguish the book from other futuristic thrillers.
The pros? The writing was exquisite. Lyrical, often clinically and scientifically poetic. Liu is a talented author in terms of prose. It was third-person writing done well, and that has to be commended! Also, the structure and formats of the ways in which the story was told were ambitious -- and those ambitions paid off, because it framed the plot so well.
The cons? The characters, the "surprises," and being able to determine the plot twists far ahead of them occurring.
In true Shakespearean fashion, the characters were all unlikeable and infuriating -- which can often be to the benefit of a story by giving the reader conflicting emotions. In this case, I found that it was a disservice in the end. I will say that the relationship between Hayden and Horatio was fascinating, especially when that relationship became romantic in nature. It was one of the more thought-provoking aspects of the novel.
However, Felicia was absolutely maddening. By 60% in, I simply could not stand her.
The continuous roundabouts of whiplash, betrayal and "plot twists" started to become stale a bit over halfway through the story. I started to expect them, to the point where they left no impact anymore when they happened. The book felt like it could've been maybe 50 pages shorter and still left the same impression. Therefore, I was somewhat just ready for the book to end.
Overall, this book was an ambitious attempt at Hamlet in a futuristic, sci-fi setting. Some of it worked, some of it didn't. The book was a bit out of the realm of what I normally choose to read, but was an overall enjoyable experience.
Hits shelves in September 2023!