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3.54 AVERAGE
3.54 AVERAGE
~3.75.
Hamlet gets a new spin as a locked room sci-fi mystery!
I enjoyed this! While it is a Hamlet retelling, the author effectively created tension and intrigue throughout the story, so I think people who are familiar with Hamlet won’t find themselves bored while reading this. The futuristic and AI elements were very interesting and Liu implemented them into the story in a cool way. This definitely contains some gore/body horror, so if that’s not something you’re into, you may want to skip it!
The only thing I didn’t care for about this was the POV that was written in retrospect after the events of the story. I found myself less engaged with these chapters, and I wish all of the POVs had been during the events.
Thank you to Pride Book Tours for having me as a host on this tour and providing my copy of The Death I Gave Him! Be sure to keep an eye out for this one in September!
Hamlet gets a new spin as a locked room sci-fi mystery!
I enjoyed this! While it is a Hamlet retelling, the author effectively created tension and intrigue throughout the story, so I think people who are familiar with Hamlet won’t find themselves bored while reading this. The futuristic and AI elements were very interesting and Liu implemented them into the story in a cool way. This definitely contains some gore/body horror, so if that’s not something you’re into, you may want to skip it!
The only thing I didn’t care for about this was the POV that was written in retrospect after the events of the story. I found myself less engaged with these chapters, and I wish all of the POVs had been during the events.
Thank you to Pride Book Tours for having me as a host on this tour and providing my copy of The Death I Gave Him! Be sure to keep an eye out for this one in September!
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
I was so intrigued by the concept of this book, taking place in a locked lab after the murder of a man seeking to create a way to live forever. However, the characters felt underdeveloped, and I struggled to connect to them. The relationship between Horatio and Hayden seemed to come out of nowhere, and as interesting as I found it, I wished it had been built up more gradually and given the complexed nuance it deserved.
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
tense
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
An extraordinarily interesting book. I loved the format. Absolutely succeeded in what the book set out to do. Shakespeare was done justice.
I wish I had sat down and devoured the book all at once. The narrative was constantly moving. Every sentence dripped with meaning as thick as honey. Excellently written. It’s not a genre I often find myself in. Still, I was captivated.
I wish I had sat down and devoured the book all at once. The narrative was constantly moving. Every sentence dripped with meaning as thick as honey. Excellently written. It’s not a genre I often find myself in. Still, I was captivated.
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I wanted to like this more. I loved the idea, and was really into the first half. I thought it was a clever scifi adaption of Hamlet. I got less invested as it went on, however, largely because I had gone in not knowing how closely it would follow the play vis-a-vis everyone but Horatio dying, but the book reveals early on that Felicia and Hayden appear in court after the events of the book, which undercut all of the tension as to whether or not they would survive. This was revealed as part of the framing of the book as if it was a research document that someone in the far future was preparing. I loved the idea of this as well, but ended up disappointed in its execution. It unfortunately didn't really add anything to the narrative and as I mentioned undercut most of the tension about character survival.
Additionally, I would not call this a queer retelling. It is a retelling, and there are two queer characters, but calling something a "queer retelling" implies that the queerness is a significant factor that shapes the narrative, and that is not the case here.
Really unfortunate how this went. I liked the concept enough though that I'll keep my eye out for future books from this author.
Additionally, I would not call this a queer retelling. It is a retelling, and there are two queer characters, but calling something a "queer retelling" implies that the queerness is a significant factor that shapes the narrative, and that is not the case here.
Really unfortunate how this went. I liked the concept enough though that I'll keep my eye out for future books from this author.
dark
mysterious
tense
★★★★★
TW: SELF HARM (ON PAGE, WARNED), SUICIDAL IDEATION, SUICIDE (PAST, MENTIONED), MAJOR + SIDE CHARACTER DEATH
I feel like I need to mention how this book was recommended to me
[an image of my friend asking me what kind of homo I am before recommending me the book]
Now that we know this very relevant background: The Death I Gave Him is one of the most mind meltingly fucked up thing I've read in a while, and I've gotten into erotic horror as of late
It is a queer and sci-fi retelling of hamlet that managed to be even more fucked up than the original, something I didn't think possible. Did it hit the sci-fi mark? Yes absolutely as soon as Horatio was introduced that was a yes. Is it queer? 100% it is because idk how else to describe what happens with Hayden and Horatio. Is it Hamlet??? Absolutely it is Hamlet may not be present by name but good fucking lord is the story interwoven into the very fabric of this book.
This book is also very unique in it's presentation, which I fucking love omg. It starts with a prologue that's less of a prologue and more of an academic introduction into the rest of the book. You see, this book and the recounting of what happened that night in Elsinore Labs is a recreation by a student a hundred years later based on what remaining evidence they have of the events. This is really fucking cool!!! Please give me more books like this!!! Learning about the student and their motivations through footnotes in the book is so fucking awesome!! Seeing where they had evidence for what happened versus where they created a fictional account based on personality, probability, and remaining dialog…. Stunning. Truly.
I also quite loved the interspersing of mediums in this book. We have traditional fictionalized prose mixed in with excerpts from Felicia's article after the events mixed in with readings from Horatio's systems and message logs from Felicia's pager!
It's all just so brilliant.
I'm making the call here to add the spoiler warning because I want to get into the characters a bit, so just be warned [SPOILERS AHEAD]
So, as per Hamlet, the first thing to happen is the death of the King. This time, our King is Dr. Graham Lichfield. A renowned scientist and researcher working on the Sisyphus Formula.
His son is Hamlet, of course. He's known as Hayden in this book and we get to see his descent into madness mostly through other people's (or other AI's) eyes. He is a pathetic man with no spine, just the way Hamlet should be.
Hayden's Uncle is Charles, of course. He didn't work on research with Graham and Hayden, but he does run the labs more or less.
Then we have the security guard: Rasmussen. I think he's supposed to be a stand in for Rosencrantz & Gildenstern, but honestly I read Hamlet back in high school and though I watch it at least once a year (David Tennant is the best Hamlet, I will die on this hill), I don't really ever remember Rosencrantz & Gildenstern. So this is just an educated guess.
From here, we have the Xia's. Felicia Xia and her father, Paul Xia. They are security and they are our Ophelia and Polonius. The brother exists as well in Arthur Xia, however he is not physically in the building and does not show up until literally the last chapter.
That leaves one. Horatio. Also knows as the Elsinore Labs Operating System. He is the AI of the building that has slowly gained consciousness over Hayden's life. He is also intrinsically linked to Hayden after the man turns on his NeuralLink so we know a lot about what's going on in Hayden's head because that's where Horatio resides.
Of course another key player in Hamlet was his mother, and while she is present as a character, she is not physically in the building.
And why do I keep saying physically in the building? Well that's because after the death of Graham; Hayden, Charles, Rasmussen, Paul and Felicia Xia, and Horatio are locked into Elsinore Labs. That's right, this is a locked door thriller.
This book is everything to me, like I am genuinely just so…. god I can't even think of the words for it and I am writing this the day after I finished it!!!
I was on the edge of my seat the entire way through the book, especially when we get lines like these:
- It was Hayden Lichfield who I remembered. Not because he was brilliant (though he was), but because he was afraid.
- Hayden Lichfield was afraid of death, because he was afraid of failure, and he spent his whole life trying to reverse it.
- Hayden was not like me, but he was afraid of the same things that I was, and his fear changed the world.
- What we understand of Horatio is inextricably entangled in what we understand of Hayden.
- I would haunt you very cautiously. Leave some vague messages alluding to my existential dread in your shower every morning. Nothing special.
- The Sisyphus Formula wasn't enough. It was never enough.
- Do you want to live because you want to live, or because you're afraid to die?
- Then be afraid. I will take you afraid and alive over anything else.
- He splits himself open, willing or not, digs fingers into himself, thinks maybe the edges of death are pressing in at the edges, maybe finally he will find repentance here at the end of all things.
- Just because you've been a jackass doesn't mean you've messed everything up irrevocably. You'll have good days and shit days and eventually there'll just be days, you know?
I am feral for this book, I am foaming at the mouth. I need to be buried with this book when I die. This book is intrinsically a part of who I am not in the same way that The Teras Trials and Bloom are. It speaks to something in my very soul
Anyways! I think that's really all I can say on this book without writing a whole ass analysis of it (which I would gladly do if people wanted that), so I will leave it here!
TW: SELF HARM (ON PAGE, WARNED), SUICIDAL IDEATION, SUICIDE (PAST, MENTIONED), MAJOR + SIDE CHARACTER DEATH
I feel like I need to mention how this book was recommended to me
[an image of my friend asking me what kind of homo I am before recommending me the book]
Now that we know this very relevant background: The Death I Gave Him is one of the most mind meltingly fucked up thing I've read in a while, and I've gotten into erotic horror as of late
It is a queer and sci-fi retelling of hamlet that managed to be even more fucked up than the original, something I didn't think possible. Did it hit the sci-fi mark? Yes absolutely as soon as Horatio was introduced that was a yes. Is it queer? 100% it is because idk how else to describe what happens with Hayden and Horatio. Is it Hamlet??? Absolutely it is Hamlet may not be present by name but good fucking lord is the story interwoven into the very fabric of this book.
This book is also very unique in it's presentation, which I fucking love omg. It starts with a prologue that's less of a prologue and more of an academic introduction into the rest of the book. You see, this book and the recounting of what happened that night in Elsinore Labs is a recreation by a student a hundred years later based on what remaining evidence they have of the events. This is really fucking cool!!! Please give me more books like this!!! Learning about the student and their motivations through footnotes in the book is so fucking awesome!! Seeing where they had evidence for what happened versus where they created a fictional account based on personality, probability, and remaining dialog…. Stunning. Truly.
I also quite loved the interspersing of mediums in this book. We have traditional fictionalized prose mixed in with excerpts from Felicia's article after the events mixed in with readings from Horatio's systems and message logs from Felicia's pager!
It's all just so brilliant.
I'm making the call here to add the spoiler warning because I want to get into the characters a bit, so just be warned [SPOILERS AHEAD]
His son is Hamlet, of course. He's known as Hayden in this book and we get to see his descent into madness mostly through other people's (or other AI's) eyes. He is a pathetic man with no spine, just the way Hamlet should be.
Hayden's Uncle is Charles, of course. He didn't work on research with Graham and Hayden, but he does run the labs more or less.
Then we have the security guard: Rasmussen. I think he's supposed to be a stand in for Rosencrantz & Gildenstern, but honestly I read Hamlet back in high school and though I watch it at least once a year (David Tennant is the best Hamlet, I will die on this hill), I don't really ever remember Rosencrantz & Gildenstern. So this is just an educated guess.
From here, we have the Xia's. Felicia Xia and her father, Paul Xia. They are security and they are our Ophelia and Polonius. The brother exists as well in Arthur Xia, however he is not physically in the building and does not show up until literally the last chapter.
That leaves one. Horatio. Also knows as the Elsinore Labs Operating System. He is the AI of the building that has slowly gained consciousness over Hayden's life. He is also intrinsically linked to Hayden after the man turns on his NeuralLink so we know a lot about what's going on in Hayden's head because that's where Horatio resides.
Of course another key player in Hamlet was his mother, and while she is present as a character, she is not physically in the building.
And why do I keep saying physically in the building? Well that's because after the death of Graham; Hayden, Charles, Rasmussen, Paul and Felicia Xia, and Horatio are locked into Elsinore Labs. That's right, this is a locked door thriller.
This book is everything to me, like I am genuinely just so…. god I can't even think of the words for it and I am writing this the day after I finished it!!!
I was on the edge of my seat the entire way through the book, especially when we get lines like these:
- It was Hayden Lichfield who I remembered. Not because he was brilliant (though he was), but because he was afraid.
- Hayden Lichfield was afraid of death, because he was afraid of failure, and he spent his whole life trying to reverse it.
- Hayden was not like me, but he was afraid of the same things that I was, and his fear changed the world.
- What we understand of Horatio is inextricably entangled in what we understand of Hayden.
- I would haunt you very cautiously. Leave some vague messages alluding to my existential dread in your shower every morning. Nothing special.
- The Sisyphus Formula wasn't enough. It was never enough.
- Do you want to live because you want to live, or because you're afraid to die?
- Then be afraid. I will take you afraid and alive over anything else.
- He splits himself open, willing or not, digs fingers into himself, thinks maybe the edges of death are pressing in at the edges, maybe finally he will find repentance here at the end of all things.
- Just because you've been a jackass doesn't mean you've messed everything up irrevocably. You'll have good days and shit days and eventually there'll just be days, you know?
I am feral for this book, I am foaming at the mouth. I need to be buried with this book when I die. This book is intrinsically a part of who I am not in the same way that The Teras Trials and Bloom are. It speaks to something in my very soul
Anyways! I think that's really all I can say on this book without writing a whole ass analysis of it (which I would gladly do if people wanted that), so I will leave it here!
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes