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3.54 AVERAGE
3.54 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
dark
emotional
reflective
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
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The book is described as a retelling of Hamlet. I haven't seen or read Hamlet, and my view is that a retelling should work not just for fans of the original but also for an audience who doesn't know it at all. And on that basis, honestly I don't think it's successful.
The character actions don't translate well to their near-future setting. Murder may have been a perfectly adequate way of solving problems for Shakespeare, but I don't buy it as a reasonable response here. I also don't get the motivations -Charles kills Graham to get the formula , but why? Why does Hayden kill Rasmussen ? Why does Hayden just agree to murder his father's murderer ? The only reason I can find is: it happened that way in Hamlet.
But there's a lot of story beats that I know about Hamlet that don't feature in this at all. There's not really any existentialist debate or philosophy, even though the setting would be ripe for it.
I'm left confused, and ultimately feeling like this would have been a lot more successful by losing any attachment to Hamlet at all, and using it more as inspiration than as a base to work from.
The writing quality, though, is very strong and elevates this to a mid score in my opinion.
The character actions don't translate well to their near-future setting. Murder may have been a perfectly adequate way of solving problems for Shakespeare, but I don't buy it as a reasonable response here. I also don't get the motivations -
But there's a lot of story beats that I know about Hamlet that don't feature in this at all. There's not really any existentialist debate or philosophy, even though the setting would be ripe for it.
I'm left confused, and ultimately feeling like this would have been a lot more successful by losing any attachment to Hamlet at all, and using it more as inspiration than as a base to work from.
The writing quality, though, is very strong and elevates this to a mid score in my opinion.
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Interesting reinterpretation - I question whether it's a retelling - with a clear directive. I'm impressed with the form mostly because I think it works, and that's so rare. I do think the marketing of the book is off the mark, and there's something of a first-novel-messiness about it, but overall it held my interest.
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
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
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-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
the sci-fi locked room (lab) hamlet did in fact save me....
this book is absolutely bonkers. it's bold and exciting and fresh and even if you're familiar with hamlet the play, you find new complexities in characters and character dynamics in this retelling especially given the limited cast.
liu doesn't just retell hamlet here, she picks it apart and mashes it back together again in a really intense way, filling it with biting prose and technical language galore. and, you may be happy to know, you don't need to know hamlet to understand this book, though it certainly does frame some of the actions in a specific light if you do. what i found most interesting about this book though was the varying perspectives from not just hayden (our hamlet here), horatio, and felicia (ophelia), but from our unnamed overarching narrator who is putting together this account as a book project. it's so fascinating and is another brilliant way to view a shakespearean retelling that i find personally very interesting considering my academic research.
liu's prose reminds me very much of tamsyn muir's sharp and aching prose and at times even of amal el-mohtar and max gladstone's novel, this is how you lose the time war (one of my personal favorites). just so so wonderful
this book is absolutely bonkers. it's bold and exciting and fresh and even if you're familiar with hamlet the play, you find new complexities in characters and character dynamics in this retelling especially given the limited cast.
liu doesn't just retell hamlet here, she picks it apart and mashes it back together again in a really intense way, filling it with biting prose and technical language galore. and, you may be happy to know, you don't need to know hamlet to understand this book, though it certainly does frame some of the actions in a specific light if you do. what i found most interesting about this book though was the varying perspectives from not just hayden (our hamlet here), horatio, and felicia (ophelia), but from our unnamed overarching narrator who is putting together this account as a book project. it's so fascinating and is another brilliant way to view a shakespearean retelling that i find personally very interesting considering my academic research.
liu's prose reminds me very much of tamsyn muir's sharp and aching prose and at times even of amal el-mohtar and max gladstone's novel, this is how you lose the time war (one of my personal favorites). just so so wonderful
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
An accessible and relatable rendition of a classic Shakespeare. I have struggled with the story of Hamlet many a time but found this easy to get lost in and addicting to follow. Interpreting these characters in this futuristic sci Fi lens was fun to watch and some of the things they say are startlingly profound. Really makes you think! Lots to chew on here but not so dense that it's a struggle.
challenging
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes