Reviews tagging 'Fire/Fire injury'

Our Hideous Progeny by C.E. McGill

6 reviews

jenropell's review against another edition

mysterious reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Racism, Addiction, Toxic relationship, Sexism, Racial slurs, Child death, Classism, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, and Murder

Minor: Animal death, Infertility, Fire/Fire injury, and Grief

lira_the_recluse's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad 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

5.0

Narration is exquisite. The fiction seems to be expertly weaved with the real world history. The science and process was grotesque and captivating. Mary Elizabeth Frankenstein is a force to be reckoned with, and I wish her all the best adventures.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Ableism, Sexism, Misogyny, Gun violence, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Racism and Child death

Minor: Death of parent

natahoochie's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Coulda been gayer. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Animal cruelty, Murder, Blood, and Gore

Moderate: Xenophobia, Medical content, Racism, Child death, Sexism, and Misogyny

Minor: Classism, Chronic illness, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, Death, Grief, and Death of parent

hmatt's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.5

I love the concept of this novel: it's very original and a fun gothic take on historical fiction for the classical lit nerds. It does drag a bit in the middle for me, so I think it could have been shorter. The queer rep is there but only just barely, honestly, and I wish it had been explored more.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Sexism, Animal death, Grief, Blood, and Body horror

Moderate: Classism, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Fire/Fire injury, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Death of parent

nefariousbee's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional inspiring slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Underwhelming. I kept waiting for the main even to come, the monstrous, the hideous to begin, and it never did. The strangest thing is, if the writing allowed it, it would have? What I mean is in theory, what they sis was terrible and monstrous, only the way we are told the story doesn't really do it justice. 
I am frankly disappointed. This could have been exciting, dark, passionate... but it fell flat. Somehow it was barely dark. In my opinion this could have been a great book, but it needed to lean into the horror, and do some serious editing. As it is, it's just. Fine.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Blood, Ableism, Chronic illness, Gore, Animal death, Misogyny, Injury/Injury detail, and Grief

Moderate: Murder, Animal death, Child death, Death of parent, Classism, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Racism, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Pandemic/Epidemic, Colonisation, and Emotional abuse

rhensie's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Simply, wow. 

I, like the author, too disliked Frankenstein when I first read it at a similar age. As I grew older, I began to appreciate Shelley for who she was and what her art did for us, and eventually I grew to love that book too, flaws and all. And this book is all I could ever have wanted and more from a spin-off. It is gothic, feminist, queer, and angry. And honestly, I think that Shelley would enjoy this very much if she were here to read it, which I think is the greatest praise for a work like this. 

This book explores many of the same themes as Frankenstein does, such as the ethics (or lack thereof) of this type of resurrection. But where it really shines are of course the feminist elements - Mary grappling with the reality of the fact that she will never be looked upon the same as her male colleagues, no matter her discoveries, and if she wishes to be taken even an inch seriously, she must conform to gender roles that simply don't describe her. The ending

is a neat wrapping of Mary's revenge against these roles - she does something that no one could believe of her as a woman, and for that she keeps her innocence in the public eye.

The final paragraph of the author's note sums this book up well for me:

So if you like her, if she strikes a chord, this one goes out to you: the angry women, the threatening women, the solitary and the abhorred; women with cold hearts and sharp tongues, who play with fire and fall in love with monsters; women who love women, women who didn't know they were women at first but know better now, those who thought they were women at first but know better now. We shall be monsters, you and I.

One other thing I simply love in this book, and didn't expect to get, is the chronic illness representation. Though done within the confides of what was realistic in this time period, the depiction is heartbreakingly believable and still relevant to those of us with chronic illness today. Though less overt, I also strongly suspect that Mary herself is autistic, considering her rejection of gender roles and her discussion of how conversation had never come easily to her, among other elements of her character. As a young autistic child who was obsessed with Mary Anning for a period, I totally felt that in Mary. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death, Gun violence, and Gore

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury and Child death