Reviews with content warning for Suicidal thoughts - Dead Collections

This book is an interesting one, and it definitley got me thinking. It doesn't have much of a plot but is more like a slice of life. Its about a trans vampire archivist falling in love with another queer person whilst also working through depression and questioning the liminality between life and death.

It reads more like experimental literary fiction than fantasy - the vampirism is used as a metaphor for chronic illness, living in a trans body, and being othered. If you are questioning your gender or identity then there are definitley bits of this books that can feel quite affirming. Overall it is quite a challenging book though, I wouldn't read it just for fun, but there were elements I liked.

Content Warnings

pobi's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark emotional informative mysterious 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? It's complicated

3.75

A very good book, but a bit too sad and existential (and romancey) for my taste tbh. I liked the way it played with form, and it's nice to read a book about trans masc people!

Content Warnings

necroplasm's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark funny reflective 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

3.5

another unfortunate victim of the "book recommended to me by a tiktok that pitched it as something completely different from what it actually is which causes me to not like it as much because it's just so not what i was expecting" curse, though thankfully not the most egregious example bc i did still enjoy the book! dark academia it was not, but it did have some interesting musings on gender and a neat take on vampires that i haven't really seen anything similar to before, also probably serving as a metaphor for several things, most of which probably went over my head. also the first book i've ever read that revolves around fanfic/fandom in such a prominent and genuinely sincere way, which was also quite neat to me! hearing ao3 get mentioned in a real published work nearly made me do a spit take but i still had fun :]

Content Warnings

mjwhitlock18's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective

Plot- or character-driven? Character

3.5

I’m not sure that I knew what I was getting into with this book, and I’m still not entirely sure where I stand on it. It is ultimately a vampire story that explores gender, sexuality, identity, fandom, and the archiving of lives and ephemera. It feels more like a true autobiography than fiction. It’s raw, tangled, and at times disjointed. This queer Jewish trans male vampire meets and has a fast burning relationships with a bisexual widow, as he is archiving her dead wife’s belongings. I’m not sure that I support the romance, as it feels not entirely healthy, but I’m also not sure if I’m supposed to as a reader. This book is light on plot, heavy on dialogue and metaphors, and mostly about relationships and people figuring their shit out. Overall, it’s spooky, queer, and weird, and if that’s your vibe, give it a shot.

Content Warnings

bookishvicky's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional mysterious reflective tense fast-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

I went into this expecting a campy vampire romance in an archival setting and instead got a beautiful metaphor about bodies and memory and connection and otherness. While I’m certainly not one to say I understand Sol’s plight (as a cis bi woman who is unfortunately not a vampire), I feel as though I was reading someone’s memoir instead of fiction, and felt connected to the inclusion of early slasher fics and what they meant in the grand scheme of fandom and author identity, how we use these stories to better understand our own. It made me feel very human, and more aware of myself. Truly an amazing read—one of those rare books that’ll make you feel just so, so deeply. Beautiful prose, wonderful experimental formatting, and a gorgeous cover to boot.

Content Warnings

indeed_distract's review against another edition

Go to review page

funny mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

Content Warnings

woweewhoa's review against another edition

Go to review page

reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Content Warnings

More...