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darumachan's review against another edition
0.25
I enjoyed the first in this series, although the friendship/sexual tension between VS and Stoker got really repetitive and tiresome in this one. I was already skimming hard to finish it quickly by the time I got to the scene when they were off to an opium den in London, and VS dressed in "disguise" as a Chinese man, hoping to pass as Stoker's servant. This is nothing but yellowface, not just appropriating clothes for the purpose but going so far as straightening and dying her hair black, and adding makeup to her face to look the part. While I was barely tolerating the condescending homophobia, racism, and environmental exploitation of colonies in the name of representing women in science and maintaining a semblance of historical authenticity, it's clear that the author attempts to portray VS and Stoker in a positive light by giving them a conscience about most of it, therefore suggesting that they're not as bad as the rest of their peers in this society. In that context, this example of blatant causal racism attempting to come off as clever, lighthearted, and humorous is gross ignorance. DNF at 75%.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Xenophobia, Homophobia, and Racism
anti-Asian racism; main character dresses in yellowface as disguise
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