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3.3 AVERAGE
3.3 AVERAGE
Great beginning, tons of potential but all in all very underwhelming. As much as I'd like to know where the plot was going, I don't have the desire to possibly wait another whole book (or two) to find out.
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
actual rating: 2.5
I almost never say this, but the show is just MILES better than the book in this case. I'm really impressed that they managed to make such a compelling and nuanced story out of this book, which reads in a very paint-by-numbers kind of way.
All of Villanelle's backstory that is slowly revealed throughout the show is just dumped on the reader at the very beginning of the novel. She inexplicably has a trophy wife BFF that she hangs out with in Paris all the time despite us constantly being told that she doesn't like people and is unable to form any kind of lasting relationships. Eve doesn't show up for a very long time and isn't focused on very much at all.
Also like ...I would not call this book sexist by any means, but it is just very obvious that it was written by a man and that the TV show was primarily written by women. There are definitely some male authors that write very compelling female characters, but Luke Jennings is apparently not one of them and there was just a weird disconnect for me the entire time I was reading this.
I will try the next book both because it is fairly short and also because I have to do something while waiting an entire year for the next season, but unless you are just really into incredibly standard thriller / spy books [which I am decidedly not] I would just recommend watching the show, which I think definitely brings an entirely new level to the work psychologically.
I almost never say this, but the show is just MILES better than the book in this case. I'm really impressed that they managed to make such a compelling and nuanced story out of this book, which reads in a very paint-by-numbers kind of way.
All of Villanelle's backstory that is slowly revealed throughout the show is just dumped on the reader at the very beginning of the novel. She inexplicably has a trophy wife BFF that she hangs out with in Paris all the time despite us constantly being told that she doesn't like people and is unable to form any kind of lasting relationships. Eve doesn't show up for a very long time and isn't focused on very much at all.
Also like ...I would not call this book sexist by any means, but it is just very obvious that it was written by a man and that the TV show was primarily written by women. There are definitely some male authors that write very compelling female characters, but Luke Jennings is apparently not one of them and there was just a weird disconnect for me the entire time I was reading this.
I will try the next book both because it is fairly short and also because I have to do something while waiting an entire year for the next season, but unless you are just really into incredibly standard thriller / spy books [which I am decidedly not] I would just recommend watching the show, which I think definitely brings an entirely new level to the work psychologically.
You can see the bones of the series, but is it’s own thing too
Suffice it to say that the performances of Eve Polastri, beleaguered spy, by Sandra Oh and Villanelle, the surgically efficient assassin, by Julie Comer in Killing Evefar exceed the presentation of those characters here in the source materials.
Mostly, this is a tribute to two amazing performances (especially Comer's, which may be the best bit of acting I've seen since Tatiana Maslany in Orphan Black).
But partly this is due to the show's careful fixes to Jennings' low-grade dude-ism. I'm not making some hard accusation here, but there are details throughout that make you wonder how different this collected quartet of novellas would be if it were written by a woman. The show flips those details.
The Eve Polastri of the show would never turn to her genius of a husband (who is a maths teacher, y'all and just has that kind of super-smart man-mind that is so good with like mathy engineery things, ya know?) to help her unknot a tangled problem because the Eve of the show doesn't need men to do her job. When addressed as "Miss Polastri" she would never respond, "It's Mrs." because the Eve in the show is clearly a Ms.
The Eve of the text is still sharp and talented and able, but these little flashes in the corners of the story are irritating enough to make me wish the whole thing were written by a woman.
Still, Jennings manages action well, and his schemes are intricate and clever enough that I read the whole book in two sittings. While flawed, this source material is compelling enough to inspire the show, and that is not nothing.
Mostly, this is a tribute to two amazing performances (especially Comer's, which may be the best bit of acting I've seen since Tatiana Maslany in Orphan Black).
But partly this is due to the show's careful fixes to Jennings' low-grade dude-ism. I'm not making some hard accusation here, but there are details throughout that make you wonder how different this collected quartet of novellas would be if it were written by a woman. The show flips those details.
The Eve Polastri of the show would never turn to her genius of a husband (who is a maths teacher, y'all and just has that kind of super-smart man-mind that is so good with like mathy engineery things, ya know?) to help her unknot a tangled problem because the Eve of the show doesn't need men to do her job. When addressed as "Miss Polastri" she would never respond, "It's Mrs." because the Eve in the show is clearly a Ms.
The Eve of the text is still sharp and talented and able, but these little flashes in the corners of the story are irritating enough to make me wish the whole thing were written by a woman.
Still, Jennings manages action well, and his schemes are intricate and clever enough that I read the whole book in two sittings. While flawed, this source material is compelling enough to inspire the show, and that is not nothing.
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I have 3 reasons for my rating: The first and most frequent is the overly descriptive scenes, there's no reason to name every brand, street, or building. The next is the misunderstanding of female thought? Maybe because I am a woman, but the (lack of) character development leaves something to be desired. Lastly, there were too many incomplete story ideas and a heavy reliance on sex to cover it.
I know this is meant to be a novella, but to me it feels like too many ends were left untied.
I know this is meant to be a novella, but to me it feels like too many ends were left untied.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Transphobia, Violence
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book sucked so bad it actually irritated me to read. Almost all the characters are annoying and very superficial. Also I don’t know why the author insists upon dropping brand names and talking about outfits in excruciating detail because it doesn’t matter at all. Like why waste time describing Villanelle’s dress when you could be talking about literally everything else?
adventurous
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated