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scherbs's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Suicide, and Death
Moderate: Ableism, Homophobia, and Racism
jillianeubauer's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Like the first book, I listened to the audiobook -I love Rory Kinnear's voice so much <3- and it made it all that much better. Our main characters Anthony and Hawthronw have a new understanding of each other that is still distant but growing. Hopefully, they will come to trust each other more in the third book. The plot of this book is -in my opinion- so much more intriguing than the first one. I was nowhere near with my guess, and that just proves how great of a story this is. My main problem with this series so far is that none of the characters are relatable or likable. Anthony, an idiot, Hawthorne, a homophobic asshole. So although I love to read about the detective side of the murders, the characters are ruining the story.
Content Warnings
Minor: Ableism, Homophobia, and Suicide
hkburke2's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Oof. The plotting and generally writing style work for me here, as Horowitz does a good job emulating cozy mysteries and buddy detective stories and all that. HOWEVER the homophobia, racism, and ableism in this one didn't feel like character development. It didn't add to my understanding of the two main characters, it just me dislike them. I'm okay with disliking characters in general, but there's no depth here and I don't think it's intentional that way. Just... Irritating.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide and Murder
Moderate: Homophobia, Racism, Ableism, and Misogyny
ms_gouldbourne's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
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? It's complicated
2.0
This one is a whole world of no from me, I'm afraid. I'm usually a real fan of Anthony Horowitz, but I think that might be because my main exposure to him is through Alex Rider; I think he's much better at writing young adult fiction than he is at tapping into the slightly more complex and emotional storylines expected by adults. I will concede that I haven't read the first book in this series, which might have made me more sympathetic to this, the second - but I suspect that all that would have happened is that I wouldn't have made it to this one.
The Sentence is Death introduces us - for the second time, if you've been reading this series in the proper order - to writer Anthony as he's working on the screenplay for a TV show. And here is the conceit that has allowed me to give this book a higher score than it would otherwise have received from me, because I absolutely loved the way Horowitz blended fact and fiction together for this series. Telling a story from the point of view of a character based on himself, including details from his own career so that you actually find yourself wondering if he really was pulled into a murder inquiry by accident, if this really is based on truth... it's an absolutely inspired way to tell an otherwise rather prosaic story, and I was very much caught up by the cleverness of it.
It's a good thing too, because it was about the only thing I enjoyed about The Sentence is Death. The plot was relatively uninspired, but that's okay - murder mysteries don't have to break the mould to be fun. What utterly ruined it for me was the unlikability of any of the characters. His private investigator Daniel Hawthorne cannot be described as anything other than an asshole. He's brutish, bigoted - and no, having your Horowitz character express distaste at Hawthorne's homophobia does not make it acceptable to have included it, especially when it adds nothing to the plot - and downright cruel to Horowitz.
Their relationship is obviously supposed to mirror the great detective pairings of classic crime fiction, but neither Sherlock nor Poirot behaved as callously towards their respective sidekicks as Hawthorne does to Horowitz. Rather than finding Horowitz's bumbling towards incorrect conclusions amusing, as I do with Hastings and to a lesser degree Watson, I just cringed as he was humiliated and shamed by Hawthorne's cruelty and derision. Hawthorne was so unpleasant that I couldn't enjoy him at all. I had absolutely zero interest in the deeper mystery that shrouded his past, and every time he spoke I basically wanted to punch him in the face. Yes, it's possible to make a protagonist unlikable, but if you make him so unlikable that your reader wants to shut the book to get away from him, you're doing something wrong.
This coupled with the aforementioned homophobia and some pretty nasty ableism - Horowitz is astounded that a character in a wheelchair could possibly have a personality or use beyond his disability, which, gross - just cemented the fact that this is not a series I could ever or will ever enjoy. And unfortunately the fact that one of the protagonists is supposed to actually be Anthony Horowitz makes me question his own bigotry... which is a real shame for my future reading of Alex Rider. Boo!
The Sentence is Death introduces us - for the second time, if you've been reading this series in the proper order - to writer Anthony as he's working on the screenplay for a TV show. And here is the conceit that has allowed me to give this book a higher score than it would otherwise have received from me, because I absolutely loved the way Horowitz blended fact and fiction together for this series. Telling a story from the point of view of a character based on himself, including details from his own career so that you actually find yourself wondering if he really was pulled into a murder inquiry by accident, if this really is based on truth... it's an absolutely inspired way to tell an otherwise rather prosaic story, and I was very much caught up by the cleverness of it.
It's a good thing too, because it was about the only thing I enjoyed about The Sentence is Death. The plot was relatively uninspired, but that's okay - murder mysteries don't have to break the mould to be fun. What utterly ruined it for me was the unlikability of any of the characters. His private investigator Daniel Hawthorne cannot be described as anything other than an asshole. He's brutish, bigoted - and no, having your Horowitz character express distaste at Hawthorne's homophobia does not make it acceptable to have included it, especially when it adds nothing to the plot - and downright cruel to Horowitz.
Their relationship is obviously supposed to mirror the great detective pairings of classic crime fiction, but neither Sherlock nor Poirot behaved as callously towards their respective sidekicks as Hawthorne does to Horowitz. Rather than finding Horowitz's bumbling towards incorrect conclusions amusing, as I do with Hastings and to a lesser degree Watson, I just cringed as he was humiliated and shamed by Hawthorne's cruelty and derision. Hawthorne was so unpleasant that I couldn't enjoy him at all. I had absolutely zero interest in the deeper mystery that shrouded his past, and every time he spoke I basically wanted to punch him in the face. Yes, it's possible to make a protagonist unlikable, but if you make him so unlikable that your reader wants to shut the book to get away from him, you're doing something wrong.
This coupled with the aforementioned homophobia and some pretty nasty ableism - Horowitz is astounded that a character in a wheelchair could possibly have a personality or use beyond his disability, which, gross - just cemented the fact that this is not a series I could ever or will ever enjoy. And unfortunately the fact that one of the protagonists is supposed to actually be Anthony Horowitz makes me question his own bigotry... which is a real shame for my future reading of Alex Rider. Boo!
Content Warnings
Minor: Ableism and Homophobia
rhosynmd's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
I found this book really difficult to review. I think the premise is fascinating, the story was brilliant and the writing was great.
However…I cannot overlook the horrendously inaccurate portrayal of the condition Ehlers Danlos Syndrome. It’s described as a degenerative condition that will be fatal (similar to MS), whereas in fact it’s a genetic disease, which comes in a variety of types and severities. It is not possible that a man could make it to his 50’s, leading a very active life, having had no symptoms and then suddenly (seemingly) be on deaths door less than a year later. Also, as it’s a genetic condition it cannot be “cured” at all, let alone with a spinal fusion which by the way IS available on the NHS. I know it’s only a minor subplot in the book, but accuracy matters, especially with rare and misunderstood conditions such as this. Okay…rant over. As you can probably tell, I have personal experience with this condition.
There was also quite a lot of ableist attitudes on show in the book, both in Anthony Horowitz’s attitude to the boy with muscular dystrophy (shouting at someone in a wheelchair is a terrible thing to do), the use of the phrase “handicapped”, and in the letter right at the end of the book (being an invalid/disabled is portrayed as a fate worse than death).
All in all, my opinion of Anthony Horowitz as a writing has gone down.
However…I cannot overlook the horrendously inaccurate portrayal of the condition Ehlers Danlos Syndrome. It’s described as a degenerative condition that will be fatal (similar to MS), whereas in fact it’s a genetic disease, which comes in a variety of types and severities. It is not possible that a man could make it to his 50’s, leading a very active life, having had no symptoms and then suddenly (seemingly) be on deaths door less than a year later. Also, as it’s a genetic condition it cannot be “cured” at all, let alone with a spinal fusion which by the way IS available on the NHS. I know it’s only a minor subplot in the book, but accuracy matters, especially with rare and misunderstood conditions such as this. Okay…rant over. As you can probably tell, I have personal experience with this condition.
There was also quite a lot of ableist attitudes on show in the book, both in Anthony Horowitz’s attitude to the boy with muscular dystrophy (shouting at someone in a wheelchair is a terrible thing to do), the use of the phrase “handicapped”, and in the letter right at the end of the book (being an invalid/disabled is portrayed as a fate worse than death).
All in all, my opinion of Anthony Horowitz as a writing has gone down.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism
severine_fg's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Murder, Homophobia, and Ableism
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