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greymalkin's review
challenging
dark
sad
tense
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
4.0
Enjoyed this more than Lake Silence but still found it frustrating. The hetero-normative gender roles feel so outdated that it undercut a lot of the more overt moments of gender equity.
Virgil was a racist sexist asshole and the book did little to show that his low opinion of "whiny weak yappy females" was not warranted. Even the "terrifying" Harvester didn't do anything of note without a man explaining it to her or telling her what to do, and the only Sanguinati that gets hurt is a female one who was apparently (according to the other Sanguinati) too dumb to understand how guns worked.
Ugh Barb. I don't understand how someone who was training to be a vet would be so freaked out by Joshua's acting more terra indigene than human.
I loved the arc for Jesse up until the very end. But then her very satisfying set up for a slow burn romance or even just a lovely friends with benefits story was crushed in a bizarrely unearned way at the end. Tolya was upset at his mistakes but lashing out at Jesse was out of character petty and reactionary.
This book has the same pattern as the other books in the series where the plot and outcome are pretty much explained at the start of the book, so there's no tension in not knowing what will happen or how it will end. it's just a matter of how badly will the protagonists screw things up despite multiple warnings, and finding out how many people will die unnecessarily.
Ugh Barb. I don't understand how someone who was training to be a vet would be so freaked out by Joshua's acting more terra indigene than human.
I loved the arc for Jesse up until the very end. But then her very satisfying set up for a slow burn romance or even just a lovely friends with benefits story was crushed in a bizarrely unearned way at the end. Tolya was upset at his mistakes but lashing out at Jesse was out of character petty and reactionary.
This book has the same pattern as the other books in the series where the plot and outcome are pretty much explained at the start of the book, so there's no tension in not knowing what will happen or how it will end. it's just a matter of how badly will the protagonists screw things up despite multiple warnings, and finding out how many people will die unnecessarily.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder
Moderate: Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, and Sexual violence
Minor: Racism and Child abuse
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