Reviews with content warning for Grief - Dead Collections

This book was so frustrating. It checks all the boxes for things that I'm interested in (genderqueer! queers! archiving! vampires! Early 2000s nerd references!) but it was so SO disappointing. By the time I hit the first reference to AO3, I knew this book was going to be an incomprehensible mess.

I was annoyed early on at the laziness of using early 2000s nerd/forum culture similies. I am the target audience for these references but I almost DNFed immediately at the Ranma 1/2 reference. It's a continual stumbling block for the book trying to shoehorn in these references where they aren't needed and aren't funny.

Most reviewers have mentioned that the butch lesbian characters are written very bizarrely and none of their motivations, dialogue, or characterizations make any sense.

The plot is non-existent. Anything interesting as a concept or plot point goes absolutely nowhere.

I have so many issues with this book but mainly I'm just terribly disappointed

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uranaishi's review

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dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

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rorikae's review against another edition

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emotional reflective slow-paced

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

3.75

'Dead Collections' by Isaac Fellman is a relatively slow and contemplative novel about death, life, identity, and belonging.
The story centers on Sol, an archivist who also happens to be a vampire. Since he can't go out in the sun, he lives and works in the basement archives of his job. When a woman donates the collection of her recently deceased wife, who just so happens to also be the writer of one of Sol's favorite sci-fi television series, the two hit it off and begin a slow but caring relationship. But Sol's collections appear to be decaying faster than they should be and Sol has to determine what is happening while also considering his own role as an archivist and a vampire.
There are so many things that I really liked about Dead Collections. I do think it is important going in to know that this story is much slower and more contemplative than the jacket copy suggests. It is much more Sol's musing on being an archivist, Sol's life as a trans man who is also a vampire, and exploring identity. The first half in particular is quite slow and I found that there wasn't any great stakes or intense plot moments. There is a light mystery, some romance, and many deep questions considered.
There are great discussions on identity between Sol and Elsie, who is considering her own gender and identity. There are also great discussions on archives and the work of an archivist. As someone who is fascinated by archives, I found this interesting but it may be a bit boring for someone who has less interest in it.
One of my favorite aspects of the book is the way the story is told. Most of the story is told through prose but there are also letter and email correspondences, forum discussions, and text messages included as well. This was a great compliment to the discussions of archives and the different pieces that Sol is sorting, which are also highlighted in spots throughout the narrative.
I did find myself highlighting quite a few quotes as Fellman does so much great work with his characters on identity, archives, and belonging. Utilizing Sol's vampirism, Fellman is able to dive further into these themes.
Even though I don't think that this book is for everyone, I do think that it will find a number of people who will love it fiercely. If you are interested in slow, contemplative novels that focus more on the characters and their discussions, like the idea of different formats used throughout the book, and have an interest in archives, I would recommend picking up 'Dead Collections.'

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dustycedar's review

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lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? N/A
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

1.0

I had high hopes for this book ): This book is clearly semi-autobiographical if you read about the author.. but the main character isn’t one that I enjoyed reading about. It does a good job of actually representing how depression greatly impacts your life/ability to do basic things. But, overall I don’t think it was a great book. An attempt at banter & queer sex scenes that I think just came off as cringe. This is basically a self inserted fan fic of a fandom that doesn’t exist.
The format makes no sense— a lot of extra unnecessary information, some of which ruins potential for some scenes to have any suspense.
He used similes in like every other sentence.
This author is trans, and lets us down by describing the romantic interest the way any cis guy would. Really focused on “her tits” (literally his wording, “tits”).

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lunacurlypaws's review

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emotional hopeful reflective sad 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? No

5.0

A beautiful book! I'm very glad I read it, even if it made me cry for many reasons.

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lipstickitotheman's review against another edition

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dark emotional 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

5.0

Genuine addition to the vampire canon. I really really liked reading this book.

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booksthatburn's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful 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? It's complicated

5.0

DEAD COLLECTIONS is an exploration of memories and identity via a Jewish trans vampire living in his office as an archivist, falling in love with a widow who drops off a collection for the archive.

I love this book. The explorations of gender and identity follow a general template that feels meant to open the door for the reader to ask themselves questions, while also being deeply specific to the characters (a trans man who’s also Jewish and a vampire, a person who begins the story identifying as a bisexual woman) and the setting (USA, circa 2018). The romance is intimate and erotic, with an intensity which comes from two people exploring themselves as much as they're getting closer to each other.

This feels so wonderfully believable and specific in every little detail, from the attempt at safety which led to Sol living at work, to the messiness of Elsie exploring new love as she deals with the stuff left behind after her wife’s passing. Sol and Else talking, laughing, and fucking, with the background issue of Sol dealing with things at work.

The worldbuilding is subtle and minimalistic, basically modern times but where vampires exist and are known to medical science. It grounds itself in a time and a place (but with vampires) and then doesn't try to explain what the place means, but lets itself just exist.

The audiobook narrator is great. There’s a bit a little past halfway through involving several people’s emails back and forth, and it’s a pretty serious moment, but there’s a memetic quality to the way the narrator reads it. If you like audiobooks then definitely give this one a shot, as their performance works so well with the story and the characters.

I love this so much, it's a fantastic premise, well executed, and the whole thing is just so perfect.

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yavin_iv's review

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emotional funny hopeful reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

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