Reviews

Lai imagines a queer future in a biopunk world of bizzare technology and surreal genetics. Tiger Flu follows two caregiving protagonists, whose charges are forcibly removed from them, through a world that is outrageously strange, yet eerily familiar.

Kora Ko is a young woman of colour living in the ruins of the Woodwards Tower in "Saltwater City" (seemingly, an alternate Vancouver), with her mother, uncle, and brother, trying to protect her family from the ravages of a dangerous flu that has killed a significant part of the population.

Kirilow Groundsel is a "groom" living in a community of Grist Sisters— women who have been genetically altered to reproduce parthenogenetically. She cares for her sister/lover Peristrophe, who is their community's last starfish—a woman who can grow extra limbs and organs for the use of her sisters.

I enjoyed it, but my main criticism is that through almost the second half of the novel, the characters are pulled along through plot and circumstance without much agency. It doesn't feel like the characters are really doing anything, they're just along for a wild ride.

ellenova's review

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adventurous dark mysterious tense

4.0

eliasisnothere's review

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adventurous challenging dark mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

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

3.0

this is totally on me, but this book distrubed me greatly to the point of making me nauseous. i think it has to do with something i've been trying not to think about for a long time, but i can't deny it anymore; i have to come face to face with it. i'm glad that this story is the first step in this small journey of mine. maybe one day i will read it again when i'll have grown up.

lsparrow's review

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3.0

I feel unsure how to rate this book. I love the feel of the author's writing. it flows so easily. This book is like a dream- with very recognizable elements and parts that you cannot figure out how they fit. Sci fi writers always have the challenge of how to tell a story in a world that is unknown to the reader and must decide how to explain this world to the reader. I find that I need a bit of explaination beyond character conversations and this is not Lai's style. I found I was frustrated with my difficulty to understand the world and context of the story - it felt too illusive.

lolajh's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
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

A confusing and beautiful mess! Adolescent women in a post-apocalyptic world? Love it!!! And the variety in the perspectives, with Kora being right in the thick of the flu

whilst also being a descendant of the person who caused it

and Kirilow being so far away from it in the beginning with a mutated species of humans that directly rely on each other to survive, are only female and reproduce by parthenogenesis!!! Honestly the Grist sisters in whole were just so interesting, I would’ve loved for it to delve into gender and how it would be experienced so different with the complete absence of men, but honestly I get why the author didn’t; the nonchalantness of women being so predominant in their species had such a wonderful effect in itself.

I don’t know if I’m fully satisfied with the ending

with it being so open and will-they-won’t-they regarding Persephone’s state and what was going on, if they were all in their uploaded states or this was their actual being (maybe it was obvious but I didn’t understand a clear answer to that lol)

but the journey to get there was enjoyable enough to not worry about it too much. I love how the plot never had a straight and predictable path and always twisted and turned every single chapter, I’m so sad this isn’t a series 😫 In love with this world.

Content Warnings

barf_mobile's review

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adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

my bad habit is that I give books 5 stars when i dont fully understand them. maybe its because i'll keep thinking about them for longer. anyway, really surreal read. super weird and unexplainable, but my favorite things are like that.

Content Warnings

careinthelibrary's review

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I don't know a single thing that's happening in this book.

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