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blacksphinx's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Despite not being horror, I think if you liked Our Wives Under The Sea you might like this. It's a different take on "failing sapphic marriage," if you can handle a narrator who is a self-centered racist dick.
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Infidelity, Sexual content, Violence, and Medical content
Moderate: Cursing, Racism, Toxic relationship, Vomit, and Grief
Minor: Death
eegekay's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Infidelity, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail
angelkisses's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
Graphic: Animal cruelty and Animal death
Minor: Death
booksthatburn's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
At home, Sean's wife is feeling disregarded and unloved, like Sean just wants her there to cook and clean. They’re both academics with their own careers, but one of Riya's complaints is the way that Sean is behaving like a white man who just wants a housewife. Riya has put her own desires aside for a long time because of the demands of Sean's research and academic schedule, but as their relationship deteriorates, Riya tries to get Sean to initiate connection, or at least reciprocate it. But she feels like an ancillary note to Sean's research, research that she feels has massive ethical concerns. Sean’s thoughts are consumed by her work, it seems as though she’s been obsessed with this idea for a very long time. Then the reality of it, and whatever is going on with the neural link, has turned it from a dream into an obsession that is distorting her ability to put care into other parts of her life for any significant stretch of time.
There’s an ongoing question about whether what is happening is cruel, as there is no way for the wolf to meaningfully consent to the experiment. Having tied her own brain to Kate, Sean ends up more and more torn in her thoughts, because the only way that she’s obtaining this intimacy is through what began as and continues to be a massive violation of the wolf's autonomy. Her fellow researchers see Kate and her pack as part of an experiment, having accepted that the process of observing them during a harsh winter is likely to mean watching them die. But, as she feels more connected, Sean is unable to accept this. Because her change in her stance is driven by an increasing (and one-sided) emotional bond with Kate, Sean is also unable to meaningfully articulate her changing feelings without letting on to her colleagues how much this process is affecting her.
Set in the 2030's, climate change and the associated ongoing loss of many animal species forms a backdrop to this drama, as part of the reason for this particular research is that this is the last wild wolf pack. I’m not sure if it’s the last one in the region or the last one on Earth, but the main point is that the trajectory for the species is one of decline and impending extinction. This makes the various questions around how to study the wolf pack even more important, but whatever precise way they matter to the characters, these considerations don’t overly end up affecting the story. There wouldn’t be a book if they weren’t going to go ahead and do the research. That choice at the beginning sets many things in motion so that the environmental and ethical concerns become matters of conscience after the fact, more issues of how to gain some sense of stability, and potentially assuage any moral compunctions or lingering guilt over what happened.
I specifically enjoy this audiobook narrator’s performances, I’ve been reading a lot of them recently. I like the ending because it feels realistic for the characters without feeling inevitable. It doesn’t feel like this was the only way that things could’ve gone on every front, but there is a kind of slowly unfolding horror; realizing the way things are likely to go and seeing the characters seemingly unable to avoid it. In terms of character development, I like how the various members of Sean‘s team have different reactions to what’s going on. They’ve accepted animal death as part of their research, but seem to not be taking seriously the level of cruelty that’s involved in this particular experiment until it's already in motion and they figure out how to make some kind of peace with it.
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Gore, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Blood
Moderate: Cursing, Infidelity, Medical content, Grief, and Medical trauma
Minor: Racism, Vomit, and Alcohol
alexalily's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Toxic relationship, Medical content, and Grief
Moderate: Animal death, Gore, Infidelity, Sexual content, Blood, and Medical trauma
Minor: Vomit and Alcohol
bikelpie's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Infidelity, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, and Medical content
Minor: Confinement, Cursing, Vomit, Medical trauma, and Alcohol