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4.15 AVERAGE
4.15 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Thank you to the publisher for a copy in exchange for a review and promotion. All opinions are my own.
This was so fascinating. I kind of want to move to Hron right now. Also I definitely want more societies like that!
A Country of Ghosts follows journalist Dimos Horacki. He is from Borolia, but is sent to the front lines of the colonial expansion to write about a famous war hero. When Dimos finally makes it to the front, the things he sees disgusts him. When he's sent on a suicide scout mission, he's taken by the Free Company of the Heather. With the Free Company all Dimos has ever known is challenged and he must decide what he is willing to fight for.
I really enjoyed this book and I definitely have not read anything like this before. I've read tons of dystopians and utopias that are actually dystopias. The way the towns and villages of Hron work was so fascinating and I really would like to know more. Dimos grew on me as a character. It was hard to empathize with him when he was so stuck in his own ways. But I enjoyed his curious nature and how he did keep an open mind.
There are queer characters, BIPOC characters and disabled characters on page in this. I loved that the world of Hron wasn't limited by racism, homophobia and the like. One thing that did bother me was that Dimos assumes gender of almost everyone he meets. I feel like in a true utopia, nonbinary people would be everywhere and gender would never be assumed based on expression.
This book really explores the bleakness and violence of colonialism and imperialist conquest. There were times that I felt like all things would be lost because of how thirsty capitalism and colonialism are. The ending did feel realistic, but I also want more. I want to know what happens next!
Rep: white gay male MC, cast of various queer characters and BIPOC characters. No ethnicity/race specified but described as having brown skin. Female side character who uses a wheelchair. Male side chair with one leg.
CWs: Alcohol consumption, blood, colonisation, death, death of parent, genocide, grief, gun violence, injury/injury detail, kidnapping, medical content, murder, violence, war, xenophobia. Moderate: homophobia/homomisia, general queerphobia/queermisia, vomit, tobacco/nicotine addiction, fire/fire injury, abandonment, racial slurs (s-word).
This was so fascinating. I kind of want to move to Hron right now. Also I definitely want more societies like that!
A Country of Ghosts follows journalist Dimos Horacki. He is from Borolia, but is sent to the front lines of the colonial expansion to write about a famous war hero. When Dimos finally makes it to the front, the things he sees disgusts him. When he's sent on a suicide scout mission, he's taken by the Free Company of the Heather. With the Free Company all Dimos has ever known is challenged and he must decide what he is willing to fight for.
I really enjoyed this book and I definitely have not read anything like this before. I've read tons of dystopians and utopias that are actually dystopias. The way the towns and villages of Hron work was so fascinating and I really would like to know more. Dimos grew on me as a character. It was hard to empathize with him when he was so stuck in his own ways. But I enjoyed his curious nature and how he did keep an open mind.
There are queer characters, BIPOC characters and disabled characters on page in this. I loved that the world of Hron wasn't limited by racism, homophobia and the like. One thing that did bother me was that Dimos assumes gender of almost everyone he meets. I feel like in a true utopia, nonbinary people would be everywhere and gender would never be assumed based on expression.
This book really explores the bleakness and violence of colonialism and imperialist conquest. There were times that I felt like all things would be lost because of how thirsty capitalism and colonialism are. The ending did feel realistic, but I also want more. I want to know what happens next!
Rep: white gay male MC, cast of various queer characters and BIPOC characters. No ethnicity/race specified but described as having brown skin. Female side character who uses a wheelchair. Male side chair with one leg.
CWs: Alcohol consumption, blood, colonisation, death, death of parent, genocide, grief, gun violence, injury/injury detail, kidnapping, medical content, murder, violence, war, xenophobia. Moderate: homophobia/homomisia, general queerphobia/queermisia, vomit, tobacco/nicotine addiction, fire/fire injury, abandonment, racial slurs (s-word).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Genocide, Gun violence, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Addiction, Homophobia, Racial slurs, Vomit, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
hopeful
informative
inspiring
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
If you're looking for a book that shows the possibilities of what an anarchist society could resemble, this book is a solid example. I couldn't connect to any of the characters, but I was mostly here for the anarchist concepts to begin with. Honestly this does function more like an example of what could be as opposed to an actual story standing on its own. You get the sense that the narrator is very much talking directly to the reader, a reader that lives in a society not based on anarchist views and beliefs. Which is fine but like I said, I didn't feel that invested in the characters or the story too much.
adventurous
dark
hopeful
informative
inspiring
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This was a little anarchist gem of a speculative fiction book! A Country of Ghosts by Margaret Killjoy is only 200 pages long but I was completely absorbed from page one. Dimos Horacki is a Borolian journalist embedded in the Imperial Army on the war front of the fictional country of Hron. The world feels a bit 19th century, a bit fantastical, maybe a little steam punk-ey. There are ostrich herds and reconnaissance hot air balloons, plus guns and geothermally heated cities. The story follows Dimos on a bright, sometimes brutal, little found family road trip through a fully realized anarchist country in the context of a war that doesn't pull its punches. I so appreciate the beautiful feat of imagination here, all the queer representation, plus just a great story with wonderful characters. Perhaps a bit of a political parable but one with heavy stakes and a heart of gold.
adventurous
reflective
fast-paced
A friend sent me this as a housewarming gift (thanks Cam!!), and this was a wonderful treat, and one I ended up getting through quicker than I expected. A journalist is sent to cover an imperialist war general, and instead ends up falling in with the rebels, who are part of a country of anarchists. This feels like Ursula K LeGuin in the sense of being able to imagine how a country of anarchists would actually function down to the individual village. The journalist’s voice is also incredibly well done, and you can feel his love for the people he falls in with, and for the country he comes to love and believe in. Definitely a recommended read, and one that’ll help you be able to imagine a non imperialist world.
adventurous
hopeful
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
challenging
hopeful
medium-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Torture, War