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sarah984's review
challenging
dark
informative
slow-paced
- 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
3.0
This was a really hard book for me to rate. There were parts of it I loved, but other parts I sort of hated in equal measure.
The Arctic expedition chapters were interesting and while some actions the characters took were ridiculous they were at least understandable. The characters were mostly great though I wish they were developed more. Some of the diversity elements were handled well and some were not - I thought the Black characters were competently written and did the best they could with what they were handed but the gay character was written in a really weird way and while the trans character herself was fine, the way she was written required another character to "become" a trans man against her will which is certainly A Choice in today’s political climate.
I loved the last courtroom chapter but every single other courtroom chapter was boring and repetitive and could have been replaced with a short "court transcript" without losing anything of value.
The author clearly did a lot of research and feels fondly toward the people the characters are based on. There is one connection that the main character has with a separate historical event (I won't spoil it) which felt kind of sensational and unnecessary, and the ultimate scheme behind everything that was happening was way too convoluted.
On the whole I'm happy I read it but it's kind of hard to recommend.
The Arctic expedition chapters were interesting and while some actions the characters took were ridiculous they were at least understandable. The characters were mostly great though I wish they were developed more. Some of the diversity elements were handled well and some were not - I thought the Black characters were competently written and did the best they could with what they were handed but the gay character was written in a really weird way and while the trans character herself was fine, the way she was written required another character to "become" a trans man against her will which is certainly A Choice in today’s political climate.
I loved the last courtroom chapter but every single other courtroom chapter was boring and repetitive and could have been replaced with a short "court transcript" without losing anything of value.
The author clearly did a lot of research and feels fondly toward the people the characters are based on. There is one connection that the main character has with a separate historical event (I won't spoil it) which felt kind of sensational and unnecessary, and the ultimate scheme behind everything that was happening was way too convoluted.
On the whole I'm happy I read it but it's kind of hard to recommend.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement and Death
Moderate: Cannibalism, Suicide, Sexual harassment, Racism, Pregnancy, Misogyny, Medical content, and Grief
Minor: Animal death, Blood, Bullying, Colonisation, Vomit, Suicidal thoughts, Slavery, Sexual assault, Infidelity, Homophobia, Domestic abuse, Deadnaming, and Death of parent
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