Reviews with content warning for Medical trauma - Leech

Ennes’ debut novel is a grotesquely beautiful, apocalyptic saga of disease, human hubris, and reclaiming identity. While it took awhile for me to ground myself in the reality of the story, Ennes unveils the secrets of this world layer by layer, building out the lore with every turn of the page. The more you learn about the Institute and Pseudomycota, the more tangled their reality becomes. Humanity has to survive not only invasive parasites, but its own ego and destruction. Every reveal hits you harder than the last.

Definitely would recommend, but please read the content warnings. This one is a doozie, but oh so good.

Content Warnings

jabioks55's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious reflective

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

Wild exploration of concepts of gender and self within a hive mind

Content Warnings

barf_mobile's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

4.5

Content Warnings

nadiajohnsonbooks's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

4.0

Content Warnings

mostlybees's review against another edition

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challenging dark slow-paced

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

3.0

This was an interesting read, but I think I enjoyed the concept of the book more than the execution. It was incredibly slow.

Content Warnings

thecriticalreader's review against another edition

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dark mysterious slow-paced

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

4.0

Context:

I added Leech by Hiron Ennes to my TBR after hearing Kayla from BooksandLala recommend it. I borrowed it from my library through the Libby app.

Review:

I approached Leech with some trepidation based on the reviews I’ve encountered. However, I am immensely impressed by the book’s originality—in fact, Leech is one of the most unique books I’ve ever read. I mean that as a compliment. Ennes crafts a world completely unlike anything I’ve ever read before with the precision of a surgeon. Everything feels deliberate and focused, from the French-inspired dialect spoken by some of the characters to the peculiarities of the setting. They use this specific setting and cast of characters to explore parasitism in many different forms, from the supernatural to the everyday. I am also impressed with the book’s writing style, which is powerful and effective without being flowery.

Despite my fascination with the world and my appreciation for Ennes’s writing, I did find myself somewhat reluctant to pick up the book at times. The book does not provide a strong “hook” for the reader to latch onto, either narratively or through its characters. Even well into the book, it is unclear which characters, if any, deserve our sympathy. Additionally, the narrative style of the book is inherently confusing due to the protagonist’s situation (I’m being intentionally vague here to avoid spoilers), and the murky positions of the side characters. If you’re looking for a book that prioritizes clarity and accessibility, you might want to look elsewhere.

There are a couple of other minor aspects of this book that didn’t quite work for me. The first is that it uses two characters that are twins in a very stereotypical and dehumanizing manner common to horror books that, in my opinion, did not add much to the story. The second is that the ending appears to abandon the character journey of the protagonist for another character; I would have liked a little bit more closure for the protagonist.

Leech will not be for everyone, but I loved its thematic explorations, writing style, and unique premise and worldbuilding. These elements were strong enough to overcome some problems I had with the narrative.

The Run-Down: