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legs_n_chins's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- 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
I’m honestly blown away. This book is absolutely stunning and I definitely will be thinking about it for possibly the rest of time. It’s so good I want to eat it. Everything about it really ticked so many boxes for me, I truly can’t get over it.
I think this is the sort of sci-fi that I do enjoy. It’s very much still grounded in the familiar of what we know, but spooled out in predicting the potential future of our world. I like what Liu had in mind and I love how she took concepts we already have and updated them to fit her view of the world a couple decades into the future. I particularly love how she then included small elements in the footnotes to take us just a step further into the future beyond the events of the books and show a more expansive view of how technology and science has continued to develop. It’s hard to articulate the difference I feel with other sci-fi media I’ve consumed, but this really worked for me.
The style was so fascinating and utterly arresting. Structuring the story as a series of pieces from multiple sources put together as a retelling of the events was so incredibly creative. I love the choices Liu made for which sort of source she wanted to use for which parts, choosing where to add in a lot of depth of emotion and where to leave it in a very objective perspective. It was haunting sometimes when the perspective suddenly was just objective dialogue without any indication even of body language or tone of voice. Everything was so carefully chosen and placed within the narrative and I’m obsessed with it. Plus, Liu’s prose is gorgeous. The way she describes physical feelings and the metaphors she uses that connect to this visceral body and bone sort of theme that she’s woven throughout. It’s so beautiful and impactful. Some of my favorite lines were those metaphors of viscera. Additionally, just the way Liu wrote those POVs. How Felicia's all came from a self reflective look at the events, Hayden's were all written in present tense, the inhuman artificial intelligence perspective of Horatio's. She really managed all of those writing styles so well and made them flow together in a way that seemed so effortless. It was never jarring going between POVs.
I’ve personally only seen Hamlet performed once and I haven’t actually read the play through in one go myself, so I’m not extremely well versed in the story, but I do know enough of it to see the contours of what Liu was building as I went along. Of course I knew the ending going in, and I think it was incredibly effective for Liu to write the book with the assumption that the readers knew. It really aided in the immersion of the story, bringing us in as if we already knew exactly what happened in the labs. Moreover, because the starting point was a presumed familiarity with the bare bones of the play, it really lent itself to how the events unfolded. The knowledge of what would happen next of what it was all building toward really added to the experience for me. Like, even if I didn’t remember details of the play, I still knew enough to realize with a sinking dread how Liu had decided to work in the mother, and I still knew enough to recognize how each of Hayden’s decisions was driving him further into the tragedy. The major point of a tragedy is the knowledge that the hero is doomed from the start and Liu manipulates that so well to add to the tense, anxious atmosphere. Which was further aided by making it this closed parlor mystery setting. SO smart! Tightening the timeline to a single night and forcing us into this one claustrophobic building to really add to the emotions already present in the story itself. It was so well done, made the emotions stand out that much more and feel that much more real. To the point that I was sobbing by the ending chapters. I love it.
My biggest thing, though, is 100% a personal thing. A trope I am totally obsessed with. The whole one character inside another character’s head? Oh my god I could eat that shit up with a SPOON I tell you. And Liu really did everything I love in this case. The sensory details, the possessive feelings, the possession!! I was going absolutely out of my mind in certain sections, like waving my arms and screaming into pillows out of my mind. And she also did a fantastic job of showing both sides of the connection, as well. How each party felt when sharing the mind and body. With the added element of Horatio being inhuman and the details of how he processed physicality and human emotion. I’m so, so, so into that shit and Liu did it so, so, so perfectly for me. This book just had it ALL for me.
I think this is the sort of sci-fi that I do enjoy. It’s very much still grounded in the familiar of what we know, but spooled out in predicting the potential future of our world. I like what Liu had in mind and I love how she took concepts we already have and updated them to fit her view of the world a couple decades into the future. I particularly love how she then included small elements in the footnotes to take us just a step further into the future beyond the events of the books and show a more expansive view of how technology and science has continued to develop. It’s hard to articulate the difference I feel with other sci-fi media I’ve consumed, but this really worked for me.
The style was so fascinating and utterly arresting. Structuring the story as a series of pieces from multiple sources put together as a retelling of the events was so incredibly creative. I love the choices Liu made for which sort of source she wanted to use for which parts, choosing where to add in a lot of depth of emotion and where to leave it in a very objective perspective. It was haunting sometimes when the perspective suddenly was just objective dialogue without any indication even of body language or tone of voice. Everything was so carefully chosen and placed within the narrative and I’m obsessed with it. Plus, Liu’s prose is gorgeous. The way she describes physical feelings and the metaphors she uses that connect to this visceral body and bone sort of theme that she’s woven throughout. It’s so beautiful and impactful. Some of my favorite lines were those metaphors of viscera. Additionally, just the way Liu wrote those POVs. How Felicia's all came from a self reflective look at the events, Hayden's were all written in present tense, the inhuman artificial intelligence perspective of Horatio's. She really managed all of those writing styles so well and made them flow together in a way that seemed so effortless. It was never jarring going between POVs.
I’ve personally only seen Hamlet performed once and I haven’t actually read the play through in one go myself, so I’m not extremely well versed in the story, but I do know enough of it to see the contours of what Liu was building as I went along. Of course I knew the ending going in, and I think it was incredibly effective for Liu to write the book with the assumption that the readers knew. It really aided in the immersion of the story, bringing us in as if we already knew exactly what happened in the labs. Moreover, because the starting point was a presumed familiarity with the bare bones of the play, it really lent itself to how the events unfolded. The knowledge of what would happen next of what it was all building toward really added to the experience for me. Like, even if I didn’t remember details of the play, I still knew enough to realize with a sinking dread how Liu had decided to work in the mother, and I still knew enough to recognize how each of Hayden’s decisions was driving him further into the tragedy. The major point of a tragedy is the knowledge that the hero is doomed from the start and Liu manipulates that so well to add to the tense, anxious atmosphere. Which was further aided by making it this closed parlor mystery setting. SO smart! Tightening the timeline to a single night and forcing us into this one claustrophobic building to really add to the emotions already present in the story itself. It was so well done, made the emotions stand out that much more and feel that much more real. To the point that I was sobbing by the ending chapters. I love it.
My biggest thing, though, is 100% a personal thing. A trope I am totally obsessed with. The whole one character inside another character’s head? Oh my god I could eat that shit up with a SPOON I tell you. And Liu really did everything I love in this case. The sensory details, the possessive feelings, the possession!! I was going absolutely out of my mind in certain sections, like waving my arms and screaming into pillows out of my mind. And she also did a fantastic job of showing both sides of the connection, as well. How each party felt when sharing the mind and body. With the added element of Horatio being inhuman and the details of how he processed physicality and human emotion. I’m so, so, so into that shit and Liu did it so, so, so perfectly for me. This book just had it ALL for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Body horror, Death, Confinement, Grief, Gore, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Self harm, and Blood
talonsontypewriters's review against another edition
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Gore, Death of parent, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Death, Murder, Violence, and Medical content
Moderate: Sexual content, Grief, Gun violence, and Confinement
Minor: Suicide and Infidelity
rafritz1's review
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Blood, Death, Murder, Self harm, Injury/Injury detail, and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Sexual content, Gun violence, and Confinement
Minor: Abandonment
hazel_oat's review
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Self harm, Blood, Murder, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Death, Confinement, Panic attacks/disorders, and Death of parent
Moderate: Violence, Gun violence, Abandonment, Suicide attempt, Physical abuse, and Body horror
Minor: Medical content, Gaslighting, and Toxic relationship
woolerys's review
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- 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
As a retelling of Hamlet, it did interesting and original things, and hit a good balance of same/different as far as telling the same story differently. As a novel, it was poorly paced and way, way too long. So much detail, mostly serving to add tension to each and every scene, but when used with such abundance it backfired and I ended up slogging through at a snail’s pace instead. I didn’t care for the “reconstructed from research” format as a reading experience, either, though it was a cool concept in theory. That said, I did really appreciate the rotating point of view and the way it allowed us to get close to three main characters, and I also enjoyed the reworked ending with new takes on the old themes of justice and purpose.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Murder, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, and Death of parent
Moderate: Confinement and Sexual content
lbelow's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
5.0
Such a masterpiece of a book! The way it's written, cobbled together from "primary" sources and alternating from one to another to give a linear timeline, had me glued to my seat. The pacing is on point, the emotion is gut-wrenching, the relationships are convoluted, and the main character (Hayden) is so deeply, beautifully flawed and hurting. This book felt visceral in a way I'm sure I won't forget anytime soon!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Mental illness, Sexual content, Death of parent, Confinement, Gore, Grief, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Self harm, and Gun violence
bibliomania_express's review
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-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? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Death of parent, Violence, Confinement, Murder, Self harm, Medical trauma, Medical content, Grief, and Body horror
anntharai's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Jfc I don't even know where to start. All I can say is that I'll be thinking about this book - against my will - for probably years.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Grief, Self harm, Toxic relationship, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Sexual content, Death, Gun violence, Medical content, Murder, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Gore, and Suicidal thoughts
aileron's review against another edition
dark
emotional
tense
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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Blood, Death, Death of parent, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Confinement, Grief, and Violence
Minor: Gun violence and Suicide
natashaleighton_'s review
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- 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
Intricately detailed and thoroughly immersive, Em. X. Liu’s STEM-based (and queer) retelling of Hamlet masterfully explores the themes of grief, love, death and the ethics of technology with a locked door mystery that would keep even Agatha Christie hooked until the very last page.
I have to admit I’m still pretty new to Sci-Fi, but the premise of this (a retelling of Hamlet, set in a lab working on a formula to reverse death) sounded too good not to pick up.
And though the killer was fairly easy to guess (especially for anyone familiar with Shakespeare’s original), Liu has incorporated enough new elements (like making Horatio an AI) to keep us all on the edge of our seats.
I was really impressed with the narrative structure (written in the style of a scientific research paper) and felt it definitely grounded the scientific aspects of the plot, bringing a sense of realism to a concept that wouldn’t be out of place in a Black Mirror episode.
Hayden, our futuristic Hamlet plays his role to perfection. His unhinged cynicism and obsessive drive to perfect the Sisyphus formula (which he hopes will one day reverse death) is achingly heart rending to witness especially after the loss of his father which leads to the deterioration of his mental health.
Felicia in contrast, seems to be the complete opposite of her traditional counterpart and I absolutely loved that. Where Ophelia was naive,childlike and controlled by the men in her life, Felicia is far more self aware and willing to do anything to grasp her own slice of power. Even willing to sacrifice her relationship with Hamlet if it means her dream can come true.
The emotions Liu conveys through both Hayden and Felicia was incredible—their turmoil, grief, anger and guilt was explored in a surprisingly relatable manner that really captured the essence of human nature; it’s unpredictability and the abstract purpose we all attempt to glean from it.
But, I admit it was Horatio and his deep understanding of (and relationship with) Hayden that fascinated me the most. Their budding relationship and protectiveness they have for one another was both moving and rather intriguing (especially in terms of logistics as Horatio, in being an AI doesn’t technically have his own body.)
Overall, a cleverly constructed and original take on both Shakespeare and locked door mysteries that I genuinely couldn’t put down.
Also, a huge thank you to Jess Gofton and Solaris Books for the proof.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Self harm, Death of parent, Suicidal thoughts, and Blood
Moderate: Confinement, Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, and Grief