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samisreading's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Mental illness, Murder, Death of parent, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Violence, and Blood
Minor: 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
lilacs_book_bower's review
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
This book is really interesting, and I definitely recommend it, but I don't want to read it ever again. This is the weirdest locked room mystery, queer Hamlet re-telling that will ever exist. Hayden's (Hamlet) father has been murdered and now the lab that the main characters are in has been locked down while Hamlet tries to avenge his father. There are a lot of clever bits and allusions, and I definitely like that the Ophelia character has more of a personality, but she still feels lacking and her story still revolves around Hayden/Hamlet. I am not sure how I feel about the Horatio character. He is AI now and really in Hayden's head. I don't want to say more due to spoilers, but I like the idea of Horatio and what happens, but I am not sure I buy into the execution.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Murder, Self harm, Grief, Medical content, Violence, Suicidal thoughts, Death, Death of parent, and Gore
laurareads87's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
The Death I Gave Him caught my attention immediately: a queer locked room Hamlet? Yes! It did not disappoint. The structure - the story told through a combination of essays, pager transcripts, camera footage, letters, and some fictional insertions - is brilliant and effective. The writing is beautiful and the tension is at times unbearable. While there won't be too much 'surprise' in the plot elements for any reader familiar with Hamlet, Liu's book is a novel exploration of the themes of the play - an ambitious work. Highly recommend.
Content warnings: anything you'd expect from a Hamlet reimagination - death, murder, blood, minor gore / injury detail, suicidal thinking, grief
Content warnings: anything you'd expect from a Hamlet reimagination - death, murder, blood, minor gore / injury detail, suicidal thinking, grief
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Murder, Grief, Death, Suicidal thoughts, and Blood
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail
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
justkyliep's review against another edition
dark
emotional
tense
fast-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
5.0
To be honest, my expectations when I read the words "Hamlet retelling" are very low. I've seen a lot of bad Shakespeare in my time in theatre, and a lot of terrible attempts to modernize it. The Death I Gave Him is NOT bad Shakespeare. (It's not bad sci-fi, either!) It is possibly the smartest and most interesting Shakespeare I have ever had the pleasure of reading. Liu's choices of when and how to deviate from canon were masterfully chosen—keeping the tone and soul of the original piece, but expanding and exploring characters in beautiful new ways. It mostly took me so long to get through, because I kept having to put the book down to go pace around my room.
I really enjoyed the way this novel handled Horatio and Felicia (Ophelia). The ways they effect Hamlet's mental state and their own increased agency really added new life to the story. These characters are fan favorites, and a lot of adaptations have tried to increase their presence in the text... but I found that Liu is one of the first to be truly successful in a way that matches many of the themes of the original text. In particular, Felicia (and her father's) position within the lab (and in comparison to Hamlet's scholarly history) draws out a fantastic dynamic and discussion. It really was fun to get to know these characters all over again in this form. I very much look forward to more from this author.
I really enjoyed the way this novel handled Horatio and Felicia (Ophelia). The ways they effect Hamlet's mental state and their own increased agency really added new life to the story. These characters are fan favorites, and a lot of adaptations have tried to increase their presence in the text... but I found that Liu is one of the first to be truly successful in a way that matches many of the themes of the original text. In particular, Felicia (and her father's) position within the lab (and in comparison to Hamlet's scholarly history) draws out a fantastic dynamic and discussion. It really was fun to get to know these characters all over again in this form. I very much look forward to more from this author.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Body horror, and Death
leanne_miron'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? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Murder, and Self harm
Moderate: Grief and Gore
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