A review by sshabein
Manhunt by Gretchen Felker-Martin

challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

5 stars because I'll be thinking about this one for a long time. I mean, yes, sometimes my toes were quite literally curling at some of violence/body horror, since that's not always my taste, and while I get that everyone is looking for release and escape from this difficult world they find themselves in, wow is everyone horny, but fine. If everyone and everything is trying to kill you somehow, you gotta get that good feeling where you can. I'm not judging, even if I'm an old who'd probably be more interested in stealing sleep where I could.

But all that gory detail is sort of... refreshing, in a way? I tire of apocalyptic stories that dance around the bone-deep difficulty of staying alive and instead focus on, I dunno, trite romance and neat labels. All the characters in this book are complicated and allowed to be difficult. Why should these trans women be some sort of model minority just because they are the protagonists? They have far bigger things to worry about — like feral man-creatures, militarized TERF gangs, and "I'm one of the good ones!" cis girls who would sell you to Satan for a proverbial corn chip. Damn, just give a gal a crossbow and let's get moving.



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