A review by f18
Manhunt by Gretchen Felker-Martin

adventurous dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I figured this would be the best bet for a gender chromosome hormone apocalypse depiction that I could get behind, and it did address all the stuff that irks me about other versions (discusses how it affects trans people ofc, but also things like pcos). Unfortunately I didn't really find myself immersed in the writing but I'm not 100% sure why. I guess the style didn't click with me or maybe because it didn't focus as much on aspects of the genre I most connect to, like body horror. 

I constantly kept losing track of which POV the story was in at any time. I attributed this to the narrator not pausing long enough between scene breaks, but I see that has come up in reviews of the physical book as well. I think the character voices (not the narrator's but the author's ) blurred together. 

There's just something about the metaphor of

trans women surviving by eating cis men's testes

that is just so interesting but yeah... the book was okay, but I didn't love it like I was hoping for.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Death, Fatphobia, Gore, Gun violence, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Transphobia, Violence, Cannibalism, Dysphoria, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Body horror, Drug use, Hate crime, Homophobia, Slavery, Suicide, Medical content, and Grief

Minor: Animal death, Child abuse, Deadnaming, Incest, Racism, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Death of parent, and Cultural appropriation

spoilers for Rebecca by Daphne DuMaurier, tooth trauma , misandry, gendered slurs, execution, mention of student/teacher relationship