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A review by lumberjacksnackpack
Nothing But Blackened Teeth by Cassandra Khaw
dark
mysterious
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
2.0
I was excited by the premise, but Nothing But Blackened Teeth gets bogged down by its crutches, trying to cover unlikable characters and a lagging plot with self-referential metacommentary that goes nowhere.
Cat is unlikable by design, but the novel's attempts to explain her behavior as part of her mentally-ill bisexual dark heart character with references to her past self-harming and suicidal behavior are never given much emotional depth. She claims she's trying to be better, to be with her friends, but none of this is ever supported by the characters or their behavior.
The side characters are one-dimensional, their increasingly unnecessary flavor text forcing them into Cabin in the Woods like Horror character trope boxes. Phillip is the hero/athlete, Fiaz is the nerd/scholar, Lin is the Fool, Talia is the Whore, leaving Cat the Virgin. It's overdone and lacks depth (in the epilogue we get more reasons why Phillip was a decent guy than literally anywhere else).
I did enjoy some of the horrific imagery, the yokai in the walls following them, some of Cat's fugue passages about the house were atmospheric and original, and I really enjoyed the growing obsession and even fondness Cat seems to have towards the ohaguro-bettari, it was the most intriguing part of the novella, and it fades into the background.
The plot becomes entirely contrived once they discover that Talia has been stolen by the ohaguro-bettari, with the whole "there must be a book" thing. It felt like a lazy attempt to give them some third-act goal, with no support to make it work. There's a lot of handwaving about the house having some sort of influence on them to be more horrible, violent people, but again, it doesn't go anywhere, and there's no justification. Cat wonders if they're some kind of entertainment of the yokai, and I'd love for that to be explored more. For there to be any real worldbuilding at all, instead of focusing on the vapid and petty drama of these characters.
The pacing overall is off, because there's no real plot direction that isn't forced.
Overall, I thought Nothing But Blackened Teeth had good bones, but no real foundation for a visceral, scary story.
Cat is unlikable by design, but the novel's attempts to explain her behavior as part of her mentally-ill bisexual dark heart character with references to her past self-harming and suicidal behavior are never given much emotional depth. She claims she's trying to be better, to be with her friends, but none of this is ever supported by the characters or their behavior.
The side characters are one-dimensional, their increasingly unnecessary flavor text forcing them into Cabin in the Woods like Horror character trope boxes. Phillip is the hero/athlete, Fiaz is the nerd/scholar, Lin is the Fool, Talia is the Whore, leaving Cat the Virgin. It's overdone and lacks depth (in the epilogue we get more reasons why Phillip was a decent guy than literally anywhere else).
I did enjoy some of the horrific imagery, the yokai in the walls following them, some of Cat's fugue passages about the house were atmospheric and original, and I really enjoyed the growing obsession and even fondness Cat seems to have towards the ohaguro-bettari, it was the most intriguing part of the novella, and it fades into the background.
The plot becomes entirely contrived once they discover that Talia has been stolen by the ohaguro-bettari, with the whole "there must be a book" thing. It felt like a lazy attempt to give them some third-act goal, with no support to make it work. There's a lot of handwaving about the house having some sort of influence on them to be more horrible, violent people, but again, it doesn't go anywhere, and there's no justification. Cat wonders if they're some kind of entertainment of the yokai, and I'd love for that to be explored more. For there to be any real worldbuilding at all, instead of focusing on the vapid and petty drama of these characters.
The pacing overall is off, because there's no real plot direction that isn't forced.
Overall, I thought Nothing But Blackened Teeth had good bones, but no real foundation for a visceral, scary story.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Blood, Violence, Gore, Suicide, Injury/Injury detail, and Death
Moderate: Mental illness, Vomit, Suicidal thoughts, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Suicide attempt, and Self harm