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A review by librarymouse
In Mercy, Rain by Seanan McGuire
adventurous
dark
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
4.0
It was nice to have a story from Dr. Bleak's perspective, though after Come Tumbling Down, I was hoping for/expecting a continuation of their story after Dr. Bleak's second resurrection, rather than a flashback to Alexis's first. It was interesting, but strange to see an age of Jack's that we missed in the Every Heart a Doorway and Down Among the Sticks and Bones. The little idiosyncrasies of teenage-hood were combined well with the sense of self and the general idiosyncrasies that we've come to expect from young adult Jack. I can see why this wasn't a part of Down Among the Sticks and Bones. It wouldn't have fit into the short and almost rhythmic confines of the way the even number novellas have been paced thus far. They cover years, and this was 25 pages covering only a few days.
I don't know that I like the way Alexis is characterized at this point in her story. She read as a little one-note for me, flirting with Jack right after being killed by a phantom love with whom she had intended/desired to spend her afterlife. Though she, too is a teenage girl. Up until this point I had only ever experienced her as a traumatized young adult and through a lens of Jack's love of her. It was interesting to see her without the haze of love. The drama inherent to most things done by teenagers, as people pretty new to the world, and people who are very new to the prospect and processes of adulthood, was very present in the final conversation between Jack and Alexis.
I don't know if it makes the world richer or just complicated to have had Dr. Bleak's dead lover be the shade who killed Alexis.
Overall, it was interesting to have more detail, especially in the development of Jack's maintenance/treatment of her OCD in a world without mental health care, but it didn't add much we didn't already know.
I don't know that I like the way Alexis is characterized at this point in her story. She read as a little one-note for me, flirting with Jack right after being killed by a phantom love with whom she had intended/desired to spend her afterlife. Though she, too is a teenage girl. Up until this point I had only ever experienced her as a traumatized young adult and through a lens of Jack's love of her. It was interesting to see her without the haze of love. The drama inherent to most things done by teenagers, as people pretty new to the world, and people who are very new to the prospect and processes of adulthood, was very present in the final conversation between Jack and Alexis.
I don't know if it makes the world richer or just complicated to have had Dr. Bleak's dead lover be the shade who killed Alexis.
Overall, it was interesting to have more detail, especially in the development of Jack's maintenance/treatment of her OCD in a world without mental health care, but it didn't add much we didn't already know.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Mental illness, Medical content