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A review by quirkycatsfatstacks
Song of Edmon by Adam Burch
1.0
For the sake of honesty, I want to be upfront about the fact that I did not finish this book. Normally I don’t review DNF’d books, but I’m making an exception in this case. Typically if I don’t finish a book, I’ll be putting it down with the intention of finishing it at some point in time. This is usually because I realize I’m just not in the mood for that sort of book at the moment.
I will not be going back and finishing Song of Edmon. In fact I’m really happy I received it for free through Kindle First. I’m a little confused by how many five stars its received (though the average rating is three and a half on goodreads).
I just could not get into this book, and trust me; I’m always hunting for new amazing science fiction books, so I really wanted to like this. The problem is I found myself completely unattached and uncaring about the main character, and I couldn’t get over all of the blatant tropes and –isms that were bouncing all over the place.
The warnings for this book make up an entire list (as opposed to the average of one or two items worth noting). On top of having many things I would typically warn a reader about, it covers some offensive material, and I can’t say for certain if it’s being done intentionally or not. Or if the intent is to bring light to that sort of concern (I worry that isn’t the case…).
Here is my list of strikes against the book: 1.) Internal monologue to the umpteenth degree. 2.) Graphic violence (I’ve been told it gets even worse past the point I gave up at). 3.) Rape. Lots of it. 3.) Lobotomy (not even kidding). 4.) Racism (examples of turning races into tropes and generalizations) and ethnic slurs that are thinly veiled behind an alien version of them. 5.) Tropes (Disposable Woman, Magical Negro to name a couple, but I’m sure there’s more). 6.) Only character identified as gay is a pervert and looked very poorly upon by the main character. 7.) Sexism. There are only a couple of female characters shown with any regularity, and they’re really just props for Edmon to feel bad about/for when something bad happens to them. I’ve been told this gets worse farther in, but can’t personally speak to it.
I’d like to remind you now that I did not actually finish the book. Look at my list of complaints. I don’t see that list getting any shorter with time, do you? After writing out my list I felt a lot better about deciding to not finish this book (I’m usually very harsh about that, as I’m stubborn) and my reasons to choosing to review it anyway.
For more reviews, check out Quirky Cat's Fat Stacks
I will not be going back and finishing Song of Edmon. In fact I’m really happy I received it for free through Kindle First. I’m a little confused by how many five stars its received (though the average rating is three and a half on goodreads).
I just could not get into this book, and trust me; I’m always hunting for new amazing science fiction books, so I really wanted to like this. The problem is I found myself completely unattached and uncaring about the main character, and I couldn’t get over all of the blatant tropes and –isms that were bouncing all over the place.
The warnings for this book make up an entire list (as opposed to the average of one or two items worth noting). On top of having many things I would typically warn a reader about, it covers some offensive material, and I can’t say for certain if it’s being done intentionally or not. Or if the intent is to bring light to that sort of concern (I worry that isn’t the case…).
Here is my list of strikes against the book: 1.) Internal monologue to the umpteenth degree. 2.) Graphic violence (I’ve been told it gets even worse past the point I gave up at). 3.) Rape. Lots of it. 3.) Lobotomy (not even kidding). 4.) Racism (examples of turning races into tropes and generalizations) and ethnic slurs that are thinly veiled behind an alien version of them. 5.) Tropes (Disposable Woman, Magical Negro to name a couple, but I’m sure there’s more). 6.) Only character identified as gay is a pervert and looked very poorly upon by the main character. 7.) Sexism. There are only a couple of female characters shown with any regularity, and they’re really just props for Edmon to feel bad about/for when something bad happens to them. I’ve been told this gets worse farther in, but can’t personally speak to it.
I’d like to remind you now that I did not actually finish the book. Look at my list of complaints. I don’t see that list getting any shorter with time, do you? After writing out my list I felt a lot better about deciding to not finish this book (I’m usually very harsh about that, as I’m stubborn) and my reasons to choosing to review it anyway.
For more reviews, check out Quirky Cat's Fat Stacks