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A review by lakeofstars
The Book Eaters by Sunyi Dean
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
2.5
when reading, i wished it was shorter because of how bored i was growing with the story. after reading, i wish it was longer- but specifically to weave in more (especially positive) interactions between the characters that would have made me more invested in the plot. the writing itself was... fine? it had moments of greatness and moments of weakness.
i loved the premise of book and mind eaters, and found the explanation of the mythos and pseudoscience of it all to be the most interesting parts of the story. however, it strangely felt irrelevant at times? excluding the mind eaters and their need to feed, sometimes it felt like you could have taken out the book eating and replaced it with a different, not anatomically unique, isolated society and the story would not have changed much at all.
a perfect 50/50 rating because i quite enjoyed the worldbuilding and definitely sensed the potential of everything else pulsating under the surface, but overall this book fell flat for me in the rest of its execution. i also have seen other readers bring up some problematic aspects of the themes regarding disability in this book, which i find troubling.
i loved the premise of book and mind eaters, and found the explanation of the mythos and pseudoscience of it all to be the most interesting parts of the story. however, it strangely felt irrelevant at times? excluding the mind eaters and their need to feed, sometimes it felt like you could have taken out the book eating and replaced it with a different, not anatomically unique, isolated society and the story would not have changed much at all.
a perfect 50/50 rating because i quite enjoyed the worldbuilding and definitely sensed the potential of everything else pulsating under the surface, but overall this book fell flat for me in the rest of its execution. i also have seen other readers bring up some problematic aspects of the themes regarding disability in this book, which i find troubling.