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A review by whiskyandrhyme
The Teras Trials by Lucien Burr
5.0
The Teras Trials has been on my most anticipated list for a while now, and it did not disappoint. Monster-ridden, horrific, queer, dark academia? Yeah, it wasn't that hard of a sell for me. And the nightmare-inducing Manticore? Go check that gorgeous monstrosity on Burr's Instagram ASAP. I was lucky enough to get an early look at the book as an ARC reader.
I read a lot of horror and books with vivid descriptions of gore, so it takes a lot to make my stomach roll. There were a few times that Burr's descriptions made me have to put the book down and come back to it, because this book is blood soaked. I made the mistake of eating some watermelon during one very descriptive scene of some monster munching, and lets just say I had to put the watermelon spear down. Surround sound was not needed for that scene.
Burr also gave me a cast of characters to care about, which can sometimes be hit or miss in this genre for me. There was no one where I thought "I wouldn't mind if they became a monster meal."...okay, maybe one person. But even when that eventually comes around, you as the reader are feeling as emotionally wrung out as the characters at the depressive bleakness of the situation, so it sparked even some sympathy from me. Because, at that point, is it Karma getting what she's due? Or is it just the horrific reality that can befall any character at any time? So often in the book, Cassius is questioning his own motives and humanity, and once you're deep enough in the story with them, you may begin to do the same.
The Teras Trials was everything I wanted it to be and so, so much more. I highly recommend kicking off your dark academia autumn with this book when it's released at the end of August. I am already waiting for Book 2, to see where the battered and broken main cast goes from here. With the trials passed, what awaits the behind the inky black doorways of the University?
I read a lot of horror and books with vivid descriptions of gore, so it takes a lot to make my stomach roll. There were a few times that Burr's descriptions made me have to put the book down and come back to it, because this book is blood soaked. I made the mistake of eating some watermelon during one very descriptive scene of some monster munching, and lets just say I had to put the watermelon spear down. Surround sound was not needed for that scene.
Burr also gave me a cast of characters to care about, which can sometimes be hit or miss in this genre for me. There was no one where I thought "I wouldn't mind if they became a monster meal."...okay, maybe one person. But even when that eventually comes around, you as the reader are feeling as emotionally wrung out as the characters at the depressive bleakness of the situation, so it sparked even some sympathy from me. Because, at that point, is it Karma getting what she's due? Or is it just the horrific reality that can befall any character at any time? So often in the book, Cassius is questioning his own motives and humanity, and once you're deep enough in the story with them, you may begin to do the same.
The Teras Trials was everything I wanted it to be and so, so much more. I highly recommend kicking off your dark academia autumn with this book when it's released at the end of August. I am already waiting for Book 2, to see where the battered and broken main cast goes from here. With the trials passed, what awaits the behind the inky black doorways of the University?