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A review by nickoliver
The Foxhole Court by Nora Sakavic
dark
tense
medium-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
4.0
Well, this was a surprise. I read this book for the first time in January 2018 and remember being very disappointed, but still curious enough to want to read the rest. But those plans didn't get concrete until recently, when I bought the entire trilogy in paperback off Ricardo (a Swiss website similar to Depop and such). And while five years ago, it was a 2 stars for me, it suddenly became a 4 stars.
If I had to guess, I'd say that had mostly to do with two factors: One, in 2018, I'd gone into it with huge expectations - probably too huge, considering this isn't exactly meaningful literature, so I was bound to be disappointed. And two, as a consequence, my expectations this time around were pretty much infinitesimal.
Of course, there were still a lot of things that I didn't like and that explained why a lot of people I know nowadays call it a "guilty pleasure". Some things were harmless. For example, I wasn't the biggest fan of the writing. It read very much like a self-published work, even if it did have one or two lines that hit the mark for me. And the beginning was pretty abrupt - you were dropped a bit unceremoniously into the story, and it took me a moment to orient myself. Plus, there was sometimes a bit too much repetition for my liking, especially at the beginning. There were only so many times I could read about Neil's worry that Kevin would recognise him before I lost my mind.
Secondly, the sport itself was confusing. It was a bit unhinged of Sakavic to invent an entirely new sport that doesn't actually exist instead of using one that already does - though since the invention of Exy and its creator played a big role, it was, admittedly, justified. It just made it hard for me to properly picture game scenes, because telling me that it was similar to lacrosse didn't help at all; I've never played or watched a game of lacrosse, either. Certain things also felt a bit unrealistic. Seeing a bunch of college kids on national TV just for playing some sport? Is that a thing that Americans do?
Something I criticised on my first read was that nothing really happened and that I was bored out of my mind. I still understand where I was coming from - a lot was more talked about than shown, and time jumped in segments a bit too far apart for my liking. Sometimes, I was a bit too much on the outside, so that even when Neil had been with the Foxes for weeks, I had no feel for their relationships or dynamics. However, I wasn't really bored upon rereading this, and I did think that there was more happening than I'd given it credit for in 2018.
I hated the characters five years ago, and now I kind of feel like the point flew over my head. Because I doubt anyone in their right mind reads this book and roots for any of the Foxes from the start. Andrew was deranged, and Kevin an absolute gigantic twat. (In 2018, I merely called him boring, which he was - more on that later -, but now I mostly picked up on how horribly he treated others, especially Neil.) I'd honestly be worried if anyone actually is into Andrew from the start, to be honest.
And while Neil was a bit too passive and his tendency to be pushed around like a marionette was supremely annoying at times - especially for someone who'd supposedly been on the run for ages; you'd think he'd know how to defend himself -, I didn't hate him, nor did I think he faded into the background too much. Plus, I did really live for the way Neil could verbally eviscerate others. 'I have a bit of an attitude problem', indeed, and it was absolutely iconic.
What I did find a bit ridiculous was part of Neil's backstory, though. That's the part that made me suspect that Sakavic was talking out of her arse a lot. His mother deadass drove them for hours with a literal stab (or gun shot?) wound in her stomach and only died once it was plot-convenient.
And while I understood that Neil loved Exy so much that he was willing to literally put his life at risk for the chance to play it one more time, it did make me feel slightly crazy sometimes. The guy was literally hiding from people intend on torturing and murdering him, and yet he went and publicly antagonised Riko ? He made himself a target of the Japanese mafia in a way that seemed completely at odds with how he was suppoesd to act like. Over the course of the book, Neil kept saying he’d leave before October, but I never quite understood how he planned to pull it off without drawing attention to himself. Being on the run was easy when no one knew you. But being an integral part of the Foxes just made him a sitting duck.
One thing I noticed this time around was how some characters barely say a word in the entire series, despite being present the entire time. Let's take Kevin as an example. Neil talked about how he acted as a coach - which is to say, like a nightmare -, and you got to see how others perceived him. But he very rarely said anything in dialogue, he was mostly just talked about instead of actually talking himself. All of that made Kevin incredibly one-dimensional and lacking any personality. He was supposed to be so important to Neil’s past and famous too, and none of that ever came across very well. I also would’ve liked to see his relationship with the Terrible Threesome (Andrew, Nicky, Aaron), especially Andrew, explored more.
This passiveness applied to other characters as well. It actually took me until almost the end of the book to realise that Aaron had said something out loud only about three times in total. Out of all the Foxes, he felt the least developed, and considering he was Andrew's twin and part of his group, that was astounding. So a lot of the side characters were somehow simultaneously very important and present, and yet not three-dimensional at all.
Those were my criticisms that were more or less harmless. Now, there were also a couple that felt downright offensive.
One of those was Nicky's portrayal. He was the only one who was gay - at least in this book; I don't know yet about the others -, and Sakavic wrote him as very predatory. He kept making advances and comments that he knew weren't welcome, and the way the others sometimes talked about him made him sound like he was two steps removed from being a literal rapist. I remember liking Nicky the most, and I do still think he was one of the funniest and most fleshed-out ones (which was a bit bizarre, considering he was neither the main character nor a potential love interest). He brought a bit of lightheartedness to the story that it otherwise lacked. But why he had to be so rape-y and boundary-ignoring was beyond me.
Secondly, the villains were specifically from the Japanese mafia, yet the only one who tried to get away from them - who therefore was not a "bad guy" intent on torture and murder - was if not white (I am a bit fuzzy on character descriptions), then at least the only one with a non-Japanese name. I didn't like that; it felt a bit racially motivated.
Lastly, I didn't like all the slurs being used. There was a character on the team, Seth, whose animosity and douchebaggery was shown a lot through his use of slurs - be it ableist ones or calling Nicky the f-slur every time Nicky said something that sounded even remotely gay. I'm not a fan of unlikeable characters' vitriol being shown solely through their use of horrible insults - Seth was pretty much a one-trick-bigot in that aspect -, you should be able to show they're shitty without resorting to cheap personality traits like that.
Overall, though, I was surprised by how much I liked it this time around! Definitely had a lot to do with me generously ignoring the more ridiculous parts of it, but eh. I'm still thrilled that I had a better time than five years ago, and I cannot wait to continue with the rest!
OLD REVIEW:
This was SO disappointing! I’ve had high hopes for it, since most people seem to absolutely adore it, but it just wasn’t for me.
+ I didn’t like any of the characters. I mean, yes, most of them seem to be more antiheroes than anything else, so maybe I wasn’t even supposed to like them. But Andrew was psychotic and awful and so unpredictable I’m still not entirely sure what to make of him. Kevin was always described in a way that made me feel like I had to be somewhat intrigued by him, but he was about as interesting as a brick wall. (Plus, this is a personal preference, but I have a hard time taking guys named Kevin seriously. I grew up with a Kevin, and he’s a goofball.)
Neil is extremely passive and only steps a little further into the spotlight towards the end of the book (like, the last 80% or so). The only character I liked a little bit - if we ignore his inability to say no to Andrew and his habit of kiss-drugging incompliant men - was Nicky. He sometimes felt like he would feel right at home with the Dregs.
+ the story was sooo boring! Nothing interesting happened. No, scratch that. Nothing happened, period. It was honestly more talk than show, and it drove me crazy.
+ there was way too much description. You don’t have to describe every single person in detail, honestly. I do have some imagination. Also, I’m pretty sure some of the characters were described several times?
+ I did not understand how Exy works. I think it’s a little bit like lacrosse, but that’s about it. I really did not like all the sports talk (although that one’s probably on me. I mean, it is a book involving sports. You’re allowed to go into detail in novels like that).
I’m still going to read the sequel(s), simply because I want to know what happens. And because I’d like to know if any ship sails, because there wasn’t any romance in here. Which, admittedly, wasn’t that disappointing because I’m not even sure for whom I was supposed to be rooting for.
If I had to guess, I'd say that had mostly to do with two factors: One, in 2018, I'd gone into it with huge expectations - probably too huge, considering this isn't exactly meaningful literature, so I was bound to be disappointed. And two, as a consequence, my expectations this time around were pretty much infinitesimal.
Of course, there were still a lot of things that I didn't like and that explained why a lot of people I know nowadays call it a "guilty pleasure". Some things were harmless. For example, I wasn't the biggest fan of the writing. It read very much like a self-published work, even if it did have one or two lines that hit the mark for me. And the beginning was pretty abrupt - you were dropped a bit unceremoniously into the story, and it took me a moment to orient myself. Plus, there was sometimes a bit too much repetition for my liking, especially at the beginning. There were only so many times I could read about Neil's worry that Kevin would recognise him before I lost my mind.
Secondly, the sport itself was confusing. It was a bit unhinged of Sakavic to invent an entirely new sport that doesn't actually exist instead of using one that already does - though since the invention of Exy and its creator played a big role, it was, admittedly, justified. It just made it hard for me to properly picture game scenes, because telling me that it was similar to lacrosse didn't help at all; I've never played or watched a game of lacrosse, either. Certain things also felt a bit unrealistic. Seeing a bunch of college kids on national TV just for playing some sport? Is that a thing that Americans do?
Something I criticised on my first read was that nothing really happened and that I was bored out of my mind. I still understand where I was coming from - a lot was more talked about than shown, and time jumped in segments a bit too far apart for my liking. Sometimes, I was a bit too much on the outside, so that even when Neil had been with the Foxes for weeks, I had no feel for their relationships or dynamics. However, I wasn't really bored upon rereading this, and I did think that there was more happening than I'd given it credit for in 2018.
I hated the characters five years ago, and now I kind of feel like the point flew over my head. Because I doubt anyone in their right mind reads this book and roots for any of the Foxes from the start. Andrew was deranged, and Kevin an absolute gigantic twat. (In 2018, I merely called him boring, which he was - more on that later -, but now I mostly picked up on how horribly he treated others, especially Neil.) I'd honestly be worried if anyone actually is into Andrew from the start, to be honest.
And while Neil was a bit too passive and his tendency to be pushed around like a marionette was supremely annoying at times - especially for someone who'd supposedly been on the run for ages; you'd think he'd know how to defend himself -, I didn't hate him, nor did I think he faded into the background too much. Plus, I did really live for the way Neil could verbally eviscerate others. 'I have a bit of an attitude problem', indeed, and it was absolutely iconic.
What I did find a bit ridiculous was part of Neil's backstory, though. That's the part that made me suspect that Sakavic was talking out of her arse a lot.
And while I understood that Neil loved Exy so much that he was willing to literally put his life at risk for the chance to play it one more time, it did make me feel slightly crazy sometimes. The guy was literally hiding from people intend on torturing and murdering him, and yet he went and publicly antagonised
One thing I noticed this time around was how some characters barely say a word in the entire series, despite being present the entire time. Let's take Kevin as an example. Neil talked about how he acted as a coach - which is to say, like a nightmare -, and you got to see how others perceived him. But he very rarely said anything in dialogue, he was mostly just talked about instead of actually talking himself. All of that made Kevin incredibly one-dimensional and lacking any personality. He was supposed to be so important to Neil’s past and famous too, and none of that ever came across very well. I also would’ve liked to see his relationship with the Terrible Threesome (Andrew, Nicky, Aaron), especially Andrew, explored more.
This passiveness applied to other characters as well. It actually took me until almost the end of the book to realise that Aaron had said something out loud only about three times in total. Out of all the Foxes, he felt the least developed, and considering he was Andrew's twin and part of his group, that was astounding. So a lot of the side characters were somehow simultaneously very important and present, and yet not three-dimensional at all.
Those were my criticisms that were more or less harmless. Now, there were also a couple that felt downright offensive.
One of those was Nicky's portrayal. He was the only one who was gay - at least in this book; I don't know yet about the others -, and Sakavic wrote him as very predatory. He kept making advances and comments that he knew weren't welcome, and the way the others sometimes talked about him made him sound like he was two steps removed from being a literal rapist. I remember liking Nicky the most, and I do still think he was one of the funniest and most fleshed-out ones (which was a bit bizarre, considering he was neither the main character nor a potential love interest). He brought a bit of lightheartedness to the story that it otherwise lacked. But why he had to be so rape-y and boundary-ignoring was beyond me.
Secondly, the villains were specifically from the Japanese mafia, yet the only one who tried to get away from them - who therefore was not a "bad guy" intent on torture and murder - was if not white (I am a bit fuzzy on character descriptions), then at least the only one with a non-Japanese name. I didn't like that; it felt a bit racially motivated.
Lastly, I didn't like all the slurs being used. There was a character on the team, Seth, whose animosity and douchebaggery was shown a lot through his use of slurs - be it ableist ones or calling Nicky the f-slur every time Nicky said something that sounded even remotely gay. I'm not a fan of unlikeable characters' vitriol being shown solely through their use of horrible insults - Seth was pretty much a one-trick-bigot in that aspect -, you should be able to show they're shitty without resorting to cheap personality traits like that.
Overall, though, I was surprised by how much I liked it this time around! Definitely had a lot to do with me generously ignoring the more ridiculous parts of it, but eh. I'm still thrilled that I had a better time than five years ago, and I cannot wait to continue with the rest!
OLD REVIEW:
This was SO disappointing! I’ve had high hopes for it, since most people seem to absolutely adore it, but it just wasn’t for me.
+ I didn’t like any of the characters. I mean, yes, most of them seem to be more antiheroes than anything else, so maybe I wasn’t even supposed to like them. But Andrew was psychotic and awful and so unpredictable I’m still not entirely sure what to make of him. Kevin was always described in a way that made me feel like I had to be somewhat intrigued by him, but he was about as interesting as a brick wall. (Plus, this is a personal preference, but I have a hard time taking guys named Kevin seriously. I grew up with a Kevin, and he’s a goofball.)
Neil is extremely passive and only steps a little further into the spotlight towards the end of the book (like, the last 80% or so). The only character I liked a little bit - if we ignore his inability to say no to Andrew and his habit of kiss-drugging incompliant men - was Nicky. He sometimes felt like he would feel right at home with the Dregs.
+ the story was sooo boring! Nothing interesting happened. No, scratch that. Nothing happened, period. It was honestly more talk than show, and it drove me crazy.
+ there was way too much description. You don’t have to describe every single person in detail, honestly. I do have some imagination. Also, I’m pretty sure some of the characters were described several times?
+ I did not understand how Exy works. I think it’s a little bit like lacrosse, but that’s about it. I really did not like all the sports talk (although that one’s probably on me. I mean, it is a book involving sports. You’re allowed to go into detail in novels like that).
I’m still going to read the sequel(s), simply because I want to know what happens. And because I’d like to know if any ship sails, because there wasn’t any romance in here. Which, admittedly, wasn’t that disappointing because I’m not even sure for whom I was supposed to be rooting for.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Homophobia and Physical abuse
Use of the f-slur + ableist slurs