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A review by schnaucl
Even Though I Knew the End by C.L. Polk
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
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
4.5
I really liked this novella. The world was an interesting one, and I'd like to spend more time there. The world was well developed in some ways but there was no real discussion of what heaven and hell were actually like except for a general sense that heaven is good and hell is bad. But different religious traditions have different ideas about each of those places (in those traditions that have a notion of heaven and hell to begin with) and for someone who has sold her soul and know for a fact hell exists and she's going to arrive there shortly there's a curious lack of detail about what that will actually mean.
There's a similar lack of discussion regarding how one gets into heaven or even how one gets into hell aside from selling one's soul. I think there's a discussion of what the it would take for the secret society to kick a person out but I don't think that was supposed to necessarily equate to the admission requirements for heaven and hell. It's a little confusing.And I guess God is more Old Testament than New? If her brother is in fact condemned to hell for what amounts to if not self defense then defense of another. I guess you avoid hell by...standing by and letting angels murder people? Don't get me wrong, Old Testament God absolutely sent angels to murder people, but there's no suggestion here that this is an order from God, if anything it's going against God's desire to keep fallen angels out of heaven. But Old Testament God has always struck me as more of an absolutist where rules are concerned so if the rule is you kill an angel, you lose your soul, then yeah, I guess you just stand by while the angel tortures and tries to murder you and/or other people.
I was also strongly reminded of Buffy the Vampire Slayer by the ending in that she had been in heaven and was pulled back by her friends. Though in that case it was to more fighting and death, which isn't the case here. Nevertheless, selling her soul to bring Edith back from heaven is an incredibly selfish thing to do, which is touched on, but there isn't really time to explore it given that it's a novella. It ends in a happy place, but I could see how that act would actually poison the relationship over time, especially depending on what heaven is. If they could have spent eternity together instead of a decade, I would think there might be some resentment about that, even aside from pulling Edith out of heaven to accomplish it.
Anyway, Helen seems more afraid of death and not particularly afraid of hell (or even curious about hell, which is a little bit odd given that she's supposed to be there in a few days).
As far as I know, this is a standalone novella but I'd definitely read more about this world and these characters.
There's a similar lack of discussion regarding how one gets into heaven or even how one gets into hell aside from selling one's soul. I think there's a discussion of what the it would take for the secret society to kick a person out but I don't think that was supposed to necessarily equate to the admission requirements for heaven and hell. It's a little confusing.
I was also strongly reminded of Buffy the Vampire Slayer by the ending in that she had been in heaven and was pulled back by her friends. Though in that case it was to more fighting and death, which isn't the case here. Nevertheless, selling her soul to bring Edith back from heaven is an incredibly selfish thing to do, which is touched on, but there isn't really time to explore it given that it's a novella. It ends in a happy place, but I could see how that act would actually poison the relationship over time, especially depending on what heaven is. If they could have spent eternity together instead of a decade, I would think there might be some resentment about that, even aside from pulling Edith out of heaven to accomplish it.
Anyway, Helen seems more afraid of death and not particularly afraid of hell (or even curious about hell, which is a little bit odd given that she's supposed to be there in a few days).
As far as I know, this is a standalone novella but I'd definitely read more about this world and these characters.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Homophobia, Misogyny, Violence, Blood, and Lesbophobia