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A review by vermidian
Butcher Bird by Richard Kadrey
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This book was a gift from my partner, and while I'm not really a big fan of Kadrey's works, I had to give it a fair shot. I will say that I enjoyed it more than Sandman Slim. As a standalone, I enjoyed getting the narrative really wrapped up by the end of the book, which isn't something you ever really got from Sandman Slim. I also loved the world building that you get in this book. While Sandman Slim is more hell focused, this books goes all over the spheres and introduces you to a whole lot more world mythology in a short span. I love some good world building.
The characters are still not what I would prefer. They were all a little more like an edgy pipe dream of a man writing for men, which I am not so it didn't have the same appeal for me. I had the same issue with Sandman Slim, to be fair. The writer just writes for the male gaze. And that's okay! It's just not for me.
The other thing that I observed is that I think this book shouldn't actually be prose. I think this book should be a graphic novel. The style of the discussion and the way the scenes felt would be perfect for a gritty American comic book style graphic novel series. It's not bad as prose, but I think it would lend itself so well to comic panels.
The characters are still not what I would prefer. They were all a little more like an edgy pipe dream of a man writing for men, which I am not so it didn't have the same appeal for me. I had the same issue with Sandman Slim, to be fair. The writer just writes for the male gaze. And that's okay! It's just not for me.
The other thing that I observed is that I think this book shouldn't actually be prose. I think this book should be a graphic novel. The style of the discussion and the way the scenes felt would be perfect for a gritty American comic book style graphic novel series. It's not bad as prose, but I think it would lend itself so well to comic panels.