A review by couldbestephen
Leech by Hiron Ennes

4.5

Trapped in an icy chateau, a doctor from the Institute is caught up in a mystery that threatens their life. The dark academia, claustrophobic vibes of the book are fantastic. The world building felt… nonexistent. I wasn’t sure if this was set in a far future Earth, a future universe where humans have expanded into different planets, or this was an alternate universe with no connection to our world. It was also unclear at what stage technology of this universe was at. The ending was also a little ambiguous. All in all, still a great, engaging read.

The Institute being a single mind spread across hundreds of bodies was fascinating. The writing for when our initially unnamed main character is fully integrated with The Institute is incredible, occasionally dizzying, but always fascinating. When the new parasite is introduced and our main character starts to become separated from The Institute and become her own person again, we’re treated to a fantastic deep dive into what it means to be human and an individual. There’s still a lot of mystery behind Emile and what really makes him so special. Learning how he was essentially sexually abused and assaulted by Didier was heartbreaking. I wish we had gotten a little more info on our silent hero.