A review by patriciomas
Master of Poisons by Andrea Hairston

adventurous mysterious reflective slow-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? No

3.25

Master of Poisons is a tough book to read. The writing style is dreamlike - sometimes vague, often lacking in much context, moving forward mostly slowly but occasionally zooming months or years months in a couple of paragraphs. I think it's intended to evoke oral traditions like myth or poetry - stories you can't interrupt for little things like clarifications. The overall theme is making one's own future in the face of near-certain societal collapse (okay, it's climate change), and our two protagonists, Djola and Awa, slowly grow into people who can do so. The world is creative, and although (as with most dreams) I will forget most of the details of the world by next week, I enjoyed the glimpse the author gave me.

This was an interesting change of pace, especially in writing style. I don't think I could read more than one or two books like this a year, but I did enjoy this one.