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A review by samwescott
Manhunt by Gretchen Felker-Martin
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
That was intense.
I will say first and quickly that this book does have an on-screen rape scene, which normally is a deal-breaker for me. In general, it's an intense book with a lot violence and hate speech, so you're gonna want to check the trigger warnings for it. I think it's worth it, but you don't wanna go in blind.
This book was just electrifying from the word go. It wrests the gender-plague concept away from mainstream cis authors and places it squarely in the hands of a cast of trans characters and allows them to roll around in what that concept could actually mean. Depending on how your gender plague works, it might affect pre-op and post-op people differently. How will it affect prepubescent children? Can hormones be synthesized and what sources can you harvest the hormones from? (spoiler alert: the answer is gross!) By not assuming a world of two biological sexes with corresponding gender presentation, it actually takes a worn-out concept and fills it with new life and complications.
The actual mood of the book is not a sterile thought exercise though - it is a filthy, raw examination of the inner lives of people living in this world. There are multiple POV characters, but most of them are trans and it really grabs the opportunity to wrestle with self-hatred and regular hatred, with desire and disgust, and how often those things are deeply intertwined. It was often pretty hard to read, with characters spewing hate speech and committing horrible acts of violence. But it also gives characters the opportunity to act on desire and lust and love and intimacy in some really beautiful ways. The whole outside world is very on the nose and over the top, but the inner lives are nuanced and complex.
The one complaint I did have is that the pacing was occasionally a little weird. I'm not actually sure how long of a time span the books takes place in? It could have been weeks and it could have been months or years, I'm honestly not sure. There were some scene jumps that I kinda lost track of and I wasn't always sure where specific characters were and how they got there. I do listen exclusively to audiobooks (the narrator was amazing btw), so it's made a little harder by not being about to flip back a page and double check without losing your place, but I think it might just be that this author isn't really driven by exposition. Not a huge deal, but it did disrupt my reading experience a bit.
So, yeah. Raunchy, gross, filthy, painful, exhilarating, funny, biting, and hot. It's a book dialed up to 11 on pretty much every front, so know that going in and enjoy the ride. It also feels very honest and sympathetic with no sugar-coating on a single page. I do recommend it with the caveat that you take care of yourself first, especially trans readers who may not want to engage with that much hate speech in their recreational reading time.
Terfs are the explicit villains, also, so expect some review-bombing on this one.
I will say first and quickly that this book does have an on-screen rape scene, which normally is a deal-breaker for me. In general, it's an intense book with a lot violence and hate speech, so you're gonna want to check the trigger warnings for it. I think it's worth it, but you don't wanna go in blind.
This book was just electrifying from the word go. It wrests the gender-plague concept away from mainstream cis authors and places it squarely in the hands of a cast of trans characters and allows them to roll around in what that concept could actually mean. Depending on how your gender plague works, it might affect pre-op and post-op people differently. How will it affect prepubescent children? Can hormones be synthesized and what sources can you harvest the hormones from? (spoiler alert: the answer is gross!) By not assuming a world of two biological sexes with corresponding gender presentation, it actually takes a worn-out concept and fills it with new life and complications.
The actual mood of the book is not a sterile thought exercise though - it is a filthy, raw examination of the inner lives of people living in this world. There are multiple POV characters, but most of them are trans and it really grabs the opportunity to wrestle with self-hatred and regular hatred, with desire and disgust, and how often those things are deeply intertwined. It was often pretty hard to read, with characters spewing hate speech and committing horrible acts of violence. But it also gives characters the opportunity to act on desire and lust and love and intimacy in some really beautiful ways. The whole outside world is very on the nose and over the top, but the inner lives are nuanced and complex.
The one complaint I did have is that the pacing was occasionally a little weird. I'm not actually sure how long of a time span the books takes place in? It could have been weeks and it could have been months or years, I'm honestly not sure. There were some scene jumps that I kinda lost track of and I wasn't always sure where specific characters were and how they got there. I do listen exclusively to audiobooks (the narrator was amazing btw), so it's made a little harder by not being about to flip back a page and double check without losing your place, but I think it might just be that this author isn't really driven by exposition. Not a huge deal, but it did disrupt my reading experience a bit.
So, yeah. Raunchy, gross, filthy, painful, exhilarating, funny, biting, and hot. It's a book dialed up to 11 on pretty much every front, so know that going in and enjoy the ride. It also feels very honest and sympathetic with no sugar-coating on a single page. I do recommend it with the caveat that you take care of yourself first, especially trans readers who may not want to engage with that much hate speech in their recreational reading time.
Terfs are the explicit villains, also, so expect some review-bombing on this one.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Transphobia, Cannibalism, Blood, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Xenophobia, War, Outing, Dysphoria, Rape, Deadnaming, Cursing, Hate crime, and Violence
Minor: Toxic friendship