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A review by j_o600
Harley Quinn: Ravenous by Rachael Allen
This was a really interesting book because of how it’s told. The first half is essentially telling us almost everything that happened, then we get put mid-way into what happens next but Harley doesn’t know what we know.
I do think Harley is the kind of character who can get away with a meta-narrative like this, and I liked how this created suspense bc it’s not about whether we, the reader, can guess who the bad guys are, it’s watching Harley interact with them. I do think Harley as narrator could’ve been more clear about this structure, and I could see it throwing people.
I am happy that we get so many more references to things that are wonderful about Harley’s canon, like Ivy, King Shark, and I really do like how Bernie is used here.
What’s weird to me is that bc there’s so much specifically from the HBO show, some of the choices feel like a redux of moments in the show, so they didn’t hit for me the way they would for someone else.
And this is maybe a dumb complaint but I enjoyed how much science was in the first book and was disappointed there was much less of scientist Harley here. It’s something really special about her character, and particularly having a scientist write Harley was really cool in the last book. I hope that comes back in Book 3.
I do think Harley is the kind of character who can get away with a meta-narrative like this, and I liked how this created suspense bc it’s not about whether we, the reader, can guess who the bad guys are, it’s watching Harley interact with them. I do think Harley as narrator could’ve been more clear about this structure, and I could see it throwing people.
I am happy that we get so many more references to things that are wonderful about Harley’s canon, like Ivy, King Shark, and I really do like how Bernie is used here.
What’s weird to me is that bc there’s so much specifically from the HBO show, some of the choices feel like a redux of moments in the show, so they didn’t hit for me the way they would for someone else.
And this is maybe a dumb complaint but I enjoyed how much science was in the first book and was disappointed there was much less of scientist Harley here. It’s something really special about her character, and particularly having a scientist write Harley was really cool in the last book. I hope that comes back in Book 3.