A review by starrysteph
The Dead Take the A Train by Cassandra Khaw, Richard Kadrey

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

The Dead Take the A Train is a whirlwind of gritty mayhem - with a LOT of cosmic gore. I mostly had fun, but never felt truly in sync with the characters, their thoughts, or how exactly magic worked in this world. 

Julie Crews is a messy magic user trying to scrape by in NYC, though even the simplest of gigs seems to get her into trouble. And when she summons a guardian angel in an attempt to protect her best friend (and forever love), she ends up unleashing a chaotic entity eager to consume every human on its path. 

Things that flowed for me: the heightened language, the grotesque creatures and bits of gore, the satirical elements around Wall Street and corporate hunger, the sprinklings of lore.

Things that made me stumble: the character/romantic development, uneven battle scenes (everyone was simultaneously overpowered and underpowered), tension that fizzled out right at the end. 

It felt like a lot of this was setup for a series, but I needed time to get to know & care about each of the characters first. I was intrigued - and found most of them likable enough - but didn’t think that anyone got a truly interesting character arc. I wanted to feel more grounded in their heads so that I would be more anxious about the infinite number of very bad things happening to them.

And we get big confrontations that never come, characters that seem to learn nothing (Julie, HOW ARE YOU THIS INCOMPETENT), and villains that don’t get their comeuppance (yet? ever?). Also there is a LOT of violence towards women if you are sensitive to that.

But there are some very fun bits of capitalist satire, two awesome supporting characters that kept me going, and some very distressing creatures (complimentary). 

CW: murder, body horror, gore/blood, violence, drug use, self harm, suicide, addiction, torture, guns, domestic abuse, cannibalism, misogyny, stalking, fire, classism

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