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jennieartemis 's review for:
Master of Poisons
by Andrea Hairston
challenging
reflective
fast-paced
TL;DR: An experimental fantasy to the point of opacity, but the things that can be grasped are intriguing
This was a strange read, as I never really felt like I could understand what was going on. The pace is unusual, the language is idiosyncratic, and several of the key concepts are never really explained. I like the characters and their arcs, and what I can gather of the themes is good. It's particularly nice to see non-binary identities not just presented but explored. I do think this could have benefited from being a series and taking things a bit slower, but I at least admire its commitment to its style (and I offer a brief shoutout to the sparse animal chapters, which are bizarre yet memorable).
6/10 in personal rating system
This was a strange read, as I never really felt like I could understand what was going on. The pace is unusual, the language is idiosyncratic, and several of the key concepts are never really explained. I like the characters and their arcs, and what I can gather of the themes is good. It's particularly nice to see non-binary identities not just presented but explored. I do think this could have benefited from being a series and taking things a bit slower, but I at least admire its commitment to its style (and I offer a brief shoutout to the sparse animal chapters, which are bizarre yet memorable).
6/10 in personal rating system