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dan_tee's reviews
100 reviews
Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
This isn't the sort of book I usually go for, and to say I "enjoyed" it feels disingenuous. This book is overarchingly bleak, and feels suffocating at times. But the time you spend with the main cast of characters and seeing how they develop and change throughout the years really endears you towards them.
When you realise what's happening, the ending
is inevitable. You watch as these characters you care for go through futile motions based on an existance they don't understand, working only within the confines of a system they aren't even aware of. It's heartbreaking, and frustrating.
Ishiguro captures the mundanity of human nature, personal morality and companionship in a way I've not seen before.
I'm glad I read this book. I think it's one which I'll think about going forward, and I'm intrigued to see what the authors other works are like.
When you realise what's happening, the ending
is inevitable. You watch as these characters you care for go through futile motions based on an existance they don't understand, working only within the confines of a system they aren't even aware of. It's heartbreaking, and frustrating.
Ishiguro captures the mundanity of human nature, personal morality and companionship in a way I've not seen before.
I'm glad I read this book. I think it's one which I'll think about going forward, and I'm intrigued to see what the authors other works are like.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death and Classism
The Ones Who Stay and Fight by N.K. Jemisin
challenging
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
5.0
A short story taking inspiration, or agitation, from The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas.
A commentary on how walking away is not the last or only option when faced with a cruel, sick world.
You can fight, personally, for a better one. One where the paradox of tolerance is met with a fist.
A commentary on how walking away is not the last or only option when faced with a cruel, sick world.
You can fight, personally, for a better one. One where the paradox of tolerance is met with a fist.
The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
I loved this book. It's fantasy-adjacent, slightly outside of my usual wheelhouse but I loved it. The writing is beautiful, and you can really feel the craftsmanship behind it, the attention to detail, structure and simple word choice that Victoria employs is tangible throughout.
Graveyard Shift by M.L. Rio
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.0
I...was disappointed that it ended abruptly. I thought the writing was pretty good, and the characters seemed distinct and fleshed out - perhaps a little artificially for a couple of them, but giving it the benefit of the doubt as it's so short.
The mystery was okay, but got solved too quickly and was very straightforward. I'll add a spoiler bit here when I figure out how haha.The mystery ended really early for me. I felt like once Tuck got bit, it was pretty obvious they were connected to the Incidents. The rest of it was interesting but there was no "mystery" as such after that. Also, The Last of Us ruined other mushroom-based stories for me haha.
Honestly I wanted more, despite me sounding like I didn't like it haha. I did! I just feel like we got the first 15 minutes of an apocalyptic thriller. Not bad at all, but not a whole meal, and not a horror either - to me at least.
The mystery was okay, but got solved too quickly and was very straightforward. I'll add a spoiler bit here when I figure out how haha.
Honestly I wanted more, despite me sounding like I didn't like it haha. I did! I just feel like we got the first 15 minutes of an apocalyptic thriller. Not bad at all, but not a whole meal, and not a horror either - to me at least.
The Last House on Needless Street by Catriona Ward
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
This is an interesting book. Less horror than psychological thriller, we follow Ted, a seemingly nice slow guy, and learn more about his life and how he might not be as nice as he seems.
I went into this completely blind, so the twists and turns worked for me. Took a little time to get going, but the last third had me speeding through it.
Spoilers below:
Ted is a person with DID. I had no clue that this would be a thing, and so this kept the mystery working for me. Dee, the missing girls' sister was also interesting; it was nice having someone to root for, and empathise with without feeling guilty..until you realise she was wrong about Ted. Ted's alters come from trauma inflected by his mother. You're led to believe she is..well, mildly abusive, but also caring and scared for Ted and what he is. Again, it's not until the last portion of the book we are shown his mother was more than a little abusive, and was in fact a serial killer and incredibly abusive both physically and psychologically.
So yeah. If you guess the twist, or have seen a lot of discourse around this, you probably won't get as much out of it. I enjoyed it as I was a blank slate.
Not the most beautiful writing, but an interesting premise reasonably well executed.
I went into this completely blind, so the twists and turns worked for me. Took a little time to get going, but the last third had me speeding through it.
Spoilers below:
So yeah. If you guess the twist, or have seen a lot of discourse around this, you probably won't get as much out of it. I enjoyed it as I was a blank slate.
Not the most beautiful writing, but an interesting premise reasonably well executed.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal death, Self harm, and Suicidal thoughts
This Thing Between Us: A Novel by Gus Moreno
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
A tough one to review. The writing was really good, the characters especially all felt incredibly real. Alex is an easy guy to relate too, but everyone we spend more than a moment with in the book feels like their own person - especially Diane.
I think the horror elements were well executed, tension was left to build appropriately and one or two scenes were particularly visceral.
The ending I'm a little unsure of. I think I know what the author was going for, but it fell a little short, or was perhaps murkier than I would personally have liked.
Going to look at more from this author though, and a short read definitely worth giving a chance.
I think the horror elements were well executed, tension was left to build appropriately and one or two scenes were particularly visceral.
The ending I'm a little unsure of. I think I know what the author was going for, but it fell a little short, or was perhaps murkier than I would personally have liked.
Going to look at more from this author though, and a short read definitely worth giving a chance.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Death, and Death of parent
Minor: Violence
Ring Shout by P. Djèlí Clark
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
This book had some really interesting ideas concerning mysticism and magic. A dollop of Lovecraft in terms of how things look and work, with hate rather than fear being the driving force - much like that which drove Lovecraft himself to write.
The world feels lived in, the characters whole while using stereotypes to clue you in on your initial meeting. A really clever concept executed as well as it could have been imo. Author has a amazing mind for knocking together entire worlds.
The world feels lived in, the characters whole while using stereotypes to clue you in on your initial meeting. A really clever concept executed as well as it could have been imo. Author has a amazing mind for knocking together entire worlds.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body horror and Racial slurs
Minor: Gore, Gun violence, Slavery, and War
On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Writing this almost immediately after finishing and I'm struggling to put into words my feelings.
Part fiction, part autobiography, this epistolary novel presses a weight upon something deep inside me.
The prose is beautiful all throughout, as are the poems. In parts it's like reading a song, the author singing and baring their soul.
It's heartwrenching and beautiful.
This book is not written for me; a boring, straight white British man in his 30s. But that's not to say I didn't get something from it. Vuong exposes parts of him which rarely touch light, and in doing so illuminates memories and evokes feelings lost to me.
The areas which are foreign to me are made relatable by the carefully painted imagery he creates through the pages, and a direct manifestation of Little Dog, who glides between Ocean and the character, blending facsimile with truth so you're left feeling like you know both beings.
I'm sure people who can relate to the character more physically and culturally will get even more from this.
This novel is full of familial struggle, frustration, grief, poverty, death, and so, so much gentle but blinding love. The empathy Oceans writing displays towards everyone, alongside the open-hearted spotlight on Little Dogs struggles, acts as a pilot light throughout.
I need space and time to further process this. Like a stone thrown into the river, I'm sure time will dull some of the intensity this has left me with, but I hope the I continue to remember the weight of this, and how it sank me.
Part fiction, part autobiography, this epistolary novel presses a weight upon something deep inside me.
The prose is beautiful all throughout, as are the poems. In parts it's like reading a song, the author singing and baring their soul.
It's heartwrenching and beautiful.
This book is not written for me; a boring, straight white British man in his 30s. But that's not to say I didn't get something from it. Vuong exposes parts of him which rarely touch light, and in doing so illuminates memories and evokes feelings lost to me.
The areas which are foreign to me are made relatable by the carefully painted imagery he creates through the pages, and a direct manifestation of Little Dog, who glides between Ocean and the character, blending facsimile with truth so you're left feeling like you know both beings.
I'm sure people who can relate to the character more physically and culturally will get even more from this.
This novel is full of familial struggle, frustration, grief, poverty, death, and so, so much gentle but blinding love. The empathy Oceans writing displays towards everyone, alongside the open-hearted spotlight on Little Dogs struggles, acts as a pilot light throughout.
I need space and time to further process this. Like a stone thrown into the river, I'm sure time will dull some of the intensity this has left me with, but I hope the I continue to remember the weight of this, and how it sank me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Homophobia, Racism, Death of parent, and War
The Junkie Quatrain by Peter Clines
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Good short collection using several persons POVs intertwined in an apocalyptic setting. Great fun.
Bear Head by Adrian Tchaikovsky
adventurous
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
A good end to the duology, with room to expand of there's ever a third. It takes the themes of control and hierachy that were players in the last book and expands them further.