eddiesourboy's reviews
137 reviews

Friday Black by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah

dark reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

amazing writing throughout each and every story. loved reading dystopian stuff that emphasized how racism and capitalism could get Even More out of hand. as someone who's worked retail I related to the stories that showed the potential extremes of customer service -- sometimes it really does feel like everyone's going to die. my favorite story was Zimmer Land, which was a truly haunting concept and had my favorite lines

People say "sell your soul" like it's easy. But your soul is yours and it's not for sale. Even if you try, it'll still be there, waiting for you to remember it.

and my least favorite story was Lark Street because I truly could not tell what the message was supposed to be there and it creeped me out. but regardless, everything else was great in general and id recommend this to anyone interested in dystopian afro-futurism!

The Final Girl Support Group by Grady Hendrix

challenging tense medium-paced

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

2.75

I think I would have enjoyed this a lot more if I had been reading it physically or if literally anyone else narrated it. The voice was really off-putting and it was distracting to the story at times. however the story itself was pretty good and well written enough to keep me wanting to listen even though I didn't like the narrator. The concept was great, the writing was pretty good, the plot was alright, and the characters were so fucking unlikeable. I'm not sure that this guy actually knows how to write women. it almost felt like a parody in a parody. I felt sympathy for Lynette at times because I can relate to feeling like everybody thinks you're crazy and nobody wants to listen to you, but also she was incredibly obnoxious so I don't necessarily blame everybody for ignoring her. I saw the plot twists coming a mile away but that's not necessarily a bad thing all the time because it's sometimes nice to feel like you connected the dots even before the character did. I felt like the ending was a little corny but I was still invested the whole way through. so, I wouldn't call it a good book but, I would call it a fun book. it has exactly as much charm as any other 80s slasher movie, which might not be the best thing given the point it's trying to make!! again, my opinion might be different if I choose to reread it physically and can give the characters my own voices in my head rather than being forced to listen to this nasaly one-note narrator. 

Bloodchild and Other Stories by Octavia E. Butler

dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

i took a long break before I finished reading this bc I only had to read part for school, but even so I remember most of the stories I read two years ago quite vividly. Octavia Butler is immensely talented in the horror, sci-fi, and dystopian genres. i am haunted by some of the imagery from these short stories, even though some others were much less memorable for me. I ended up writing an essay on my favorite, the morning and the evening and the night, and disability representation. I'm glad I finally finished the last few pieces in this book because I also really loved amnesty.

The Bees by Laline Paull

adventurous dark medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.25

why do the bees have Catholic guilt?

- me within the first 20 minutes of reading, and also several more times as it progressed

the writing is good, even beautiful at times, and the concept sounds good but the execution was soooo bad. it was a really predictable story that dragged on too long. the mix of science and complete nonsense made me so angry. the bees have concepts like sin, greed, and lust and they worship their queen like a god. they talk like they're from the 1800s. yes, they also use scent and dance to communicate, like real bees. but then they use brooms and plates and have human mannerisms??? pick a lane! also, the main bee is insanely OP and a Mary Sue, which is a sentence I never thought I would write.

Roger Crenshaw: The Vampires of New Haven by Taylor Titmouse

adventurous lighthearted fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

wish this would happen to me fr

Under the Whispering Door by TJ Klune
Did not finish book. Stopped at 29%.

I read spoilers for the end and decided it wasn't worth suffering through this mediocre writing just for That. Honestly. The main character is so unlikable that it is IMPOSSIBLE to root for him. He doesn't even gain a shred of humanity until a quarter of the way through and it's still not enough. Not to mention the "magical black man" trope being INCREDIBLY prevalent. I don't know if Hugo gets more agency as the book goes on but I don't think it's worth trying to find out. It's too slow and insufferable. I am NEVER taking booktok recommendations again, holy shit. Also, the author's humiliation kink really shines through with everything he puts Wallace through in just the first quarter of the book. Yes, it's funny when a stodgy old man gets a little silly and embarrassed, but also it gets repetitive. 

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Content Warnings

I genuinely think Hugo, a black man, having his primary purpose be to make Walllace, a rich annoying white asshole of a man, learn a lesson and become a better person is racist. And I can't finish this book because of that.

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

adventurous lighthearted medium-paced

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

3.5

it's a fine book. it just dragged at certain points. and I never really felt like I cared that much about the main character. everyone else was much more interesting than him. 

Less by Andrew Sean Greer

funny reflective slow-paced

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

2.5

idk maybe I'm not old enough to get it. maybe I shouldn't have read this immediately after getting dumped. maybe Zora is right and it's hard to feel sorry for an old cis white man, even if he's gay. the descriptions and poetic parts of this were lovely but I had a really hard time... caring. I only finished it because I felt like I had to.

Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman

adventurous funny informative lighthearted fast-paced

4.25

I learned so much. mostly because I didn't know about any of this stuff at all

Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman

adventurous funny mysterious 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? Yes

4.0

beautiful writing as always from Neil. some parts felt vague and confusing though.