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existentialhell's reviews
73 reviews
One Way Witch by Nnedi Okorafor
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
[Thank you, DAW and NetGalley, for providing this eARC in exchange for my honest review.]
Nnedi Okorafor's One Way Witch meditates heavily on themes of becoming, grief and trauma, racial violence, the many kinds of love, and what it means to atone especially for those wronged. The tale's juju system and the Mystic Points far beyond it is captivating, threading weight and vitality through many painfully happy on-page years. West African cultures inspire each moment (each everything) with adoring fire. Most authors love their worlds in their way but rarely is that love so clearly radiant as in this, Najeeba's time between times. A perfect salt cube.
One Way Witch is the warm, shifting sand as you nap in the sun. It burns as it soothes, and then burns again. It's slow. Pensive. Najeeba, careful in her reckless way, reflects on her life (lives) and Okorafor invites the reader to do the same. I'm loathe to say more and mar the mirror for future readers—this is a story best heard unfiltered. Be still and be ready.
What I will say: I strongly recommend starting with Who Fears Death. Okorafor's seminal Africanfuturist novel is the foundation for Najeeba's own series even as book one, She Who Knows, breathes to life years before Onyesonwu sets out to change the world. Okorafor recommended it first, in the author's note, so you know it's real. Settle in. Let this world become home.
[Book-wide CW for rape and sexual assault.]
Nnedi Okorafor's One Way Witch meditates heavily on themes of becoming, grief and trauma, racial violence, the many kinds of love, and what it means to atone especially for those wronged. The tale's juju system and the Mystic Points far beyond it is captivating, threading weight and vitality through many painfully happy on-page years. West African cultures inspire each moment (each everything) with adoring fire. Most authors love their worlds in their way but rarely is that love so clearly radiant as in this, Najeeba's time between times. A perfect salt cube.
One Way Witch is the warm, shifting sand as you nap in the sun. It burns as it soothes, and then burns again. It's slow. Pensive. Najeeba, careful in her reckless way, reflects on her life (lives) and Okorafor invites the reader to do the same. I'm loathe to say more and mar the mirror for future readers—this is a story best heard unfiltered. Be still and be ready.
What I will say: I strongly recommend starting with Who Fears Death. Okorafor's seminal Africanfuturist novel is the foundation for Najeeba's own series even as book one, She Who Knows, breathes to life years before Onyesonwu sets out to change the world. Okorafor recommended it first, in the author's note, so you know it's real. Settle in. Let this world become home.
[Book-wide CW for rape and sexual assault.]
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape and Sexual assault
Moderate: Sexism, Slavery, Violence, and Xenophobia
Minor: Genocide, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide
She Who Knows by Nnedi Okorafor
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
This novella is a delight. Fierce warmth and heartbreak blooms in the desert sands of a far-future that feels enchantingly close. Nnedi Okorafor is a masterful storyteller. Salt Roads and Dead Lakes shifting; a young girl and her sorcery coming of age together; these are the heart and start of the brilliant world that Okorafor has nurtured so carefully for years.
Author's love salts each page like a promise. Read She Who Knows.
Author's love salts each page like a promise. Read She Who Knows.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Hate crime, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Violence, Xenophobia, Death of parent, and Outing
Moderate: Racism, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Rape, Sexual violence, Trafficking, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment
Esperance by Adam Oyebanji
Did not finish book. Stopped at 43%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 43%.
[Thanks to DAW books and NetGalley for offering this eARC in exchange for my honest review!]
Alright, I'm in a weird position, here. I DNFed Esperance by Adam Oyebanji before the halfway mark despite being thoroughly sold on the premise. Neo-noir Afrofuturist space thriller? We're checking a bunch of boxes! Tackling intergenerational trauma, enslavement, reparations? Weird bugs? Phenomenal, let's see it. I settled in for what promised to be a wild ride. And it was, just not in any of the ways I expected.
Racism and especially anti-Black racism is, of course, one of the story's core themes: its roots, who perpetuates it, and how, and why, and its myriad ripple effects across cultures and across time. We spend a great deal of time on racism in the United States thanks to our hard-boiled Chicago detective, Ethan Krol. and that's where I feel things start to go sideways.
From page one we see the narrative-relevant microaggressions from Krol and others that tell us Esperance's is a world of discrimination pretending that racial bigotry belongs to The Past. All fine and good, great mirror of our own world, but the problem is that the discrimination isn't confined to the plot. The way certain Black characters are described by the story, for example, is steeped in colorism. The sentence that first had me questioning everything: "Amadi Okoro's skin might have been onyx black, but if he'd been hanged the marks still would have been easy to see" (Location 180). One could argue that since Krol is our third-person POV in this scene that it helps set up up his character as casually racist, and that may even be the author's intention; but, it feels wildly out of step with subsequent intentionally racist lines and that ambiguity, which remains pervasive, is a significant problem for a novel with so much to say about such painful topics. I don't trust the book to be consistent, and that's a tough ask for me as a reader.
What's more, the intentionally bigoted moments are often underdone. This is part of a larger problem with great scene ideas being rushed or abandon altogther, but I digress. Charged conversations and scenes breeze by with little commentary from the characters or the book itself. Weird hair-related comments unacknowledged; Kroll's drive-by East Asian sexualization; all-around strange racist moments that would be much stronger if they told us anything about our characters as individual people. That's what I'm really craving: Why does Krol move through the world this way, other than trying incredibly hard to be Humphrey Bogart? I don't know, because the book seems far more interested in developing the plot than any of its characters.
That neglect is profoundly disappointing because I really want to connect with these characters! The set-up is fun, please give me any reason to care about Krol's health, his divorce, his prejudices, his personality, his pride, anything. Why is Abi the way she is, emotionally? Who is she outside of the plot? What's Holly's deal? I feel like I catch fleeting glimpses of these people, but they're just that: glimpses. Give me a reason to care, please!
I'm so conflicted. I see the bones of a great story, with plenty of crucial themes to explore. Oyebanji's love of noir shines so bright from the very first page. I wanted to love it, but the dissonant, shallow characters and inconsistent plotting left too much to be desired.
Alright, I'm in a weird position, here. I DNFed Esperance by Adam Oyebanji before the halfway mark despite being thoroughly sold on the premise. Neo-noir Afrofuturist space thriller? We're checking a bunch of boxes! Tackling intergenerational trauma, enslavement, reparations? Weird bugs? Phenomenal, let's see it. I settled in for what promised to be a wild ride. And it was, just not in any of the ways I expected.
Racism and especially anti-Black racism is, of course, one of the story's core themes: its roots, who perpetuates it, and how, and why, and its myriad ripple effects across cultures and across time. We spend a great deal of time on racism in the United States thanks to our hard-boiled Chicago detective, Ethan Krol. and that's where I feel things start to go sideways.
From page one we see the narrative-relevant microaggressions from Krol and others that tell us Esperance's is a world of discrimination pretending that racial bigotry belongs to The Past. All fine and good, great mirror of our own world, but the problem is that the discrimination isn't confined to the plot. The way certain Black characters are described by the story, for example, is steeped in colorism. The sentence that first had me questioning everything: "Amadi Okoro's skin might have been onyx black, but if he'd been hanged the marks still would have been easy to see" (Location 180). One could argue that since Krol is our third-person POV in this scene that it helps set up up his character as casually racist, and that may even be the author's intention; but, it feels wildly out of step with subsequent intentionally racist lines and that ambiguity, which remains pervasive, is a significant problem for a novel with so much to say about such painful topics. I don't trust the book to be consistent, and that's a tough ask for me as a reader.
What's more, the intentionally bigoted moments are often underdone. This is part of a larger problem with great scene ideas being rushed or abandon altogther, but I digress. Charged conversations and scenes breeze by with little commentary from the characters or the book itself. Weird hair-related comments unacknowledged; Kroll's drive-by East Asian sexualization; all-around strange racist moments that would be much stronger if they told us anything about our characters as individual people. That's what I'm really craving: Why does Krol move through the world this way, other than trying incredibly hard to be Humphrey Bogart? I don't know, because the book seems far more interested in developing the plot than any of its characters.
That neglect is profoundly disappointing because I really want to connect with these characters! The set-up is fun, please give me any reason to care about Krol's health, his divorce, his prejudices, his personality, his pride, anything. Why is Abi the way she is, emotionally? Who is she outside of the plot? What's Holly's deal? I feel like I catch fleeting glimpses of these people, but they're just that: glimpses. Give me a reason to care, please!
I'm so conflicted. I see the bones of a great story, with plenty of crucial themes to explore. Oyebanji's love of noir shines so bright from the very first page. I wanted to love it, but the dissonant, shallow characters and inconsistent plotting left too much to be desired.
Alien Space Nazis Must Die! by Chuck McKenzie
lighthearted
slow-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? Yes
2.0
[Big thanks to BookBuzz,net, Daft Notions, and NetGalley for providing this ARC in exchange for my honest review!]
A breezy little read about killing space Nazis, base instincts, and the nature of reality.
Alien Space Nazis Must Die! is a tough letdown. It wants to land somewhere between Austin Powers, Ready Player One, and Indiana Jones—an aim I admire from a deep crouch as the shots miss spectacularly. I'm so bummed! I was ready for a campy, anti-fascist Aussie comedy and instead I got rough world-building refmats for the actual first draft you go on to write. More telling than showing, occasional almost-chuckle humor, and an unsatisfying ending given the questions our characters at least bounce off of. The conclusion is actually the most engaging part, though, as it at least subverts the audience's expectations. To what end? Who knows! The novella has no interest in exploring its own claims.
I almost wish ASNMD! had gone for a Death With Dignity commentary—it'd be a hell of a lot more compelling, and the basic setup is there. But hey, it's 64 pages, read it and let me know if you agree!
A breezy little read about killing space Nazis, base instincts, and the nature of reality.
Alien Space Nazis Must Die! is a tough letdown. It wants to land somewhere between Austin Powers, Ready Player One, and Indiana Jones—an aim I admire from a deep crouch as the shots miss spectacularly. I'm so bummed! I was ready for a campy, anti-fascist Aussie comedy and instead I got rough world-building refmats for the actual first draft you go on to write. More telling than showing, occasional almost-chuckle humor, and an unsatisfying ending given the questions our characters at least bounce off of. The conclusion is actually the most engaging part, though, as it at least subverts the audience's expectations. To what end? Who knows! The novella has no interest in exploring its own claims.
I almost wish ASNMD! had gone for a Death With Dignity commentary—it'd be a hell of a lot more compelling, and the basic setup is there. But hey, it's 64 pages, read it and let me know if you agree!
The Unworthy by Agustina Bazterrica
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
A poetic, meditative horror that gnaws on climate change, human greed, misogyny, cults, and religious abuse.
This is a quick, <200 page read that I devoured in a single day. Even as I felt the mounting, hollow hunger for something more substantial, I remained captive in its strange sisterhood of pain and ecstatic color. Blues, blackened nights, rust red. We do have a plot, but it's secondary to our narrator's character study. This is sometimes to the story's detriment, though her transformation over the course of all she endures is substantial. And she endures a lot: Bazterrica embraces the cult's many on-page terrors with zealous determination. Body horror fans, you're in the right place, and if you like it steeped in surrealism then so much the better.
But despite the prose pros, The Unworthy's attempts to comment on gender violence are sorely lacking. While I think it makes some poignant and occasionally touching points about misogyny and how abusers use catastrophe (those real and imagined) as cover to subjugate and control their victims, the impact ultimately rings...not hollow, exactly. But simplified, incomplete. One version of extreme suffering with minimal cultural nuance is presented as if all women endure the same cruelties at the same hands in the same way. A bit Gender Studies 101.
The star rating system fails me here because I can't easily convey that I both adored The Unworthy's prose and conceit and was simultaneously unsatisfied by the larger themes with a simple 3/5. If the description or my review intrigue you, give it a read. I think you'll come away with worthwhile conversation starters, even if the book itself bit off more than it can chew. So to speak.
I received this ARC in exchange for my honest review. Thank you, Scribner and NetGalley!
This is a quick, <200 page read that I devoured in a single day. Even as I felt the mounting, hollow hunger for something more substantial, I remained captive in its strange sisterhood of pain and ecstatic color. Blues, blackened nights, rust red. We do have a plot, but it's secondary to our narrator's character study. This is sometimes to the story's detriment, though her transformation over the course of all she endures is substantial. And she endures a lot: Bazterrica embraces the cult's many on-page terrors with zealous determination. Body horror fans, you're in the right place, and if you like it steeped in surrealism then so much the better.
But despite the prose pros, The Unworthy's attempts to comment on gender violence are sorely lacking. While I think it makes some poignant and occasionally touching points about misogyny and how abusers use catastrophe (those real and imagined) as cover to subjugate and control their victims, the impact ultimately rings...not hollow, exactly. But simplified, incomplete. One version of extreme suffering with minimal cultural nuance is presented as if all women endure the same cruelties at the same hands in the same way. A bit Gender Studies 101.
The star rating system fails me here because I can't easily convey that I both adored The Unworthy's prose and conceit and was simultaneously unsatisfied by the larger themes with a simple 3/5. If the description or my review intrigue you, give it a read. I think you'll come away with worthwhile conversation starters, even if the book itself bit off more than it can chew. So to speak.
I received this ARC in exchange for my honest review. Thank you, Scribner and NetGalley!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Cannibalism, and Abandonment
Minor: Excrement, Vomit, Pregnancy, and Alcohol
Maskerade by Terry Pratchett
adventurous
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Dripping with Pratchett's dry humor and 90s pop culture references. A delight.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fatphobia
Chain-Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
informative
inspiring
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
I will never forget this. Love is.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Lesbophobia, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Lights Out by Navessa Allen
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
The sex is good and the first half has some fun humor, but the book's twice as long as it needs to be because everything is told rather than shown. And I mean *everything*. It's excruciating listening to Alli and Josh try to outwit readers looking for plotholes and problematic behavior in their stalker romance.
On that note: for all its marketing as a depraved and unrepentant spiral, the story really wants to make sure you know we're morally allowed to like our two MCs. It basically abandons the "dark" pretense by the halfway point,and while the subject matter it deals in is still bleak, the lack of any proven stakes leaves the whole plot feeling hollow. Which is a shame, because the conceit is so fun! I wish the author had leaned more rather than constantly reminding us that our masked stalker fantasy MMC is really a nice dude and all the rest.
Also, it's kink written from a bafflingly vanilla perspective. And not Alli's POV, which is consistent enough with her characterization. But the entire novel constantly tells us how depraved and fucked up and taboo our MCs' desires are — I guess in an attempt to titillate readers with no kink experience — and it gets old real fast. Bizarrely puritanical sensibilities in our dubcon BDSM romance.
My rec: Find a supercut of the audiobook's best and funniest moments. The VAs do a phenomenal job and the bits of humor make me hope that the author finds a great editor to help them tighten up their voice in future projects.
On that note: for all its marketing as a depraved and unrepentant spiral, the story really wants to make sure you know we're morally allowed to like our two MCs. It basically abandons the "dark" pretense by the halfway point,and while the subject matter it deals in is still bleak, the lack of any proven stakes leaves the whole plot feeling hollow. Which is a shame, because the conceit is so fun! I wish the author had leaned more rather than constantly reminding us that our masked stalker fantasy MMC is really a nice dude and all the rest.
Also, it's kink written from a bafflingly vanilla perspective. And not Alli's POV, which is consistent enough with her characterization. But the entire novel constantly tells us how depraved and fucked up and taboo our MCs' desires are — I guess in an attempt to titillate readers with no kink experience — and it gets old real fast. Bizarrely puritanical sensibilities in our dubcon BDSM romance.
My rec: Find a supercut of the audiobook's best and funniest moments. The VAs do a phenomenal job and the bits of humor make me hope that the author finds a great editor to help them tighten up their voice in future projects.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Medical content, Stalking, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, and Sexual harassment
The Archive Undying by Emma Mieko Candon
Did not finish book. Stopped at 24%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 24%.
Too much emotional explanation (over demonstration), not enough narrative weight.
The Spear Cuts Through Water by Simon Jimenez
adventurous
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0